Bullet Men

Bullet Men (Korean: 총알맨들; RR: Chongal Maendeul; MR: Ch'ongal Maendŭl) is a set of sculptures that were crafted by Korean artist Kim Ji-hyun in 2008.^[1] The sculptures were installed at the Alpensia Convention Center, after it was purchased by the Gangwon Art & Culture Foundation at the Pyeongchang Biennale in 2013, and later received international attention during the 2018 Winter Olympics^[2][3][4] for being within proximity of the event's Main Press Centre.^[5][6]

The sculptures appear to be nude buff men with phallic, bullet-shaped helmets. According to Kim, the Bullet Men are meant to represent the hidden human desires for a beautiful body, wealth, and fame in a patriarchal society.^[7] Helmets were used to represent the fragility of human nature,^[4] especially the fragility of masculinity in a society with multiple genders,^[2] shielding the self-conscious men from external hostility and placing them in a relaxed state that incidentally amplifies their anxiety, rendering them unable to decide whether they should remove the helmet or not.^[1]

When a Tokyo Sports reporter asked volunteers about the sculptures during the 2018 Winter Olympics, they replied, "I don't know" (모르겠어요; Moreugesseoyo; Morŭgessŏyo).^[5] The sculptures would become a hot topic amongst Japanese users, interpreting the reply as its name and rendering it as Morugessoyo (Japanese: モルゲッソヨ), on Twitter and Instagram.^[8][9] In response, Kim appreciated the variety of reactions to the sculptures, while giving strong comments to value humanity over ideologies.^[4]