I’m not sure of the location of any of these images although I keep trying to ferret out any possible visual clues. I believe some of them may have been shot around the Korean Folk Village site; this living museum depicts traditional life during the Joseon dynasty. One photo below shows the album’s original owner posing next to a stone figure known as dol hareubang or tol harebung. These ‘grandfather statues’ are carved from basalt and are believed to have served as protection from demons and perhaps as fertility aids. In addition to the Korean Folk Village south of Seoul, the dol hareubang have become the main symbol of Jeju Island, located on the southern tip of Korea in the Korean Strait.

I was also surprised to learn that there are a couple of these large stone figures on display across the street from City Hall in Santa Rosa, California! That’s because Santa Rosa and Jeju are sister cities; you can learn more about the bittersweet history of Jeju and the grandfather stones at the following link (which contains a small PDF file): Our South Korean Sister: Jeju and the Dol Hareubang Statues.

Sign on the building says “Mountain Rock”