The artwork "Mothers of the Sea" is on display at Haeundae Beach in Busan, left, contrasted with the damaged piece on the right. [NEWS1/SCREEN CAPTURE]
A sand sculpture on display at the Haeundae Sand Festival in Busan was removed after a visitor in his seventies damaged it with a crutch, authorities said Friday.
According to Haeundae District Office and police, a 112 emergency call was received at around 4:04 p.m. Thursday reporting that a man was damaging a festival artwork on the beach.
Officers who responded found that the man had partially destroyed one of the sculptures using a crutch he was carrying.
The damaged work, titled "Mothers of the Sea," is a
haenyeo
— female diver — sculpture created by a Russian artist and was one of 17 pieces on display at the festival.
The man is reported to have crossed a perimeter barrier set up to protect the works before striking the sculpture's face.
Police took the man in for questioning on suspicion of property destruction. After determining he posed no flight risk, they released him into the care of his family. Authorities said they would investigate his motive.
Festival organizers at Haeundae District Office concluded the sculpture could not be repaired and completed its removal at around 1 a.m. Friday. A district official said a banner highlighting civic awareness and showing what the original work looked like would be placed at the site, where the sand base remains.
The rest of the festival will continue as scheduled through June 14.
The Busan Sand Festival was launched in 2005 to mark the APEC summit held in the city that year. Incidents of artwork vandalism have also occurred at the festival in 2015, 2019 and 2022.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
댓글
0