It’s been 10 years since the fossilized footprints discovered on the shores of Sangmo-ri (상모리), Daejeong-eup (대정읍), Seogwipo… were designated as a natural monument. The Cultural Heritage Administration has described the larger footprints as that of elephants over the years, but doubts have risen over this claim. Joseph Kim reports.

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Fossilized footprints in Sangmo-ri

Along the shores of Sangmo-ri(상모리), Daejeong-eup(대정읍) and Sagae-ri(사계리), Andeok-myeon(안덕면) in Seogwipo… is a fossil footprint site.
Some 500 human and animal fossil footprints can be found here. The tracksite was named ‘Natural Monument 464’ in September 2005.

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Natural Monument 464 (2005)

There are human footprints... and hoofed deer tracks… but the footprints in question are the larger ones… which have been named elephant tracks for many years now.

From the information board at the tracksite to the Cultural Heritage Administration’s Internet homepage, the large fossil footprints are labeled elephant tracks.

But meteorological experts say it’s unlikely that elephants from further south would have travelled up north to a region colder than their natural habitat.

They say it is more likely that about 20,000 years ago when glaciers would have linked Jeju to Korea’s mainland… some other large animal species left its tracks there.

[interview]
Cho Cheon-ho / Natl. Institute of Meteorological Research
As glaciers formed, many animals and plants from the north moved down south to Korea. So I think it’s almost impossible that an elephant from a warmer climate would have traveled north here.
< 조천호 / 국립기상과학원장 >
빙하가 발달함에 따라 북쪽에 있던 동.식물이 한반도로 몰려드는 상황이었기 때문에 따뜻한 지역에 있던 코끼리가 여기까지 올 수 ///
있다라는 것이 거의 불가능하다고 생각됩니다.

[camera]
Kim Seung-cheol

Geological experts agree. They say that if there had been elephants in Jeju, there should also be fossils of elephant bones or tusks on the island but none has ever been found.

[interview]
Kang Soon-seok / Director, Jeju Geological Research Institute
Whether these footprints were made during an ice age, 10,000 years ago, or 50,000 years ago, this was not an environment elephants could have lived in. Jeju has never been a habitat for elephants.
< 강순석 / 제주지질연구소장 >
(화석산지 형성시기가) 시대적으로 빙하기가 됐든 1만년 전이든
5만년 전이든 코끼리가 살았던 환경은 아니었습니다.
///
우리나라, 제주도에 코끼리는 없었어요.

[REPORTER]
Joseph Kim

For the past ten years, the Cultural Heritage Administration has been calling these footprints elephant tracks… with no extra research done to clarify it. Now that the claim has been rebutted, a re-examination may be in order.

Joseph Kim KCTV