Haesindang Park

Haesindang Park (해신당 공원), also called Penis Park, is a park located on the east coast of South Korea, in a small town called Sinnam, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of Samcheok in Gangwon Province. The park is noted for its number of erect phallic statues. The collection created by Korean artists is on display in the form of "hanging arrangements to three meter tall trunks of wood", for joy, spirituality and sexuality. A small Folk Museum titled "Village Folk Museum" has exhibits of art objects on the "sexual iconography" over ages in different cultures, shamanic rituals and also the history of the Korean fishing community.

A tragic legend known as the "Legend of Auebawi and Haesindang" shrouds the statues of the park. According to the legend, a woman was once left by her man on a rock in the sea while he worked, the man was later unable to retrieve her because of a storm, and the woman drowned. After that, the village people were not able to catch fish. Some said that it was because of the dead woman. To soothe her spirit, the village people made several wooden carvings and held religious ceremonies on her behalf. After a while, the fish slowly returned and the villagers were able to live comfortably again. The place where the woman died was named Aebawi Rock and the building where the religious ceremony is held twice a year was named Haesindang. The ceremony is still honored today as a traditional folk event.

The location where the virgin girl died is called the Aebawi Rock and a biannual religious ceremony, a traditional folk event, also known as Haesindang, is conducted at a small building here. The seaward end of the park has a small shrine dedicated to the spirit of the virgin girl, and the park has a bronze statue about the legend. There are around 50 phallic statues exhibited in various sizes and styles; some have faces on them and are more animated in appearance and more colorful, but others are exact depictions of the human penis. Near the cliff top there is a zodiac of penis sculptures in a ring in close proximity. Some of the sculptures are also in the form of park benches or drums. These were created for an exhibition held at Samcheok during the former Penis Culture Festival. Middle-aged men and women throng the museum. At the park entrance there are exhibits of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. There is a red lighthouse outside the museum with similar depictions. The park also houses Korea's largest aquarium theater and an arboretum.