A giant hand sculpture meant to symbolise “I love you” has not received a loving reception in South Korea.
The sculpture, which cost 200m won (£110,103) to produce, has been covered with cloth after residents in Incheon complained that its fingers resemble an obscene gesture.
The sculpture was installed by the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority (IFEZ) at Long Beach Park in Songdo International City, a planned district of Incheon, on the north-western edge of South Korea, according to Yonhap.
Standing at around 5m (16ft) tall, the gold-coloured work shows a hand with its middle and ring fingers folded down and the thumb, index finger, and little finger extended. The gesture represents “I love you” in international sign language and is also known as the ILY sign.
The authorities said they selected this gesture partly because the waterfront park is popular with couples and that it had hoped the sculpture would become a landmark for Long Beach Park, with the Incheon Bridge providing a backdrop for photographs.
However, the intended meaning has not been immediately clear to everyone.
According to the Korea Herald, local online communities have carried complaints describing the sculpture as an eyesore and questioning the decision to spend public money on it. Residents have also submitted complaints directly to the IFEZ.
One Songdo resident wrote on South Korean online platform Naver that from a distance the sculpture looked like someone “giving the middle finger”, while from the side it resembled a hand gesture associated with Ilbe, a South Korean far-right online community.
●송도 해변가에 혈세 2억이나 들여 흉물 손가락 조각상이 들어섰다. 얼핏보면 영낙없는 'Fuck you' 다. 이런데다 2억이나 쓰다니 돈이 썩어나나 보다. pic.twitter.com/fVuHSoVLqK
— 상식 (@johnan333) September 21, 2026
Another user wrote on Threads that while the sign-language theme itself was acceptable, they were unsure what the gesture had to do with Incheon or what it was meant to communicate to tourists.
Rather than immediately removing it, authorities have covered the sculpture with fabric while they consider how to explain the work to the public.
“Complaints such as ‘it looks like an obscene finger gesture’ appear to be coming in because the meaning of the Long Beach Park sculpture is not widely known,” an IFEZ official said. “We plan to actively explain to residents the meaning of the sculpture, which expresses love in an indirect way.”
2억 들여 만든 송도 해안가 조형물…
— celeste 🇰🇷🇺🇸 (@eun12125722) September 21, 2026
만든 사람은 ‘사랑’을 표현했다는데
보는 사람 눈에는 왜 자꾸 손가락 욕으로 보이냐 😂 pic.twitter.com/5zRmoJ25iS
The local deaf community, meanwhile, has argued against removing the work.
“Rather than removing this valuable public art, the issue should be resolved by widely publicising its planning intent and cultural significance,” the Yeonsu-gu branch of the Incheon Association of the Deaf said in its statement, according to SBS News.
“If we install guide signs around the sculpture containing the symbolic meaning and purpose of sign language, and introduce cases where domestic and international celebrities have expressed the sign language for ‘I love you’, it can approach residents and visitors in a friendly way,” said Lee Joo Soon, head of the association’s Yeonsu-gu branch.
“Exposing children to international sign language can also help naturally improve awareness of disabilities,” she added, adding that she hoped the authorities would take measures that would allow Songdo to become “an international city of true inclusion and communication beyond misunderstandings”.
This is not the first piece of public art in Songdo that residents haven’t been fond of.
In 2021, two complaints were filed with South Korea’s Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission calling for the removal of ‘Mudflat Urinator’, a fountain sculpture installed at Songdo Central Park in 2011.
The work depicts three boys with their trousers down, urinating towards the lake, which the artist, Kim Young Gul, said was inspired by childhood memories of children catching clams on Songdo’s mudflats and urinating there when they could not find a toilet.
Residents who objected to the sculpture said its depiction of the boys’ exposed genitals was uncomfortable and inappropriate for a public park.
