Dol Hareubang Stone Statues

These stone statues, also known as usokmok, musokmok or beoksumeori, were originally erected at the gates of the walled towns of Jeju-mok, Jeongui-hyeon and Daejeong-hyeon. Today they are scattered across sites including the Jeju Folk and Natural History Museum, Jeju National University, Jeju City Hall, Jeju International Airport, Samseonghyeol and Gwandeokjeong Pavilion, with 21 statues within Jeju City, 12 in Seongeup and 12 across the Inseong, Anseong and Boseong areas of Daejeong, making 45 in total. The statues generally take the form of a figure wearing a conical hat, with large bulging eyes, a prominent bulbous nose, tightly closed lips, and both hands placed solemnly on the stomach. Their average height is 187 cm in Jeju, 141 cm in Seongeup and 134 cm in Daejeong, and they are thought to have been made around 1754, the thirtieth year of King Yeongjo. Set up in front of the town gates, the statues are presumed to have served as guardian deities, objects of shamanistic and religious ritual, and markers of a boundary, a function similar to that of the jangseung guardian posts found on the mainland. Today Dol Hareubang are widely known both in Korea and abroad as symbols representing Jeju Island, and they are valued folklore artefacts admired by people around the world. The name "Dol Hareubang" is a relatively recent coinage; the original names were "usokmok", "musokmok" and "beoksumeori".

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Seogwipo, Jeju

Designation

Provincial Folklore Heritage · 시도민속문화유산