Cheongju’s award-winning heart-shaped trees stir pruning debate
A national award for Cheongju’s sculpted ginkgo trees has drawn visitors and renewed debate over whether the pruning harms them.
Heart-shaped ginkgo trees line a street in Cheongju, North Chungcheong, in this undated photo.
CHEONGJU CITY
A row of 41 ginkgo trees clipped into heart shapes in Cheongju, North Chungcheong, won a national award for street tree management. It also received split opinions in the city over whether the pruning went too far.
The Korea Forest Service placed the stretch of road, known locally as Heart Tree Street, second in its national evaluation of street tree management; Cheongju announced the result Tuesday. The city said the award recognized systematic care of its street trees and an effort to build a distinctive urban landscape.
The trees line about 350 meters (1,150 feet) of roadside near Cheongju City Hall's first temporary building, and city crews have trimmed each canopy into a heart. The area is now turned into a local attraction as photographs and videos spread across social media.
“Is this AI-generated?” one online user wrote. Other reactions included, “Whoever made this is amazing” and “It’s so pretty and cute.”
Visitors have also begun seeking out the trees in person, helping establish the street as a new sightseeing spot in downtown Cheongju.
Other residents have been less enthusiastic.
“I feel sorry for the trees,” one person wrote. Others described them as “bizarre” and said, “the pruning went too far.”
Tree experts warn that excessive pruning can reduce the amount of foliage available for photosynthesis, leave trees more vulnerable to pests and diseases and interfere with normal growth. Arboriculture guidance similarly cautions that excessive removal of healthy branches reduces photosynthesis and can harm mature trees.
Cheongju says ginkgo trees are a relatively hardy species and that the level of pruning used on the heart-shaped trees is unlikely to cause significant problems with their growth.
The unusual streetscape has continued to draw visitors, with anywhere from dozens to hundreds of people reportedly stopping by on weekends.
Cheongju is now considering creating a second stretch of heart-shaped street trees along Sajik-daero in Sangdang District.
BY HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
