Damyang County wins the 17th Grand Tourism Award

The Damyang County of Jeollanam-do Province, Korea’s No. 1 ecotourism region, has been honored with the 7th Grand Tourism Award from the Korea Tour Club in recognition of its successful development of Hallyu Culture tourism products and winning the right to host the Southern Food Culture Grand Festival as well as its extensive effort to energize its tourism service and infrastructure. The award was presented to Damyang County Mayor Choi Hyung-sik in a ceremony held at President Hotel in Seoul on Jan. 14, 2014.

Damyang County was highly evaluated in five fields including tourism facilities, Juknokwon tourism marketing, and its enthusiasm for the development of tourism. Of particular note, the county excelled in its “smart” tourism marketing, development of tourism products associated with Hallyu (Korean wave) and Southern Food Festival.
Saying that the tour of Juknokwon Garden and the Metasequoia-lined Road in Damyang will be a memorable experience, Mayor Choi invited foreigners as well as Koreans to visit the “beautiful green county of Damyang. He expressed thanks to members of the Korea Tour Club for their efforts to explore a diverse range of tourism products and services, while dedicated to revitalizing the domestic tourism industry. The Korea Tour Club is consisted of CEOs of nearly 80 tour companies and tourism journalists and professors. Mayor Choi invited people to show keen interest in the Damyang Bamboo International Fair 2015.
Damyang is scheduled to host the “World Bamboo Fair Damyang Korea 2015” for 45 days, from Sept. 17 ? Oct. 31, 2015. This exposition will show ways to improve the value of bamboo on an international level under the slogan “Bamboo for a Greener Future.” The expo will consist of a variety of bamboo exhibition halls featuring ecology, history and science. Special cultural programs, workshops, competitions, music and more will give people of all ages and all backgrounds a reason to truly celebrate all things bamboo.

Mayor Choi said the bamboo exposition will “display everything about bamboo” around Juknokwon Garden. “You will experience the past, present and future of bamboo, which has a wide variety of uses from bamboo art, cutting-edge biotechnology, food, textiles and architecture to landscape gardening.” “You will have an amazing experience with bamboo which purifies your body as well as your mind,” he added.

He noted that Damyang bamboo has a history of 1,000 years. “It is a valued local asset handed down from our ancestors.” He observed that the Fair will help enhance the brand value of Damyang as an ecological city. Bamboo is widely used and appreciated in Korea. Of particular note, Damyang is more closely associated with bamboo. The area planted with bamboo in Damyang represents a share of 34.3% (2,420ha) of the national territory filled with bamboo shoots. Damyang produces bamboo baskets, mats, hats, pillows, boxes with cover, and folding fans. Currently, the County attracts over 5 millions of tourists annually thanks to bamboo forests, foods and facilities.

Also, the 10th World Bamboo Congress will open on September 18 in Damyang. The World Bamboo Congress is positioned to disseminate the most current scientific and field research information available worldwide in order to promote the sustainable and realistic utilization of bamboo. It is also designed to effectively promote the expansion of species-specific bamboo plantations for regional production, innovative product development and modern opportunities.

Fair Zones
The 2015 International Bamboo Fair zones are divided into five, Future Value Place, Academic Place, Meeting Place, Creativity Place and Unity Place.

Future Value Place (Theme Zone)
Theme exhibition, theme picture exhibition, outdoor exhibition, PR Center
-Theme Gallery-Utilize Juknokwon as a roofless theme gallery. Review the value of bamboo in humanities perspective.
-Large family system, 60 nods of human life, fidelity and the spirits of classical scholars
-Sculptures with bamboo-related figures and anecdotes
-Exhibit a bamboo growth diary
Theme Theater-Bamboo, the friend of humans
-Human history evolved with bamboos, suffering earth and human crisis due to industrialization, rediscovery of bamboos’ new value and green growth.
-Outdoor Exhibition-Displays of paintings, poems, music, sculptures, lighting art and hands-on experiences
-PR Center-Exhibition of creations of new value of bamboo

Academic Place (Convention Zone)
International conferences including the 10th World Bamboo Congress

Meeting Place (Exhibition Zone)
Official events of the bamboo exposition, the opening & closing ceremonies, performance of a bamboo orchestra and others

Creativity Place (Biennale Zone)
-Biennale Winner Center-Exhibition of works of bamboo craft artists and students
-Guest Artist Center-Exhibition of noted Korean and international bamboo artists’ works
-Art Craft Center-Hans-on experience of various bamboo arts including bamboo charcoal art, Chinese ink painting of bamboos and bamboo instrument creation

Unity Place (Event Zone)
Bamboo ecological exhibition, bamboo history exhibition, bamboo science exhibition,
Bamboo architectural exhibition, green development exhibition, international exhibition
-Bamboo History Center-Human civilization and recorded history
-Bamboo Science Center-Science learning through bamboo
-Bamboo Architecture Center-Exhibition of various forms of architectures using bamboos and bamboo construction materials
-Bamboo Green Growth and international Exchange Center?Exhibition of the value of low-carbon green growth, bamboo-related global corporation booths.