Thoughts turn to love on Valentine’s Day, but Penis Park in South Korea may be a bit too graphic for some.

Tucked in a remote spot around 40 miles (60 kilometres) from the Olympic Games venues in Pyeongchang, the phallic mecca boasts dozens of erect penises standing proud and tall.

Some line avenues, others stand free. Still more are scattered in the shrubbery in an amusement park tucked in the hills above an attractive bay along the sea coast.

Some of the larger-than-life studies in stone or wood present graphic details of the male anatomy.

Others show outsized members attached to statues of human shapes and still more are carved into totem poles which once stood at Korean village entrances to ward off evil spirits.

Other penises are found dotted around the rock gardens in artsy clusters.

All the family are welcome to Penis Park, says guide Park Se-yeon, a young woman showing off the pick of the park’s penises including one full-size penis cannon pointing out over the sea towards Japan — complete with veined contours.

Visitors include families with kids who have a good time, although youngsters are barred from some Penis Park attractions, says Park. Childless couples yearning for offspring also venture into the park, while women hoping to be blessed with grandchildren also show up.

– Plenty of fish in the sea –
“Ok, the family member can (come),” says Park. “But some house have some (displays) the children cannot go inside.”

The location also houses South Korea’s biggest maritime museum and a botanical garden. Around 270,000 visitors toured the park last year.

According to the guide, the origins of Penis Park are lost in Korean mythology but one tale credits the ghost of a local maiden who drowned in the sea still yearning for sex. She prevented local fishermen from catching fish until a local man frolicked in the sea with her one evening.

The fish began to return, and the villagers got the idea to carve penises to keep the ghost happy. And it seemed to work.

“After these things (penises were made), these village people catch more fish now,” said Park.

“And at the time this village is again rich.”

During the festival, visitors take classes in penis carving, and kids really enjoy it, says Park.

But Penis Park has a serious side too.

“Some of the people who wanted to bear the son, or some grandmothers, the old generation, they wanted to make a grandson. They pray, they come here and then pray for heaven to give the son,” she said.