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A relief sculpture depicting scenes from a market day in a rural town in 1960s Korea has been fully restored. It’s a fascinating glimpse at the fast developing country’s recent past. Take a look.

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A black relief sculpture occupies a corner of a middle school campus. Scenes of a market day in a rural town unfold endlessly with every step. The relief is titled “Women on a Market Day.” It was sculpted by the late Youn Byoung-suk.

[Soundbite] Lee Gyu-seok(Curator, Gyeongnam Art Museum) : “Relief works typically describe a monumental theme. It’s unusual to see relief sculptures depicting the everyday lives of common people.”

Youn gained international fame through his mosaic works using shells commonly found in any fishing village. This particular artwork was installed at Sungji Girls’ Middle School in Masan in 1969 when Youn was an art teacher there.

[Soundbite] Lee Mi-seon(Principal, Sungji Girls’ Middle School) : “We restored the artwork with the hope of having our students experience this memorable space that all of our graduates remember.”

The artwork survived for 50 years and through renovation work, has been recently restored to its original form. People of all walks of life come alive in the 42 meter relief sculpture.

[Soundbite] Sungji Girls’ Middle School Student : “It can look stiff due to the black color and the stone-like texture, but I felt it was rather heartwarming.”

The engravings of merry scenes at a rural market in Korea’s 1960s continue to interact with the students even after some 5 decades have passed.

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