A “Greeting man” statue was placed near the Korean Demilitarized Zone, in Haean, Yanggu County, in the northeast province of Gangwon, South Korea in 2013. Photo hani.co.kr

They say you shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, but what if the horse is a giant, naked man? Which part of the anatomy is off limits for the eyes in this scenario?

Việt Nam’s central city of Huế currently faces this exact dilemma, as the former imperial capital has been offered a gift of a 6-metre sculpture of a naked man.

The ‘Greeting man’ statue features a naked, blue man bowing and was created by South Korean sculptor Yoo Young-ho to represent peace, reconciliation, and communication. The artist hopes to put 1,000 such statues up across the world in places where the scars of war remain, including Viet Nam.

Last October, South Korean city Namyanggigu offered to give a ‘Greeting man’ to Hue thanks to the two cities’ strong friendship.

However, until now, the administration of Huế can’t decide where to place the statue, mostly due to its size and state of undress.

The city People’s Committee has held two meetings to discuss the issue but did not come to any solution.

Chief secretariat of Thừa Thiên-Huế Province People’s Committee Trần Thị Hoài Trầm told Tiền phong (Vanguard) newspaper that Huế City People’s Committee had discussed finding a suitable location for the statue.

The provincial People’s Committee would report to the province’s Standing Party Committee for a final decision, she said.

The naked truth is that until the statue arrives in Hue, the city will be positively bare of beautiful, nude, 6-metre tall men.  VNS