Giant hand sculpture in Incheon, South Korea, draws complaints for looking ‘offensive’
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The sculpture, modelled after the sign language gesture for “I love you”, has been taken as an insult by some.
PHOTO: THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
- A giant hand sculpture in Incheon, South Korea, meant to represent the American Sign Language sign for "I love you," has drawn complaints for resembling offensive gestures.
- Residents say the finger positions resemble insults linked to far-right online group Ilbe, causing controversy and prompting authorities to cover the sculpture and plan explanatory signage.
- The local deaf community supports the sculpture, stating it can promote sign language awareness and cross-cultural communication among global visitors to Incheon.
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SEOUL – A sculpture depicting sign language along the waterfront in Incheon’s Songdo International City in South Korea has drawn mounting complaints, with some residents saying its finger positions evoke offensive gestures, news reports said on Sept 21.
Standing four to five metres tall and about three metres wide, the sculpture takes the form of a hand with the middle and ring fingers folded down and the other fingers extended.
The Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority (IFEZ) installed the sculpture in early September along the waterfront at Long Beach Park in Landmark City, on the northern end of Songdo, as a photo spot for visitors.
Modelled after the American Sign Language gesture for “I love you”, the sculpture is made of glass fibre-reinforced concrete, a composite material combining cement and concrete with glass fibres. It cost about 200 million won (S$183,394) to produce, officials said.
But what was intended as a gesture of love has instead been taken by some residents as an insult.
“From a distance, it looks like someone giving the middle finger, while from the side, it resembles an offensive hand gesture associated with Ilbe. If they wanted to use sign language, they should have chosen a gesture that was less likely to cause controversy,” a Songdo resident surnamed Cho wrote on a Naver blog.
Ilbe is a far-right online community known for misogynistic and other hateful content. Its members have used a hand gesture with the thumb and index finger spread into an L-like shape and the other three fingers folded or bent, resembling the community’s logo, to express hostility toward particular groups.
“The sign language theme itself is fine, but it has nothing to do with Incheon, so I’m not sure what it is supposed to mean to tourists,” another user wrote on Threads.
As complaints mounted, authorities covered the sculpture with a tarp and began work on improvements.
As complaints mounted, authorities covered the sculpture with a tarp and began work on improvements.
PHOTO: TAEGJIN.JUNG/THREADS
“We plan to better explain to residents that the sculpture is intended to convey a message of love, including by installing an information plaque,” an IFEZ official said.
The controversy, however, has prompted a different response from the local deaf community, which has pointed out that the sculpture could help promote sign language and disability awareness.
“While the sculpture has caused some misunderstanding and concern, its meaning should be better explained rather than simply removing it,” the Yeonsu-gu branch of the Incheon Association of the Deaf said in a statement.
“With visitors from around the world coming to Incheon, the ‘I love you’ sign could help promote disability awareness and cross-cultural communication.” THE KOREA HERALD/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK