Vietnam’s Hue City displays sculpture gifted by South Korea
The statue called ‘Greeting Man’ was presented by Namyangju governor Cho Kwang Han in 2019 in honor of the friendship and cooperation established between the two cities but it only arrived in Hue recently. ‘Greeting Man’ is an aluminum statue of a blue, naked man bowing in a typically Asian greeting gesture. A naked figure represents no prejudice, and blue means no racial discrimination, while the statue as a whole embodies the values of meeting, honoring, admiring, reconciling, and fostering peace. Compared to the original design by 52-year-old South Korean sculptor Yoo Young-ho, the sculpture was shortened from six meters tall to two meters to meet the Hue side’s request of protecting the cityscape from a too tall object. After prolonged discussions, administrators in Hue decided to install the statue in 3-2 Park on the south bank of the city’s iconic Huong (Perfume) River, where several buildings constructed with South Korean support are located. Vietnam is not...