"Homage to the penis: Park full of phallus sculptures attracts Olympic fans"

Published time: 17 Feb, 2018 03:20 Edited time: 17 Feb, 2018 08:55

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Tourists look at statues in South Korea's Haeshindang Park © Eric Gaillard / Reuters

Tourists visiting South Korea for the Winter Olympics are getting excited about more than the athletes’ performances thanks to a nearby park full of giant penises.

Mostly of the wooden variety - dozens of penis-shaped sculptures stand erect in Haesindang Park in Sinnam. The unusual obscure attraction has seen a huge spike in visitors fascinated by the variety of phallic shapes, including penis-shaped benches, penis totem poles and even a penis shaped cannon – that tourists have been warned not to mount.



The attraction is dedicated to a virgin who, according to local legend, died in a storm as her boyfriend collected seaweed from a rock in a nearby cove.

According to one version of the tale, the village was unable to catch fish after her death until one day a fisherman urinated into the sea, apparently appeasing her spirit. In order to keep her spirit satisfied fishermen erected a shrine of a phallus on the cliffs of the village.

The extraordinary park contains dozens of wooden and stone carved penises, and it is considered a monument of fertility.

© Eric Gaillard / Reuters

South Korea has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world. This, coupled with an aging population, has led to the country being described as a demographic time bomb
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The birth rate in 2016 stood at 1.17, according to the latest government data, and it is expected to have declined even further in 2017.

https://www.rt.com/news/419072-penis-park-korea-olympics/