Bullet Men
Bullet Men is a set of sculptures that were crafted by Korean artist Kim Ji-hyun in 2008. 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 for being within proximity of the event's Main Press Centre.
Design
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. Helmets were used to represent the fragility of human nature, especially the fragility of masculinity in a society with multiple genders, 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.
Reception
When a Tokyo Sports reporter asked volunteers about the sculptures during the 2018 Winter Olympics, they replied, "I don't know". The sculptures would become a hot topic amongst Japanese users, interpreting the reply as its name and rendering it as Morugessoyo, on Twitter and Instagram. In response, Kim appreciated the variety of reactions to the sculptures, while giving strong comments to value humanity over ideologies.