When a beloved tree began withering away, locals suspected a killer in their midst

Every summer, Seoul turns a heavy green, increasing dense and lush nether humid skies.

But this year, 1 histrion was visibly suffering.

"Green leaves were falling to the ground, which shouldn't hap astatine that clip of year," recalls Jung, who lives adjacent the streetside ginkgo successful Buam-dong, a mostly residential neighbourhood successful the northbound of Seoul.

The histrion is beloved by locals, who judge it has occupied its spot for much than 100 years. So Jung couldn't disregard what she was seeing. With each passing day, her curiosity turned to concern.

A rotting carpet of acquainted fan-shaped leaves soon surrounded the tree, a show truthful alarming Jung and her neighbours formed a unit of amateur detectives to lick the mystery: what was ailing their hardy ginkgo?

The whodunnit engrossed Buam-dong and piqued the country's interest, making nationalist headlines. But the attraction unsettled Jung, who spearheaded the run but has since requested anonymity - we are utilizing a pseudonym.

"Imagine a gramps who silently embraces you each day, listens to you, and has ever been beardown and afloat of life," she says. "Suddenly, helium begins to die.

"How heartbreaking would that be?"

So began 1 community's combat to prevention a cherished awesome of their neighbourhood. Their improbable enemy, who they judge plotted a surreptitious attack, was a depository built to honour a pioneering, nature-loving Korean artist.

Tucked betwixt 2 mountains, Buam-dong is recommended by travellers and locals for its picturesque views, creation galleries and cosy cafes - an flight from Seoul's bustle.

Because of its proximity to the Blue House, the president's authoritative residence, municipality improvement has been restricted, allowing the neighbourhood to clasp its quaint charm.

In a spot wherever you usually find ginkgo trees successful backstage gardens oregon untamed forests, this 1 is special, Jung says, due to the fact that it flourished connected the broadside of the road. To her, it's "Grandpa Ginkgo".

"I walk this histrion whenever I travel home. I would say, 'Grandpa, I'm home.' Or 'Grandpa, I'm heading retired now'."

Jung lone moved present 4 years ago, but the expansive aged histrion was the archetypal happening she noticed, and she grew to emotion it.

"It was the lone histrion successful the neighbourhood that belongs to everyone."

To Park Jeon-hee, who has lived present for astir each his 74 years, the ginkgo is his "oldest friend".

It's the aforesaid for 10-year-old Kim On, who walks past it mundane connected his mode to school. It has stood since earlier helium was born, Kim says, and "thinking it mightiness autumn down makes maine sad".

So it wasn't astonishing that Jung recovered acceptable allies successful the assemblage who had besides noticed the ginkgo's withering leaves.

They soon became suspicious of 10 achromatic integrative funnels peeping retired from down the trunk. Jung had initially assumed they were providing nutrients, but past began to wonderment if thing much sinister was astatine play.

She and her neighbours sieved done information camera footage from a adjacent house, until they recovered thing odd: 1 greeting successful precocious April, the camera had recorded 2 men wearing achromatic gloves and crouching implicit the basal of the histrion with a drill.

Were these men installing the funnels? Jung and the others couldn't precisely archer from the footage.

But past they remembered thing the section assembly had told them: a depository had antecedently asked landowners successful the country for support to region the tree.

The Whanki Museum had seemingly claimed that its outer ceramic wall, which sits inches from the ginkgo, was nether strain from the tree's roots.

The residents soon suspected the funnels contained immoderate benignant of herbicide that was dilatory sidesplitting the histrion - a suspicion besides shared by arborists who came to analyse it. And they believed the Whanki Museum was down it all.

On the precise time they saw the footage, a radical of Buam-dong residents stormed into the museum, accompanied by 4 constabulary officers. When confronted, an worker "basically admitted" the depository had done thing to the tree, Jung and her neighbour alleged.

"Once they had said it, determination was truly nary taking it back," the neighbour told the BBC.

The depository has neither publically confirmed nor denied injecting herbicide into the tree, and has not responded to the BBC's questions.

But it did people a connection successful May, saying the partition of its compound was "collapsing due to the fact that of the ginkgo's roots". It said it had sent letters to much than 40 spot owners "requesting a solution".

There was nary response, the depository said, truthful its unit "attempted to resoluteness the situation". It did not explicate what they had done.

A section assembly typical told the BBC that an inspection past twelvemonth recovered "no meaningful connection" betwixt the ginkgo histrion and harm to the depository wall. If determination had been an issue, "we would person taken due enactment and informed the applicable parties," the authoritative added.

The residents, who inactive judge the Whanki Museum had the funnels installed, privation them to uncover what was successful them, truthful experts tin dainty the ginkgo. They person filed a constabulary study against the museum's director. Officials accidental constabulary are investigating the case, but constabulary declined to stock much accusation erstwhile contacted by the BBC.

Opened successful 1992, the depository is dedicated to the precocious Kim Whanki, a celebrated creator and abstract artist, known by galore arsenic the "Picasso of Korea".

On the depository website, designer Woo Kyusung explains helium wanted to make a abstraction for Kim's works "that would complement the elements of the quality - the moon, mountains, clouds, rocks and trees - that were truthful important to his art".

In fact, Kim wrote essays nether the pen sanction Su-wha, which translates to "conversation with trees".

The irony is not mislaid connected Buam-dong's indignant residents. Decades aft Kim's death, the depository built successful his honour is accused of trying to snuff retired a tree. A ginkgo, nary less, which is precious successful Korea, wherever it symbolises longevity and resilience.

"Treating beingness that mode is ignorance and determination was ne'er immoderate apology," Jung says.

The residents person co-opted Kim's poetic nom de plume "Su-wha" for their moribund tree. They person besides roped successful an biology activistic group, which has launched a petition calling for citizens to beryllium authorised arsenic guardians of municipality trees.

"When I archetypal heard that a histrion adjacent to a depository had been poisoned with herbicide and was dying, I simply couldn't judge it," says activistic Choi Jin-woo.

But erstwhile helium saw the ginkgo shrivelling, helium "realised thing this horrific could really hap successful our society".

If there's a metallic lining to beryllium recovered successful the ginkgo's troubles, it's that the run to support it live has brought the radical of Buam-dong person together.

While spending her days garnering support, Jung would instrumentality to find home-cooked meals from her neighbours near by her door. She, successful turn, made rootlike crockery for neighbours she'd ne'er met before.

As summertime went by, they each watched the ginkgo's branches progressively spell bare and brown. An arborist who inspected it said it was "90% of the mode toward death", Choi says.

The destiny of the histrion is present "in the hands of heaven", says a resigned Jung. "Perhaps each I tin bash is enactment beside it and pray."

For weeks, astir 20 residents regularly gathered successful beforehand of the histrion to commune for its recovery. Some recited Whanki's essays, portion a section shaman performed a "healing ritual".

Notes of good wishes fluttered against the trunk arsenic euphony rang out, and the radical joined hands and swayed successful unison for an "elm dance", which immoderate quality lovers and activists judge helps trees heal.

"If idiosyncratic had genuinely understood this histrion was profoundly loved, they astir apt would not person made the determination to inject herbicide," says Kim Min-joo, who has lived successful Buam-dong for much than a decade.

It precocious occurred to Jung that each the days that she spent scrambling to prevention the ginkgo were the astir progressive she had been since she fell sick past winter.

She had struggled to locomotion overmuch and would often observe the histrion from home. On amended days, she strolled up to it, adjacent hugging its jagged trunk and inhaling the earthy scent to assistance her spirits.

"I felt truthful depressed and hopeless but those feelings disappeared. I entered a tree-like state."

She inactive can't locomotion precise much, she adds, but "the histrion helped bring maine backmost retired into beingness again. Ironically, it was due to the fact that the histrion became sick."

"Although it has been heartbreaking, determination were besides incredibly moving moments," Jung says, connected reflection. "The neighbourhood came together, cared for 1 another, looked aft each other."

As Seoul transforms into assorted shades of yellowish with the accomplishment of autumn, the leaves connected Buam-dong's once-prized ginkgo are a crispy brown.

The neighbourhood is inactive hoping for a miracle.

Because they cannot ideate an autumn successful which they don't intermission to respect the ginkgo astatine its finest, swathed successful a feathery overgarment of gold.