The Great Gingko Tree is spread all over Korea, Japan, and China as well as other countries and is so old that it is often referred to as a living fossil. The tree is known to have been introduced to Korea during the time that Confucianism and Buddhism were introduced from China.
The autumn leaves are beautiful, which has a quality of being free from blight and insects, and offers a large cool shade, thus is used to serve as pavilions or tree-lined walkways.
The gingko tree at Yongmun Temple is estimated to be about 1,100-years-old, and is 67m in height, and the circumference of the trunk near its roots is 15.2m. It is the oldest and tallest gingko tree in Korea with a characteristic knot near the bottom.
Legend has it that the Crown Prince, Mauitaeja, also known as the son of King Gyeongsun, who was the last king of the Silla Dyansty (reign: A.D. 927-935), planted the tree while on his way to Mt. Geumgang from the sorrow of losing his country. Another tale is that the Buddhist priest Uisang stuck his cane in the ground and that cane grew to be a tree. Other legends of this tree is that once people tried to cut the tree down , but when the saw touched the tree blood spurted from that spot , and
during the Jeonmi Resistance (1907), Japanese troops set fire to Yongmun Temple and everything burned except for this tree, and also whenever there was great trouble to the country the tree would make an extraordinary sound to warn people of forthcoming danger.
The gingko tree of Yongmun Temple was considered with such gravity that it was rewarded the Dangsang post, the third highest government post by Great King Sejong (reign: 1418-1450) during the Joseon Dynasty, and it holds great significance to biological study, thus appointed and preserved as a natural monument.
The Great Gingko Tree is spread all over Korea, Japan, and China as well as other countries and is so old that it is often referred to as a living fossil. The tree is known to have been introduced to Korea during the time that Confucianism and Buddhism were introduced from China. 
