Bokgeo Village, Where the Tiger Left His Mark
By Shim Hyun-chul
Staff Reporter
Judging from its entrance, there's something uncanny about Bokgeo Village. Everything ― from its houses and walls to its gates, roofs and lampposts ― is adorned with drawings and sculptures. Like a village from a magical folk tale, murals whisper stories to passersby.
In particular, depictions of tigers are everywhere.
A tiger figurine made with scraps of farming tools sits on the roof of a house and a nearby wall is adorned with an image of a tiger smoking a pipe.
Bokgeo Maul (or Bokgeo Village in English) in Geumgwang-myeon, Anseong, Gyeonggi Province was built next to a hill that is shaped like a prostrate tiger. Local legends say tigers used to frequent the village.
With a population of just over 300, Bokgeo Maul is a typical agricultural village ― except for the countless images of tigers.
The town, populated mostly by senior citizens, is quiet. But as part of a state-funded project that began two years ago, local artists, students and villagers started decorating it under the theme ``The Village Where the Tiger Used to Live.''
Unlike most public art enterprise, the Bokgeo Maul project has invited local residents to take participate in the integration of art into everyday life, and the village was turned into ``an art town.''
``Drawings by local grandfathers and grandmothers are very simple and beautiful. At first, some residents opposed the project, but now everyone seems to love the idea, and one elderly gentleman even asked me to appraise his work,'' said Choi Ye-moon, director of Sonamu Gallery in the village.
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