🎧 Yul's Korea Audio Guide
Juknokwon Bamboo Forest, Damyang
Narrated in English with Korean phrases by YUL of KVIBE IDOLS.
🎵 Background music: Letter on the Wind (바람의 편지) — KVIBE IDOLS · Listen to the full song →
Full transcript
Annyeong, yeoreobun! Yul here. Close your eyes and listen. That soft rustling sound? That's thousands of bamboo stalks dancing in the wind. Welcome to Juknokwon, the bamboo garden of Damyang.
Damyang and bamboo go way back. Farmers here grew bamboo the way others grow rice, and turned it into baskets, fans and everyday tools. This traditional bamboo farming is so special that in 2020, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization named it a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System.
Juknokwon opened in the early 2000s on a hill called Seonginsan, and it covers about three hundred ten thousand square meters. There are eight walking trails, each with its own theme, like the Philosopher's Way and Lover's Lane. Some kinds of bamboo here grow more than twenty meters tall.
And here's the twist. This peaceful forest has been a film set! Battle scenes for the war horror movie R-Point were shot here, and the hit variety show 1 Night 2 Days came here too, where two members fell into the pond during a game. These bamboo trees have seen everything!
Koreans love a walk like this so much they have a word for it: jungnimyok, a bamboo forest bath. In the shade of the bamboo, summer feels a little cooler.
Yul's tip! Wear comfy shoes, because some trails go uphill. Afterwards, try daetongbap, rice steamed inside a bamboo tube, and stroll through Gwanbangjerim next door. And please, no carving names on the bamboo. It's protected!
Next, we'll visit a bay where golden reeds and rare cranes are waiting. Kaja!
