“I can’t live here anymore. A nude lodge is this tranquil village? I just can’t live with it.”
83-year-old townsman, who identified himself only with his last name of Park, claimed in anger. His embarrassment and anger are all due to a two-story building built at the base of the mountain surrounding a small village located in Bongyang-eup, Jaechun-si in North Chungcheong Province.
In the past two weeks, men and women have been found naked in this building. The building belongs to a group of Naturalists, or Nudists. Townspeople claim that people gather every weekend for nudist meetups.
“The nudists visit every weekend no matter what,” said Park. “They’re bringing turbulence to this peaceful village.”
This rather luxurious lodge is located about 500 ft away from the residential area. People in the nudist group assert that nudism is personal preference, which doesn’t violate anything when performed on a private property.
“We don’t understand why the townspeople act against us,” said one of the members. “Our lodge is located distantly from the village and it’s a private property anyway.”
Elderly townspeople, however, argue that it is hard to ignore the existence of the lodge. Especially because the town is a typical rural village of which demography is toward older population between 60 and 70, they insist that the nude lodge goes against the overall sentiment of the village.
Those who oppose to the naturalist meetups in the lodge even request the police and local government for regulation, but the police say that current law can’t regulate any action performed in a private property if it doesn’t go against the law.
“The only thing we can do is to ask members to stay inside,” said Choi.
Original article by Kim Hyung-woo
Translated by Heewon Kim
