When a beloved tree began withering away, locals suspected a killer in their midst
- Published
Every summer, Seoul turns a deep green, growing dense and lush under humid skies.
asserted
Seoul → begin → skies
But this year, one tree was visibly suffering.
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tree → suffer → ?
"Green leaves were falling to the ground, which shouldn't happen at that time of year," recalls Jung, who lives near the streetside ginkgo in Buam-dong, a largely residential neighbourhood in the north of Seoul.
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who → fall → Seoul
The tree is beloved by locals, who believe it has occupied its spot for more than 100 years.
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it → believe → years
So Jung couldn't ignore what she was seeing.
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she → ignore → what
With each passing day, her curiosity turned to concern.
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curiosity → pass → concern
A rotting carpet of familiar fan-shaped leaves soon surrounded the tree, a sight so alarming Jung and her neighbours formed a crew of amateur detectives to solve the mystery: what was ailing their hardy ginkgo?
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what → rot → ginkgo
The whodunnit engrossed Buam-dong and piqued the country's interest, making national headlines.
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whodunnit → engross → headlines
But the attention unsettled Jung, who spearheaded the campaign but has since requested anonymity - we are using a pseudonym.
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we → unsettle → pseudonym
"Imagine a grandfather who silently embraces you every day, listens to you, and has always been strong and full of life," she says.
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she → imagine → life
"Suddenly, he begins to die.
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he → begin → ?
So began one community's fight to save a cherished symbol of their neighbourhood.
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fight → begin → neighbourhood
Their unlikely enemy, who they believe plotted a surreptitious attack, was a museum built to honour a pioneering, nature-loving Korean artist.
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they → believe → artist
Who is killing 'Grandpa Ginkgo'?
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Who → kill → Ginkgo
Tucked between two mountains, Buam-dong is recommended by travellers and locals for its picturesque views, art galleries and cosy cafes - an escape from Seoul's bustle.
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dong → tuck → bustle
Because of its proximity to the Blue House, the president's official residence, urban development has been restricted, allowing the neighbourhood to retain its quaint charm.
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neighbourhood → restrict → charm
In a place where you usually find ginkgo trees in private gardens or untamed forests, this one is special, Jung says, because it flourished on the side of the road.
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it → find → road
"I pass this tree whenever I come home.
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I → pass → tree
I would say, 'Grandpa, I'm home.'
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I → say → ?
Or 'Grandpa, I'm heading out now'."
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I → head → ?
Jung only moved here four years ago, but the grand old tree was the first thing she noticed, and she grew to love it.
"
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she → move → it
It was the only tree in the neighbourhood that belongs to everyone."
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that → belong → everyone
To Park Jeon-hee, who has lived here for nearly all his 74 years, the ginkgo is his "oldest friend".
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ginkgo → live → years
It's the same for 10-year-old Kim On, who walks past it everyday on his way to school.
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who → walk → school
It has stood since before he was born, Kim says, and "thinking it might fall down makes me sad".
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me → stand → ?
So it wasn't surprising that Jung found ready allies in the community who had also noticed the ginkgo's withering leaves.
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who → find → leaves
They soon became suspicious of 10 white plastic funnels peeping out from behind the trunk.
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They → become → trunk
Jung had initially assumed they were providing nutrients, but then began to wonder if something more sinister was at play.
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something → assume → play
She and her neighbours sieved through security camera footage from a nearby house, until they found something odd: one morning in late April, the camera had recorded two men wearing white gloves and crouching over the base of the tree with a drill.
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camera → sieve → drill
Were these men installing the funnels?
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men → instal → funnels
Jung and the others couldn't exactly tell from the footage.
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Jung → tell → footage
But then they remembered something the local council had told them: a museum had previously asked landowners in the area for permission to remove the tree.
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museum → remember → tree
The Whanki Museum had apparently claimed that its outer brick wall, which sits inches from the ginkgo, was under strain from the tree's roots.
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which → claim → roots
The residents soon suspected the funnels contained some kind of herbicide that was slowly killing the tree - a suspicion also shared by arborists who came to examine it.
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who → suspect → it
And they believed the Whanki Museum was behind it all.
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Museum → believe → it
On the very day they saw the footage, a group of Buam-dong residents stormed into the museum, accompanied by four police officers.
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group → see → officers
When confronted, an employee "basically admitted" the museum had done something to the tree, Jung and her neighbour alleged.
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Jung → confront → tree
"Once they had said it, there was really no taking it back," the neighbour told the BBC.
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neighbour → say → BBC
The museum has neither publicly confirmed nor denied injecting herbicide into the tree, and has not responded to the BBC's questions.
But it did publish a statement in May, saying the wall of its compound was "collapsing because of the ginkgo's roots".
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wall → confirm → roots
It said it had sent letters to more than 40 property owners "requesting a solution".
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it → say → solution
…and 38 more, not listed.
The Aporia
