In the ink painting traditions of East Asia, bamboo – alongside three flowering genera – was considered the most prized of the so-called “Four Gentlemen” motifs. Scholars saw in it a metaphor for moral integrity and steadfastness, and would surround themselves with bamboo as a safeguard against spiritual decline.
To speak of Damyang today, in south-western Korea, is often to speak of bamboo – for that is what the area is known for, internationally as well. The “home of Korean bamboo” hosted the 10th World Bamboo Congress in 2015 and had previously been regarded within Korea primarily as a centre of bamboo processing. In an era of climate change, the fast-growing, CO₂-absorbing resource is attracting increasing attention. Approximately a quarter of Korea’s total bamboo stock grows in Damyang, a region no larger than the old West Berlin. In spring, when the stems shed their leaves, the season of shooting begins simultaneously – countless new culms pushing their way upward. Bodo Hartwig listened carefully.