cocks and hooters... a tribute to the unordinary...

Traditional museum stereotypes are pretty brutal, and the stereotypes attached to those who frequent them are often as brutal. The words 'boring' and 'pretentious' somehow sneak their way into my subconscious. I don't know where this came from, but for some reason I always expect to meet someone wearing a monocle in a museum.

Thankfully Seoul is filled with bizarre museums as well as the more traditional (which I'm told are amazing, and that I should visit) . A couple of months ago, well I guess a few weeks after I started my current job, my coworkers mentioned an owl and chicken museum. The stories they briefly shared were well worth investigating. Also, just to be clear, these are two separate museums. I'd hate to see these two bird enthusiasts mix.

The 'Seoul Museum of Chicken Art' is a rather strange and misleading name for the cock museum. The museum does not actually feature any pieces of artwork created in any part by a chicken. Instead the building is home to over 2,000 pieces of art about chickens. The entrance fee was meagre, and in case you thought you might get lost in the two story open floor plan, you are sent in with a guide. Well, I kind of feel bad, the guide is not to ensure that you get lost, no, he is there to inform you of all things chicken.

The tour (of sorts) starts at looking at a Korean funeral bier (bier: A stand on which a corpse or a coffin containing a corpse is placed before burial). On one tiny corner of the bier, as pointed out by our guide, is a chicken. Why chickens? because chickens are the only animal with feathers of 12 Chinese zodiac and a messenger between this world and the next (quoted from the guide, and a plaque on the wall). At this point I wasn't sure what to think, I mean it seemed to make sense, although bizarre that a chicken would be responsible for such a task.

The second exhibit further demonstrated the importance of the chicken in Korean culture. According to our guide (and a plaque on the wall) the chicken holds 5 virtues.

 

1. Intelligence: the traditional hat given to government appointed high ranking officials was named after the rooster's crest.
2. Strength: The fierce and sharp talons of the rooster. The guide was sure to point out on the rooster that it's weapon was indeed it's feet, and not it's mouth. Yet, after two years working as a chicken inspector, I'm well aware that roosters prefer to use their mouth when taking on other cocks.
3. Courage: The rooster fights without any fear with its foes. A rooster will always honour it's family and fight to protect them added our guide. This courage also serves as a principle reason why roosters will fight during cock fights. For some reason I now view these fights as domestic disturbances "what did you say about my wife?" " I said she's fat, NOT with a PH!" "OH! NO YOU DITT'ENT!" and apparently when I think of domestic disturbances I think of the ghetto. I'm wrestling with stereotypical inaccuracies right now.
4. Heartedness: the announcing cries the rooster makes when it finds food. Sharing is caring!
5. Trust: The rooster always tells of the morning in whatever circumstances. I consider this annoying, although I can understand how it could be deemed an admirable trait.

With this amazing knowledge in toe, I was shown a bunch of chicken carvings. All ranging from 60-300 years old. I do have to admit that I was really confused about these statues. They were in all different styles, and sizes, although the African cock was not any larger than the Mexican cock, and the Egyptian cock was much more flamboyant than the French one. I have no idea if these wooden chicks were made in homage, or if these Korean cocks were made coincidentally and just happen to look like other cocks (which would help explain my prior sentence). It was shortly after this wall that our guide became distracted and my guest and I were left to our own devices amongst some rather phallic chickens.

                                                                                  Are owls fowl? 

well according to Google, it depends who you choose to believe. I would have to say that the second museum on tap was anything but. While the museum was a lot smaller, and not really a museum at all. The Owl museum stands as more of a collection, an owl obsessed collection. I really wish that I could provide some pictorial evidence of this room, as some of the exhibits were truly fascinating; But photos were not allowed, and my only snaps are not currently residing with me.

I recently gave my children a task of describing a room using all senses except for vision. Although I realize that I can describe it visually without a camera (I've relied too heavily upon my toy lately). I also quickly realize any attempt to describe it with smell and taste would lead you astray, the scent of coffee, and the feel of rough floorboards usually screams kitchen. This museum was a simple one room cabin, complete with wooden support beams and trusses. There were also floor to truss (?) cabinets that most grandparents would store fine china in. Not here though, this Aujima decided to house, and then lock away, owls of all shapes, makes, and sizes.

Much like the chicken museum I was inundated with some knowledge that will be rightfully placed alongside other useless trivia (although no guide was supplied, I had to learn through guessing!). Such as, did you know that there is a hooter on the American dollar bill? Hiding in the top right corner is a tiny owl. This owl symbol is apparently attached to the Iluminati in some way. I didn't waste much time researching this link, I got lazy (but you don't have to be!). There were a couple other shocking discoveries, like the giant snowy hooter on the old Canadian 50 dollar bill, a pink owl Power Ranger, and the owl from 'Sword in the Stone'.

Not shocking, and much to the delight of my students (whom I later told), Harry Potter was well represented. I counted 5-6 different versions, or pictures of Harry's owl. Also not shocking was a Hooters T-shirt hiding in a far corner display. The nicest thing about the owl museum was the complimentary coffee and tea service. I enjoyed the generic tea, and maxim coffee while I was stamping their logo on some paper.

The two museums offered a stark contrast in obsession. The chicken museum took a far more academic approach to the history and importance of the cock. While the owl museum was clearly a collection and obsession taken to an extreme, which is understandable because hooters have become mainstream (especially since Harry Potter). It would be interesting to get the two curators in the same room, I don't know how well the meeting would go. I think that the difference in style would lead to some aggression or confusion. However, I'm sure that both museums benefit from a relatively close proximity to each other. Personally I'd say that the owl museum is probably the true benefactor, at least the cocks have some history and guides within their roost.