Taking the Past to a New Future

World Bamboo Fair Damyang Korea 2015 and World Bamboo Congress

Written by Matthew Endacott

Photos courtesy of World Bamboo Fair Damyang Korea 2015

Thoughts of bamboo evoke images of ancient art and architecture. The allure to this natural and elegant style is compelling, yet there is more to bamboo than its ties to cultural heritage: it provides a key to a promising future. Choi Hyung-sik, the county governor of Damyang, and his vision of “happy human life with bamboo” will lead to building a state-of-the-art cultural “sustainable eco-city” through bamboo. Mr Choi plans to accomplish this feat through the combined effort of the World Bamboo Congress (WBC) and the World Bamboo Fair: Damyang.

From the time of the Goryeo dynasty (918-1392) the villagers of Damyang would gather on the May 13 on the lunar calendar for Juk-sul Day, the day for bamboo, but by the 1920’s this practice had ceased. Industrialization crippled the bamboo industry and people desired plastic and artificial products over bamboo and natural ones. Since Mr Choi was elected as county governor of Damyang, he has set out to make his dream of ensuring a place for bamboo in Damyang’s future a reality. He began by replenishing the bamboo forests even though he received immense criticism because of it. As a result of this backlash, he subsequently lost his position in the next election, but eventually citizens began to see the future Mr Choi envisioned and re-elected him to a second and third term.

The WBC is a meeting dedicated to developing social and environmental goals through the diverse applications of bamboo. This congress meets every three to four years bringing together 1,800 members of all professions from over 40 countries. The theme for this WBC is “Bamboo for a Greener Future”. We cannot continue to build the same way because trees are being exhausted, and the production of concrete accounts for over 10% of the carbon emissions in the atmosphere. Darrel Deboer, an architect and keynote speaker for the WBC said the idea is to make bamboo the answer to all questions: food, medicine, agriculture, architecture, fuel, textiles, landscaping, furniture, biotechnology, etc. “Born in a bamboo cradle and buried in a bamboo coffin,” he said. He states the current problem with the bamboo industry is people’s preconceptions of it: people think bamboo is a poor man’s timber. His example was that an unskilled craftsman collects the inappropriate type of bamboo because it is easily accessed and cheap to harvest. The craftsman then creates and sells inferior products that break and the misconceptions of bamboo continue. Mr Deboer said that we should use bamboo as we do wood. With the right bamboo species at the right age and after treating it correctly we could theoretically use bamboo to erect a 40-story building. These types of designs are being displayed at the World Bamboo Fair: Damyang, an expo for bamboo innovations.

The World Bamboo Fair is a medium for people to realize the potential for bamboo and its uses. Companies from around the world showcase their designs for bamboo lotions, teas, buildings, clothing, furniture, art, medicine, and much more. This expo combined with the promotion of ideas from 100 papers presented at the WBC is the platform Mr Choi organized to gain the support of local citizens, the Korean government, and the world. Currently the plan for the bamboo forest is in the beginning stage. Mr Choi said that development of designs for bamboo products, finding different species of bamboo to cultivate, and presenting the culture of bamboo to tourists is what is important at this time. As of now with less than 1,800 hectares (1 hectare=2.5 acres) of bamboo forest, Damyang produces 90 million USD of revenue each year. According to the Korean Department of Agriculture, 5,000 jobs will be created and produce over 180 million USD of revenue each year with the envisioned 10,000 hectares of bamboo for tourism, industrialization, and commerce.

The county governor of Damyang was very successful in his endeavor to make the most of local natural resources to create a self-sustaining eco-community, getting the county’s residents to think traditional and natural over industrial and plastic, receiving support from the central government, as well as support from the WBC. The Korean Minister of Agriculture promised monetary support to Mr Choi’s cause because he agrees that bamboo can play an important role in the future. The chair of the WBC also promised the backing of Damyang as the bamboo capital of Korea. Recently, Mr Choi and his assembly asked for the United Nation’s support of bamboo as a significant sustainable resource of the future.

Take a trip to Damyang this month and enjoy the World Bamboo Fair, which will be held until October 31. Learn more about bamboo and how it will shape our world.