Seomjinmaeul Village at Gwangwang

The most precious objects found on oriental paintings are Sehansamu (three friends in cold season) and Sagunja (four noble scholars). Sehansamu means "the three plants" -- bamboo, pine trees and apricot trees -- that survive the cold winter season strenuously, as well as Sagunja, apricot, orchid, chrysanthemum and bamboo, which imply the noble integrity of scholar. Maehwa (apricot, Japanese apricot), whose origin is China, does not die even in severely cold winter days under snow storms and freezing cold spells and blooms attractively in early spring, thus becoming one of the Sehansamu with its amazing survival power of life, and has also become one of the Sagunja with its noble attraction of abundant pretty blossoms on its boughs.