JB Life March 2017

JEONBUK TOUR
18
By ANJEE DISANTO
JB Life Co-Editor
I
know what you’re thinking. The words
“teddy bear museum” either prompted a
spontaneous “awww” as you swooned with
visions of cuteness or a cringe while thinking
“please don’t make me.” While it’s true that the
museum in question would no doubt satisfy the
cute-seekers of that first group, though, you may
find that it offers a surprising variety of entertainment
for even the skeptics.
Teddy bear museums in general have multiplied
in Korea over the years, following the success
of Jeju’s famed tourist spot. Seoul and Yeosu
have their own teddy collections, along with
others. Here in Jeonbuk, though, the Gunsan
Teddy Bear Museum brings a surprisingly intensive
teddy-themed experience close to home.
The most important thing to know is that this
isn’t just some collection of musty, historic teddy
bears sitting on shelves, as the Western concept
of museum might conjure up. Actually, it’s not
that at all. The main part of the museum is a
collection of highly varied, moving dioramas.
Mixed in are bits of history and culture, plushy
selfie opportunities, and, at the end, a very quirky
art museum with a twist. There are even teddy
bear photo booths outside the entrance where
you can digitally design a bear-based portrait.
And of course, as with most any spot in Korea,
there’s an easy place to buy a churro and coffee, a
spot to relax alongside the building’s impressive
teddy-adorned façade.
Overall, the largest section of the museum seeks
to take visitors on a themed “trip.” The premise
of the journey through the museum is that our
hero, Teddy (of course), is searching for his missing
girlfriend, Tesun. It seems that “Tesun entered
a time warp and set out on a trip to cities all
around the world” (per the museum’s signs). But
fear not! Teddy and his friends evidently have a
“time travel yacht” to use to find her!
With this narrative as a backbone, the main
part of the museum showcases Teddy and his
friends inside rich cultural dioramas… full of
teddy bears. They travel from continent to continent
and also through time, touching on major
cultural events and customs. Tesun, evidently a
beach bum, starts her come-find-me journey at
modern-day Haeundae Beach. From there the
viewers tour winding hallways through Chinese
opera, Japanese cherry blossoms, African safaris
and Brazilian Carnival. Teddy and
g