[source: https://www.doopedia.co.kr/]
The neglect of a 43.5-ton cauldron in Goesan-gun for 18 years is a typifies the problems with the local government’s wartime administration. In 2005, Goesan-gun raised 515 million won, including donations from the county and citizens, to produce a super-large cast iron pot with a circumference of 17.85m, a diameter of 5.68m, and a weight of 43.5 tons. It was made for registration in the Guinness Book.
The pot was so badly designed that it was impossible to cook rice in it. The military tried boiling corn and potatoes in it, but after 2007 when it became clear that the pot wasn’t suitable for cooking, they stopped using it. It has been neglected for over 15 years.
In Suwan Lake Park in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, there is a post box that is 7 meters high and weighs 6 tons. The super-large post box built by Gwangsan-gu in 2009 was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “World’s Largest Post Box” in January of the following year. However, in October 2015, when a 9.5 meter high mailbox appeared in Illinois, USA, it returned the world’s largest title.
It is not new for local governments to be criticized for wasting taxpayers’ money on claiming to be the “world’s first” or “world’s largest.” However, some local governments still cannot giving up their attachment to these titles. For example, Muju County in Jeollabuk-do Province is trying to establish itself as a ‘taekwondo sanctuary’ and plans to build a 12-meter-tall mechanical robot named ‘Taekwon-V.’
Civil and environmental groups were strongly opposed to the military’s initial plans to install a 33-meter-tall robot Taekwon V sculpture, citing concerns over damage to the natural landscape. The military has since changed course, opting to move the location of the sculpture and reduce its size. Plans for production of the robots in Taekwondo poses are moving ahead nonetheless.