Mysti Observations: Alternative Korean Culture: Haesindang Park, Samcheok-si, South Korea

Warning! The pictures in this blog post may not be suitable for younger audiences or for those that lack a crude and childish sense of humor.

Ok, so we had to do it. We HAD to go see this Penis Park that is famous in South Korea. For a country that is quite modest and conservative when it comes to explicit sex the idea that this park exists here at first seems a bit contradictory, but hey most countries cultures contain a plethora of contradictions so why not have fun with one. Besides, while we were having our fun, we did come across a few Korean families with kids in tow out enjoying the sunshine and relatively warm-ish winter day.

A little background on the park. The park isn't simply a crude haven for phallic fun! The folk story behind the park is actually quite interesting. The park is located in an area of Korea that relies heavily on fishing as it's main revenue. Within the park is a sort of cheesy but interesting fishing museum which illustrates the importance fishing has had to the economy of the area. That said... the legend of Aebawi and Haesindang taken directly from the Official Site of Korean Tourism (http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=626428) – "There once lived a young maid who was engaged. One day, the maid took her husband’s boat out to sea to harvest seaweed. Her husband dropped her off at a rock that was at a distance from the beach. After promising to pick her up later, he returned to the beach to do his work. Later, the weather changed, and brought with it strong winds and pummeling waves. The man couldn’t rescue his wife and she ultimately drowned. Since then, the village people caught no fish and some said that it was because of the dead maid. To soothe the spirit of the dead maid, the village people made several wooden carvings and held religious ceremonies on her behalf. After a while, the fish slowly returned and the villagers were able to live comfortably again. The place where the maid died was named Aebawi Rock and the building where the religious ceremony is held twice a year was named Haesindang. The ceremony is still honored today as a traditional folk event."

The majority of the sculptures are really beautiful and others are quite humorous. While we had fun letting our crude childish antics run amok, we were also in awe by the beauty of the sea that this park overlooks. The views from the park are well worth the 3,000₩. To get to the park check out the website above for most recent information. It takes some effort to get there especially from Ulsan which is where I am but it is well worth the trip. I might even have to return in spring when park is in bloom (yep that was meant to sound a little dirty)!