Under other circumstances, being surrounded with too many cuddly teddy bears would have been enough to send me gagging and running for the hills. But the presentation of the teddy bears in the Jeju Teddy Bear Museum kept that from happening, thank goodness. Whoever conceptualized this whole thing is a genius!
Picking up from where I left off in the last post, we continue exploring the Teddy Bear Museum. We wrapped up our visit by checking out the Elvis Theater where Elvis (a teddy bear one, of course) held a concert that lasted for about 10 minutes.
I have to hand it over to the people who designed the layout of the Teddy Bear Museum. There won’t be a dull moment because, at every turn, there is something that will catch your eye. Like this scene, for instance. It is called “Traditional Korean Wedding”. The closest I’ve seen this scene is a couple of Korean dramas, by the way.
Countryside living was also portrayed. What caught my eye in the depiction below was the mother tending to her child beside the river bank. In the Philippine setting, there would have a been a palo-palo and some laundry beside her as well.
There was also this large glass alcove depicting a fashion show, with a runway/catwalk in the middle, guests seated in the audience, and teddy bear models walking on the catwalk. Literally, they are walking (or maybe, to be more technical, gliding or rolling?). But that is not all. If you move to the sides of the glass, there is another corner showing what is going on backstage!
This wouldn’t be called an Art Hall for nothing. Teddy bears were also used to come up with renditions or recreations of famous works of art. Remember Rodin’s The Thinker? Well, here’s a teddy bear version. (Although, I won’t be comfortable calling anything this big a “teddy bear”).
But that is not the only Auguste Rodin work that was recreated in the Teddy Bear Museum. Check out his “The Kiss”, a la teddy bear. What do you think of it? Surreal, right?
Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa also had a bear version, too!
No, this is not the Sistine Chapel, and you are not looking at Michelangelo’s famous “The Creation of Adam”. Close, though. Maybe we should call it “The Creation of Teddy”?
In this Museum, you will also find the smallest teddy bears. AREN’T THEY JUST CUTE. Unfortunately, they are encased behind glass, so we can only look, not touch.
A section of the Teddy Bear Museum also held the most expensive teddy bears in the world. I won’t be surprised if the security in this place turns out to be quite tight. Check out the 125 Karat Bear from Steiff in Germany.
Why is it called 125 Karat Bear? Well, for starters, its mouth is supposedly made of solid gold. The fur, on the other hand, is made from gold threads. The eyes are also jeweled, with sapphires for pupils, and diamonds for the irises. Pretty impressive, innit?
But that’s not the only one. The Teddy Bear Museum also has the Swarovski Teddy Bear. Naturally, it has Swarovski crystals.
The Teddy Bear Museum also has what is reportedly known as the Most Expensive Bear in the world.
According to the label,
“the Louis Vuitton Bear was sold at the highest bidding ($193,477) in the history of an auction in Monaco Aide & Presence known as M.A.P., a charity auction that is supported by the Monaco Royal Family and hosted by Christie. Louis Vuitton Bear is now in Jeju Teddy Bear Museum and still is the world’s most expensive teddy bear.”
If you are familiar with the Hallyu Wave, then you’ll immediately recognize the image below. It’s a recreation of the poster of the Korean Drama “Goong”, or “Princess Hours”. In that drama, one of the key pieces was also a teddy bear. And that teddy bear has its own pride of place in the Teddy Bear Museum. I’m not really sure if that is the exact bear used in the drama, though, or just a replica.
Here is Dalai Lama, flanked by two prominent figures in Korean history. (So prominent, I forgot who they are. *wryyyyy*. My apologies.)
There is also a wide lobby and a souvenir shop downstairs where you can take photos with several music and pop icons. Like Psy. And Elvis. 🙂
The Elvis Theater was just our excuse to be seated for a while. Haha! But it was quite fun, listening to the songs of Elvis being “performed” by teddy bear puppets on a small stage inside the darkened theater. They are essentially puppets, but they can shake and grind and dance a la Elvis. It was cute, really.
After this visit, I won’t say that I suddenly became enamored with teddy bears. I think they’re cute. But only in small doses. And I still won’t feel any urge to go out and get one. It was quite an experience, though, and I especially enjoyed how they skillfully presented art and history using teddy bears. If you ever find yourself in Jeju in the future, I recommend that you spare a couple of hours in this place. It’s great for stress relief.
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