Stone guardian figures and the twelve zodiac animals

Across the grounds are other stone people. Pairs of civil officials in tall hats and military officers with swords, of the type that line the approach to Joseon royal tombs, stand in the grass; you can see their calm, stylised faces and the way the sculptors simplified the robes into a few strong folds. Nearby are the dol hareubang, the grandfather figures of Jeju Island, carved from the island's porous black basalt with round eyes, a mushroom-shaped cap and hands clasped on the belly. Compare their friendly bulk with the fierce wooden jangseung a short walk away; they served the same purpose of protection but in a completely different mood.

Stone figures like these survived where wooden ones rotted, so they are the oldest objects in the open-air exhibition. Most of the tomb guardians are genuine Joseon sculptures that lost their original sites, while the zodiac ring is a modern installation carved in the traditional style. Together they explain the belief, older than Buddhism or Confucianism, that a place needed guardians at its thresholds. Rub the nose of a dol hareubang, as Jeju tradition suggests, if you would like a son; the left ear is said to bring a daughter.

Did You Know? The twelve zodiac figures face outward in a circle because each one guards its own direction and two-hour period of the day.