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To: Henry Volquardsen who wrote (8844)	3/3/1999 3:57:00 PM
From: SIer formerly known as Joe B.	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 62549

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.