Korean-designed Uruguay statue reproduced in Yanggu

A Korean sculptor who made “The Greeting Man” in Montevideo, Uruguay has reproduced the art work in a village located in Yanggu, Gangwon Province.

Yoo Young-ho, 48, will unveil a copy of the six-meter sculpture in front of the Yanggu Unification Hall near the Demilitarized Zone on Saturday, the office of Haeanmyeon in Yanggu said.

He installed “The Greeting Man” on Oct. 25, 2012 in the capital of Urugugay. He donated it to the Latin American country as part of his project to link cultures and peoples by reproducing art work across the world.

The sculpture of a naked blue man that bows to pedestrians walking along the seaside highway known as Rambla, has become a tourist attraction in Uruguay.

According to news reports, Yoo chose Uruguay as an expression of his intention to start the project at the farthest place from Korea. Then he picked Yanggu as the site of “The Greeting Man” No. 2 because he wanted to make an axis of peace and reconciliation linking Uruguay to its diametrically opposite country, Korea.

He is said to have sought to set up the sculpture within the DMZ but settled for the closest place to the DMZ in Yanggu as he failed to get approval from the UN Command.

The location is well known as one of the most bitter battle sites during the Korean War. It is about 1 kilometer away from the DMZ. During the conflict, U.S. war correspondents nicknamed Haeanmyeon as Punch Bowl because of its appearance.

By Chun Sung-woo (swchun@heraldcorp.com)