Son Deureo!
Joined: 30 Apr 2003
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 Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2005 10:27 pm Post subject: |
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It took forever to load, but I found it. Here it is for all other curiosity seekers. It sounds interesting. I live in Shinchon, so I'll probably check it out soon!
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Korea: Museum explores sexual side of art
By Niels Footman
September 28, 2005
A replica of Michelangelo's statue of David stands in front of the Erotic Art Museum in Sinchon, downtown Seoul
Question: How would you describe Korean attitudes toward sex? How about uninhibited, celebratory or daring? Probably not, but all can be applied to a new museum of erotica in the Sinchon district of central Seoul.
Nestled behind the Hyundai Department Store next to Sinchon subway station, the Erotic Art Museum would be easy to miss save for a shiny golden replica of Michelangelo's David outside that evokes both the elegance of some exhibits and the tawdriness of others.
The museum's gregarious director, Won Myung-ku, did not stumble onto this calling by chance. A former worker in the tourist industry, he was blessed with the opportunity to do extensive traveling, during which time he came across and collected traditional craftworks dealing with sex from as far as Malaysia, Thailand and Africa. These experiences brought home to him how few such artifacts he had seen from his homeland.
"A culture of sex has been lacking in this country," he said, "and I want to contribute to increasing the level of sex education among Koreans.''
The museum is clearly a labor of love, and Won's enthusiasm for the topic was palpable as he led our group around the exhibits last Saturday, effortlessly reeling off anecdotes about the evolution of sexual practice and attitudes throughout Asian and world history.
The museum is clearly a labor of love, and Won's enthusiasm for the topic was palpable as he led our group around the exhibits last Saturday, effortlessly reeling off anecdotes about the evolution of sexual practice and attitudes throughout Asian and world history.
The museum is divided into four themes: "saeng," "no," "pyong," and "sa," which translate as birth, ageing, disease, and death respectively. Right from the off, the visitor is confronted by the mixture of the quaint and the explicit that characterizes the exhibits. In the birth section, for instance, Mr. Won showed us a "kumjul," a straw rope adorned with charcoal, pine needles, and, if a boy was desired, "kochu'' (red cayenne peppers), that was hung outside the houses of families expecting children. (It shouldn't require too much imagination to work out why the peppers symbolize males in Korea.) But right next to this was a rather jarring set of close-up shots of babies emerging from their mothers feet-first and head-first.
Although many of the exhibits hail from overseas, a particular strength of the museum is that it shines light onto the sexual proclivities of Koreans themselves from the relatively freewheeling days of the Buddhist Koryo Kingdom (918-1392), through the puritanical and prudish Choson Kingdom (1392-1910).
Under Korea's obligations as a vassal of China, sons of Koryo monarchs were required to live in China for a time, during which they would both find a wife, and learn of the more liberal and sophisticated sexual mores of the Chinese court. By contrast, as Choson kings set about applying a rigorous form of Confucianism to Korea, beliefs about sex, especially as far as women were concerned, became suffocatingly straight-laced.
As with many a stridently conservative society, however, hypocrisy and quirky sexual behavior flourished. Sex toys used by women of the "yangban,'' or Korean aristocracy, are on show at the museum, along with coins engraved with lewd pictures that were redeemed at contemporary equivalents of brothels by children as young as 12, who, having been forced to marry young in order to escape the clutches of Chinese suitors, had to learn about sex in a hurry.
Won believes that Choson sexual attitudes retain an unhealthy influence on modern Korean society. With an often disarming candor, he expounded on the dangers of repressing sexuality, saying that to sully the pleasure humans naturally derive from sex is to cultivate the practice of deviant, even dangerous, sexual acts. Of course, one man's deviant behavior is another man's night at home with a video, but Mr. Won cited the example of genital piercings, using some large pictures to support his claim.
Elsewhere, there is a wide array of phalluses, used for everything from preventing disease to promoting fertility to fighting infidelity. Apparently, in Choson times it was believed that if women in the village were committing adultery, it was a sure-fire sign of too much "umgi,'' the feminine form of "ki,'' or the "life-force'' which is central to much Eastern philosophy and medicine. The placement of a large wooden phallus in the village was considered the best way to deal with this problem.
Among the wide selection of foreign artifacts, Won is especially fond of the Indian pieces, describing the country's culture as by far the most sexually sophisticated among traditional societies.
The modern collection comprises sex toys (some of which Won gamely demonstrated how to use), sex manuals, and a number of eye-opening, jaw-dropping, or downright stomach-churning pictures. For this reason, it is perhaps best not to bring young children along, although they are admitted in the company of adults.
Sadly, none of the exhibit descriptions have English translations yet, but should this area be of interest to you _ and let's face it, that covers pretty much everyone _ the Erotic Art Museum is a thoroughly enjoyable way to while away a couple of hours in the Sinchon area. |
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