Insa-dong traditional-culture shopping neighborhood South of Seoul's Bugak-san Part of the Bukhan-san Sub-range |
The much-photographed Stone Jangseung spirit-guardian statues that stood at the northern entrance of Insa-dong since its first refurbishment in 1988 in advance of the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympic Games -- they were repeatedly attacked by Korean Christians (painting red crosses on them, or etc), and then finally removed in early 2015, and reportedly destroyed. |
original position, 1988-2001 |
They were modeled after three-century-old treasured jangseung in far-southern Korea. The male one is a copy of the male one at the entrance of Naju City's Deokyong-san Bulhoe-sa Temple, and the female one is a copy of that at Jiri-san Ssanggye-sa in Hadong County. |
new position, next to the Information Kiosk, from 2002 (when Korea hosted the World Cup Finals) until 2015. |