Greetings from Korea to all over the world… Youngho Yoo, the author of’Greeting Man’

When the fact that a giant sculpture of an unknown artist will be erected on the other side of the globe in 2012 in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, South America, a lot of controversy arose in the region.

There was a backlash as to why the work of an artist from another country was built in a seaside park where it was very conspicuous, and after it was known that the work was donated rather than paid for money, it was pointed out that the work was naked.

The Korean sculpture’Greeting Man’ (greeting man), which was set up amid controversy, has now become a local specialty that appears in Montevideo travel brochures.

On the 17th (local time), artist Yoo Young-ho (56), who installed the 7th overseas greeting man on’Korea Road’ in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, recalled the process of installing Montevideo No. 1 Greeting Man and said, “At first, there was a considerable negative reaction to strangers.” I recalled.

At that time, El Pais in Uruguay even conducted a public opinion poll over the installation of the statue, and it was said that 80% of the reactions were negative. However, it did not take long for public opinion to reverse. The 6m tall statue that appeared in controversy quickly captured people with its strangeness and uniqueness. Unintentionally, noise marketing had a great effect.

“There is also a Confucius statue presented by the Chinese government in Montevideo, but it is not known very much. Greeting Man became famous from the time it was installed because it was socially noisy, and after the controversy passed, many people liked it. Seeing the polite greetings, I learned the warmth of Koreans. I heard a lot of reactions.”

Artist Yoo, who graduated from the Department of Sculpture at Seoul National University and studied in Germany, came to conceive of the Global Greeting Man Project when he heard that a famous Dutch artist he met at an exhibition emphasized the importance of greetings while watching his work.

“Greetings are the beginning of all relationships between individuals as well as nations, races, and religions, and they contain the meaning of being open and respectful to each other. I wanted to convey the meaning of Korean-style greetings that humble myself.”

The project started in Uruguay, exactly on the other side of the globe in Korea, continued around the world, centering on Central and South America.

It was mainly installed in places that have important significance in human history, such as Panama City in Panama where the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean meet, and Khayambe in Ecuador, where the equator passes.

Merida, where the Greeting Man was installed this time, was the place where 1,000 first-generation Korean immigrants from Mexico came in 1905, and it was the place where Korea and Mexico met 116 years ago.

In Korea, you can see Greeting Man in Yanggu, Yeoncheon, and Jeju, and it will be installed in Indonesia and Gabon, Africa within this year.

Another work,’Mirror Man’ by Yoo, also featured in the movie’Avengers 2′, was also installed in Quito, Ecuador and Bursa, Turkey.

Until now, in most cases, the costs of producing and transporting works have been covered by their own expense.

“A lot of people’s misconceptions while watching the Greeting Man Project are’I must have made a lot of money’. When I learn that I’m not doing it for money, they say,’Why are you doing that crazy thing?’ If you did it with someone’s help, it will continue until now. It may have been more difficult to do. I hope that the current misunderstandings will turn into sufficient understanding in the future.”

Artist Yoo is also contemplating the installation of Greeting Man in Argentina’s terrestrial Ushuaia, Spain’s Tarifa and Tunisia Tangier facing each other across the Strait of Gibraltar. However, the place where I want to establish a greeting man most than any other place is near North Korea.

He said, “I wanted to put up a work that I would face to face in the place where the Greetings Man in Yeoncheon is looking, so I made a number of proposals through various channels,” he said.

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