<< Click here for the photos (NSFW) >>
Our experience in Korea was pretty “proper” for the first few days. Seoul is a great city to wander around (especially when it’s warmer). The people were friendly enough but they were somewhat formal and polite (not to mention fashionable). Going to the DMZ added a bit more of that “formal” feeling. The rules, ID checks, and propaganda were a lot. After some time there, we visited Jeju Island – a spot frequently shown in the K-dramas that “someone” watches.
While browsing for things to do, we came across Love Land and asked our driver to bring us there for a stop.
This was certainly a side of Korea that I didn’t expect to see. Although there has been some controversy about how it depicts sex, the wikipedia page says:
Loveland is an outdoor sculpture park which opened in 2004 in Jeju Province, South Korea. The park is themed around sex. It plays sex education films and has 140 sculptures of humans in various sex positions. It also has other elements such as large phallus statues, stone labia, and hands-on exhibits such as a “masturbation-cycle”. The park’s website describes the location as “a place where love oriented art and eroticism meet”.
We didn’t see some of what’s described in there, but there were plenty of sculptures to see. It’s worth noting that many of these were HUGE. Nearly all of them were 10ft or bigger.
Two thoughts in parting:
- Pleasant surprises – I appreciate a culture and a people that can pull off an exhibit like this. I can’t say I saw it coming based on the first week in Korea and my previous visits.
- Ironic choice – When I went through to pick the photos and videos I wanted to include in the gallery. I had chosen exactly 69 of them. I’m just going to leave that there and give a nod to “the universe”. I see what you did right there.
Enjoy.
