I asked Prof. Chun Young-woo, a dendrologist at Kookmin University about the situation in Japan. "Shame on us!" he said, Korea is no comparison to Japan. Chun toured the hinoki or Japanese cypress forests in the mountainous Kiso region of Nagano Prefecture a few years ago. He cannot forget the experience of being enveloped in the fragrance of the 200- and 300-year-old Japanese cypresses. Hinoki 300 years old or older are managed and registered in a national roster of huge trees. Such trees abound in Japan.

Japan builds ancient buildings like temples and palaces with hinoki. Fine and soft, hinoki is easy to work with, and is fragrant and lustrous. Ise in Mie Prefecture is home to the Ise Shrine which honors the spirits of the Japanese emperors. The existing buildings of the Ise Shrine have been dismantled every 20 years since 690 to be replaced by new ones built on an adjacent site. The 62nd renovation is due in 2013. Hinoki felling events for securing lumber to be used in the upcoming renovation took place in Uematsu, Kiso in June 2005. So many people crowded the event that they had to operate special trains between Ueno, Tokyo to Uematsu.

The hinoki grown in Kiso are called "kamiki", or sacred trees. Horyuji Temple and Osaka Castle are also built from this fine wood. When the city of Edo was rebuilt after the devastating fire of 1657, Kiso hinoki was all but exhausted. The felling of hinoki without permission has since been subjected to strict punishment -- so much so that a saying has emerged, "One hinoki tree is equal to one life." Records have it that 94 civil servants guarded Kiso's hinoki forests in 1665. Thanks to this 350-year-old preservation policy, Japan is free of concern about the procurement of trees needed for palaces and temples.

Korean pine is superior to the Japanese cypress, just as soft but more durable. The resin of the tree acts as a preservative, so the wood doesn't rot. When Geunjeongjeon, the throne hall of the king, was disassembled during the renovation of Gyeongbok Palace of the Chosun Dynasty a few years ago, one out of four main pillars made of pine was found to be intact, while all the pillars made of fir were split and no longer usable.

Master carpenter Shin Eung-soo, who led the renovation of Gyeongbok Palace, insists on pine lumber if at all possible. But it's difficult indeed to secure serviceable pine trees. When the fir pillars of Geunjeongjeon had to be replaced, local pine was unavailable so they had to use pine lumber imported from the U.S. During the renovation of Gwanghwamun, a landmark gate in front of Geyongbok Palace, they barely managed to find 26 serviceable pine trees from across the country over half a year. Now 56 pine trees are needed for the renovation of the Sungnyemun, according to Shin. Finding them will be a headache.

Shin has been purchasing pine tree stands in and around Jeongson and Gangnung, Ganwon Province for 15 years. He bought property auctioned by the Korea Coal Corp., among others. Were he interested in making a profit, he would have only purchased land near roads, but instead he also bought stands located deep in the mountains. His aspiration is to grow pine trees there generation after generation.

We cannot easily produce trees as we mass produce goods in our factories. They have to be managed and grown over 100 to 200 years. The state ought to grow trees needed for its cultural properties. It's preposterous to shift the responsibility to individuals.

This column was contributed by Chosun Ilbo in-house columnist Han Sam-hee.