Tall grandfather or giant penis?

A student back in Seoul gave me a key chain from Jeju Island – with Jeju’s symbol, Dol hareubang (돌 하르방). I thought this little man looked cute, and kinda like a mushroom.

But when I visited Jeju for the first time, I was stunned by the sight of those giant stone Dol Hareubang; yes, they look like big phallic shaped rocks!

Literally translated, Dol Hareubang means “stone grandfather”. There are many (oh so many!) theories as to how it became Jeju’s main icon, but the most credible one is that it was spread with shamanic mushroom culture.

They are believed to provide people with both protection and fertility. In the past, the statues were placed outside of gates for protection against demons traveling between realities. They are made of the volcanic stone coming from Halla mountain (the big inactive volcano in the center of the island).

Dol Hareubangs are all over the island, and replicas of various sizes and shapes can be bought everywhere - even on top of Halla mountain! The small ones are sometimes given to women with fertility problems.

Whatever its meaning is, Korean culture keeps surprising me. You’ve seen nothing until you see Jeju’s big stone penes, with their grinning expressions and bulging eyes without pupils, a long, broad nose, and slight smile and their hands rest on their “bellies”…

Chunks of life

Halloween was last week and I had totally forgotten about it. Fortunately Mr. Lee gave me a bag full of crap, I put up a powerpoint with witches and ghosts, and it turned out to be quite fun!







Koreans don't celebrate Halloween like we do, but it's growing on them. And they know that this holiday means "candy! candy! candy!" So I gave them oranges :)

The next week-end I went to Dongmun market - a huge place where they sell everything, from cheap clothes to weird fish and pig heads.







The weather here is still warm (around 20 celcius) and, as you may know, it's now the oranges season in Jeju. They are all over the place... tasty and cheap.



On Sunday we went to Samsunghyeol- a freakish place near my place. It's like an outdoor museum with three giant holes in the ground. Koreans believe that three Gods emerged from those holes many many years ago, and they built Jeju. Each year a ceremony takes place at Samsunghyeol to give thanks to those Gods.



We also visited one of Jeju island's number one spot: Yongduam! It's a big rock shaped like a dragon's head and... you really have to want to see it because it's not that obvious! According to the legend, a dragon envoy of the Dragon King was sent to Mt. Halla to pick a herb which would give eternal youth. But a mountain god shut into the sea, and only the head protruded above the sea. And it became Yongduam.



As you can see, smart Korean women took over the area around the rock in order to do business. They mainly sell sashimi (raw fish).





On an unrelated topic, I'm finally moving out of my moldy apartment! Will post pictures soon, especially for those of you thinking about visiting. Looking forward to this week-end cauz i'll be hiking halla mountain and teaching my dentist some French (he asked me!)

I'm also about to book my flight for Bali en February!! Bali baby! :)

Oh and here's the building where I work out: can you see the door?!?! Looks suicidal...

More of my pics: http://www.bubbleshare.com/album/261498