Dol Hareubang Stone Statues

Jeongui-gol Dol Hareubang, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Folklore Material No. 2-22 (north of the east gate). Location: 965-1 Seongeup-ri, Pyoseon-myeon, Seogwipo, and surrounding sites. The Dol Hareubang found across Jeju Island are a type of jangseung (guardian post, a carved wooden or stone figure traditionally placed to ward off evil and mark boundaries); they were called 'useokmok' or 'museokmok' before coming to be known by the Jeju dialect term 'Dol Hareubang' from the 1970s onward. They originally stood at the entrances to the castle gates of Jeju-mok, Jeongui-hyeon and Daejeong-hyeon, but today are scattered across Jeju National University, city hall, Samseonghyeol, Gwandeokjeong and other sites, with 21 standing within Jeju city, 12 at Seongeup, and 12 more at Inseong, Anseong and Boseong in Daejeong — 45 in all. The statues generally wear a rounded, brimmed hat, and have large bulging eyes, a big bulbous nose, a tightly closed mouth, and both hands placed solemnly on the stomach, one above the other. Their average height is 187 cm in Jeju, 141 cm in Seongeup and 134 cm in Daejeong, and they are thought to have been carved around 1754, the 30th year of King Yeongjo. The Dol Hareubang standing at the east gate of Jeongui-hyeonseong vary in height from 121 to 160 cm. These statues were set up in pairs on either side of the gate, two to a side at the east gate, and were believed to protect the safety and health of local residents as guardian deities with a shamanistic religious meaning, while also precisely marking the boundary of the town. Dimensions of No. 2-22: height 121.5 cm, width 52 cm, depth 32 cm (left hand above, right hand below).

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Seogwipo, Jeju

Designation

Provincial Folklore Heritage · 시도민속문화유산