By Diplomacy Journal Kayla Lee 

The K-folk painting Chocheongdo 草蟲圖 is a genre of Korean folk paintings that traditionally depicts grasses and insects, and is characterized by the lively representation of small creatures to capture the harmony and beauty of nature. 

Damwha explains that it is a modernized version of the Korean folk painting, which can be interpreted as the following interesting stories.

The legend of the lost Hanji (韓紙)

A long time ago, in a village deep in the forests of Korea, there was a special paper called hanji (韓紙). It was said to capture the energy of the grass, bugs, and other small creatures in the forest, and was said to bring peace and happiness to those who looked at it.

One day, however, this precious paper disappeared, causing the villagers great sorrow.

The grasshoppers, the protagonists of Chochungdo, heard the news from the forest. Tiny ants, butterflies, caddisflies, dragonflies, and even pine bugs decided to come together to find the paper. Though each of them had little power, they believed that together they could do it.

The great search for Hanji

The grasshoppers used their abilities to search for clues. Ants burrowed through the ground looking for old tracks, dragonflies took to the skies to see farther afield, and butterflies followed their scents to find flowers and grasses that might provide clues.

 
The grasshoppers' combined efforts soon led them deep into the forest. There was a small wooden door, and through it lay a glowing piece of paper.

The grasshoppers worked together to open the door to take the paper back to the village. At that moment, all the flowers and trees in the forest lit up and the paper began to fly toward the village. 

The grasshoppers followed Hanji back to the village and were overcome with joy, and this event became a legend that will be remembered by the villagers forever.

The hidden message of the Chochungdo

Since then, the villagers have been depicting the grass worms on Chochungdo to convey the meaning that even small creatures have important values and can exert greater power together.

Thus, the K-folk painting Chochungdo came to symbolize the importance of nature and humans living in harmony and helping each other in the forest.

This narrative story created by Damwha conveys the harmony of nature and life, and the precious value of working together to achieve goals. 

This modern interpretation of the story, along with the deep symbolism of the K-folk painting Chochungdo, was created to share the K-folk painting with the world.