''Dol hareubangs'', also called ''tol harubangs'', ''hareubangs'', or ''harubangs'', are large rock statues found on Jeju Island off the southern tip of

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. They are considered to be gods offering both protection and fertility and were placed outside of gates for protection against

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...

s travelling between realities.

Description

Dol hareubangs are carved from porous

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

(

volcanic rock Volcanic rock (often shortened to volcanics in scientific contexts) is a rock formed from lava erupted from a volcano. In other words, it differs from other igneous rock by being of volcanic origin. Like all rock types, the concept of volcanic r ...

) and can be up to three metres high. The statues' faces feature grinning expressions, bulging eyes without pupils, a long, broad nose, and slight smile, and their hands rest on their bellies, one slightly above the other. In sets of two, one has a higher left hand, and the other a higher right hand. The hat is commonly described as

phallic A phallus is a penis (especially when erect), an object that resembles a penis, or a mimetic image of an erect penis. In art history a figure with an erect penis is described as ithyphallic. Any object that symbolically—or, more precisely ...

mushroom A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is t ...

-like.

Etymology

The name ''dol hareubang'' derives from the Korean word for "stone" (''dol'' 돌), plus the

Jeju dialect Jeju (Jeju: , ; ko, 제주어, or , ), often called Jejueo or Jejuan in English-language scholarship, is a Koreanic language traditionally spoken on Jeju Island, South Korea. While often classified as a divergent Jeju dialect ( ko, 제주방� ...

word ''hareubang'' (하르방), meaning "grandfather" or "senior" (''harabeoji'' ��아버지in Standard Korean), and was coined in the mid-20th century. Other earlier names for the statues include ''beoksumeori'', ''museongmok'', and ''useongmok''. ''Beoksumeori'', meaning

shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...

head, is used in the former area of Jeongui ''

Hyeon Korea's provinces ('' Do''; hangul: 도; hanja: ) have been the primary administrative division of Korea since the mid Goryeo dynasty in the early 11th century, and were preceded by provincial-level divisions (''Ju'' and ''Mok'') dating back to U ...

'' (county), ''museongmok'' in Daejeong Hyeon and Jeongui Hyeon, and ''useongmok'' only in Jeju Hyeon. Historically, the ''

Tamna Tamna, or Tamna-guk, was a state based on Jeju Island from ancient times until it was absorbed by the Korean Joseon dynasty in 1404, following a long period of being a tributary state or autonomous administrative region of various Korean kingd ...

Chronicles'' called them ''ongjungseok'' (옹중석/翁仲石), but this usage is unknown today.

History

There are three main theories as to the origin of ''dol hareubangs'': either that they were introduced by visitors from the sea, or that they are a counterpart to the ''

jangseung A ''jangseung'' or village guardian is a Korean totem pole usually made of wood. Jangseungs were traditionally placed at the edges of villages to mark village boundaries and frighten away demons. They were also worshipped as village tutelary deit ...

s'' (totem poles) of mainland Korea. ''Jangseungs'' are also called ''beoksu'' in southern Korea, and this similarity with the name ''beoksumeori'' lends credence to the second theory. According to the ''Tamnaji'' a work dealing with the geography of Jejudo, the first dolhareubang was manufactured in 1754. ''Dol hareubangs'' produced from 1763 to 1765 once stood outside the eastern, western, and southern gates of the

Jeju City Jeju City ( ko, 제주시, Jeju-si; ) is the capital of the Jeju Province in South Korea and the largest city on Jeju Island. The city is served by Jeju International Airport ( IATA code CJU). Located on an island off the Korean Peninsula, Jeju ...

fortress as guardian deities.

''Dol hareubangs'' today

''Dol hareubangs'' have become the symbol of Jeju Island, and replicas of various sizes are sold as tourist souvenirs. The statues are sometimes sold as sources of fertility, and small replicas are sometimes given to women with fertility problems. The origin of this may have more to do with Jeju Do's present-day status as a "honeymoon island" than tradition.

References

External links