Giant Penises Appease Legendary Virgin
Wednesday March 3 7:59 AM ET
dailynews.yahoo.com
By Yun Suk-bong
SAMCHOK, South Korea (Reuters) - Giant penises carved from logs were erected on the banks of a stream in this east coast
town in South Korea Wednesday in a celebration of an ancient fisherman's ritual.
Using chainsaws, axes, sandpaper and carving tools, some 20 teams carved 12-foot penises out of pine-tree logs in the
annual Male Root Carving Competition.
There's nothing impressionistic or abstract about these works of art -- the sculpting style emphasizes realism, giving new
meaning to the concept of organic art.
''I've fought hard to join this contest because (the organizers) weren't going to allow women to participate,'' said Lee
Hye-jin, a 22-year-old senior in the carving and modeling department of Dongkuk University.
''It's big fun for me. I'll do my best. I'm going to participate in future contests, too,'' said Lee, one of only two women in the
contest.
Samchok Mayor Kim Il-dong says this is only the second year the contest has been opened to any artist wishing to participate
and wants to thrust the event into the international spotlight.
''I want to enlarge this event further next year to make it an international event,'' Kim told Reuters. ''Next year, I'd also like to
invite foreign sculptors and expand it into carving on rocks.''
Legend has it that the ritual was conceived after the death of a young virgin, who drowned at sea some 400 years ago, while
waiting for her lover to return from a fishing trip off Samchok, about 186 miles east of Seoul.
Several sea accidents and a succession of poor catches later, the village men carved a ''male root,'' hung it on a tree and
conducted a ceremony to appease the disappointed spirit of the dead virgin.
The ritual has been conducted every year since on the first full moon of the Asian Lunar New Year. Traditionally, the carved
penises are dumped into the sea afterward to soothe the spirits of all women who have drowned.
Koh Myung-kyu, 58, said he has been carving penises at the festival for the last 30 years. ''I've been doing this to revive our
traditional art,'' said Koh, whose son Sung-shik, 33, is helping him with the sculpture.
The contest is divided into professional and amateur categories. The professionals carve their male roots on the 4-yard logs
with a 15-20-inch diameter. Amateurs sculpt theirs on a piece of wood some 9.8 inches long and 2.7-4 inches in diameter.
Top prize in the professional category is $813.
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