South Korea's erotic theme park attempts to break stigma around sex
- In South Korea's pristine Jeju Island, a theme park called Love Land serves as a beginner's course in sex education for couples.
- In the early 2000s, couples who had arranged marriages were shipped off to this island on their honeymoon,
- There are many taboos and stigmas surrounding sex in South Korea and this theme park, in many ways, is an ice breaker for shy couples.
FollowA walk through Love Land induces shock on the mind, body and soul. This theme park in South Korea's Jeju Island is filled with sculptures frozen in various sexual positions. It exposes what's displayed between the walls of a bedroom: there are phallus statues, a stone labia and several structures depicting the sexual acts that take place between a man and a woman, and animals.
This erotic theme park has been around since 2004. It came to life when a bunch of students from Seoul's Hongik University created sculptures depicting love and eroticism. Love Land, which is the size of two soccer fields, takes up an hour of a person's time. And in these 60 minutes, visitors embark upon some creations of art that are so transparent and obvious, it forces the question: What are South Koreans' attitude towards sex?
To be honest, the culture of sex is not as open as this theme park makes one believe, In South Korea, there are several stigmas and taboos surrounding sex and especially pre-marital sex. South Koreans usually live with their parents until they get married and chances of them getting physically intimate with their partner are slim. Even though this culture is slowly changing, school kids are still given a sex education without teachers fully explaining the act.
A recent article in Korea Expose details that children are given handbooks and exercises about parenthood, relationship with the opposite sex and how to avoid illegal sexual acts. However, there's no information about the act itself. In this context, the presence of a theme park like Love Land makes sense.
The park's sculptures aren't merely creations of art; they serves as a more direct handbook on physical intimacy, a subject that's rarely discussed in South Korean households. That the park is located in Jeju Island also becomes important in this context.
In the early 60s, newly wedded couples were packed off to Jeju Island for their honeymoon since there was a travel ban in light of the Korean War. This island, more popularly known as Honeymooners' Isle, was preferred for its warm climate, pristine beaches and volcanic mountains. And in the midst of this natural beauty, couples also found way to learn more and understand about sexual intimacy, desire and passion.
Today, South Koreans do not have a travel ban and are more exposed to western culture. However, Love Land still attracts couples in their 20s and 30s who giggle as they walk past a sexually suggestive sculpture.
