HR Turista: bears, bears and more bears

The Joanne Bear Museum is one of the stops in the Jeju package tour that we availed of. We went here after our short snow adventure at Hallasan and a quick visit to the Daepo Jusangjeolli Cliff.

The Joanne Bear Museum is located at 1961 Daepo-dong, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do, South Korea. The museum houses a collection of stuffed bears that Joanne Oh has created, each bear handmade.

There are three buildings where all the bears are housed. We were there in winter and the place was well-heated. The pathway between the buildings were open air, though. The bears came in different sizes, colors and variations. The bears are all finely crafted. Unfortunately though, many of the signage are in Korean only.

There are some depict historical or cultural scenes. This bear features the protagonist in Antoine de Saint-Exupery's The Little Prince.

Of course, not to be missed are the nears that feature traditional Korean attire.

There is a bear that depicts former US President Barack Obama. Joanne Oh gave the former US President a bear that features his semblance. In a display case beside it is a letter from Barack Obama thanking Joanne Oh for that bear.

Other bears feature pop culture such as this tableau of a bear that bears the likeness of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

There are several displays where guests can pose with the bears. One of those bears, a polar bear, was featured in a Korean drama, “Paradise Ranch.” Notice the STPB heart--SAVE THE POLAR BEARS.

Another near has the likeness of actor Lee Min-Ho in the Korean drama series Winter Sonata. I have to admit that I am no fan of K-Pop and Korean drama. That was until I visited South Korea. I now have dozens of K-Pop songs in my music list and I have watched several drama series since then.

I especially loved the displays that feature the acronym of the place (JB) because it is my initial as well.

There is a souvenir shop which sell—you guessed it right—stuffed bears. I wanted to have one as a souvenir so I was settling for the least expensive keychain bear when I saw a much larger 8-inch plushie being sold at a discounted rate; it was only 2,000 won more expensive than the keychain so I got it instead. As with many of the Joanne bears, it an embroidery of Joanne Oh’s signature.