On the 21st of last month, the National Institute of Biological Resources, located in Seo-gu, Incheon, interviewed Park Je-sa Ryu Young-nam, 52. The figure of a stuffed otter. Joonyeol Wang
– You can see tigers, otters and sparrows. Is this a zoo? no.
[애니띵] Youngnam Ryu, Korea’s first’public servant Park Jesa’
– This is a stuffed workshop at the National Institute of Biological Resources in Seo-gu, Incheon. It is a space where the carcasses of animals that died naturally or accidentally are donated and made into stuffed animals for research and education purposes.
It is the place where Ryu Young-nam, 53, who is called’National Certified No. 1 Park Jesa’, works. Ryu started learning taxidermy while trying to leave the bird stuffed in a regret when the bird he had raised at the age of 17 died. It is said that he learned taxidermy by looking for experts in Korea, and it became his job.
With 35 years of experience, he is also the first taxidermy employed in Korea as a public servant. Over 1,000 animals, including Korean crake, an internationally protected species, and giant sea lions, which have disappeared in Korea, were stuffed.
The lively stuffed animals he created while wrestling with professional books are a valuable resource and excellent educational resource. What kind of story did an animal come to Ryu today?
#Check the video for a detailed story told by’National Official No. 1 Park Jesa’.
“About 100 stuffed animals a year… Jeju Sea Lion Island”
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On the 21st of last month, I met Youngnam Ryu (52),’National Certified Park Jesa’ at the National Institute of Biological Resources located in Seo-gu, Incheon. Joonyeol Wang
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- Tell us about the animals you’re going to be stuffed today.
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- Today it is a black gull. I was rescued at the Chungnam Wildlife Rescue Center and died naturally while being treated. If you look closely, the right wing is bent and the belly is slim. It seems like he was starving because he couldn’t fly. Today I am trying to breathe new life into this hoeed gull.
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- How do stuffed animals usually come from?
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- There must be many people who do not know well. Most of the animals that died naturally or died by accident are donated through the National Wildlife Rescue Center, the Basin Environment Agency, and the Bird Island Association. There are many animals that die in accidents around the city center or on the road. In places close to mountains, especially if the exterior walls of buildings are made of glass, they often die from’Bird Strike’. It is a case of hitting a mountain reflected in the glass as if it were a real mountain.
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On the 21st of last month, Youngnam Ryu stuffed a black gull at the Incheon National Institute of Biological Resources. Joonyeol Wang
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- How much stuffing do you do?
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- It’s about 100 points per year. The amount of samples coming in varies by season as well. This depends on the time of migration of migratory birds. Birds suffer a lot of accidents and deaths when migratory birds move. Many donations are made between April and May when summer migratory birds arrive, and between September and November when summer and winter migratory birds arrive.
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- What are the challenges of working as a taxidermy?
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- It is often thought that stuffed animals are made through animal hunting or viewed illegally. There are also cases where taxidermy is viewed as a’disgusting skill’. In an article that interviewed me, I saw a comment saying,’I want an animal to die once, why do you kill it twice?’ (However) Park Je-sa is not just a stuffed animal, but a person who keeps it for research purposes and as a record. I hope that such prejudice will disappear in the future. In addition, when the stuffed technology information and technique were insufficient, I had a lot of thoughts on what to do if I couldn’t implement the real thing 100%.
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- If you have the most memorable stuffed work
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- Most of the animals that come to be stuffed come after an accident, so there are many things that have a sad story. I’ve even stuffed a bird weighing 4-5g, which is about a little finger. Sea lions that died off the coast of Jeju Island and Bigundo also come to mind. The process of salvaging the sea lions took more than a week, but during that time, the sea urchins damaged the sea lion’s body and it hurt my heart. It was tricky to work as it had to be stuffed while corruption was in progress. I remember working hard because I wanted to leave it as good as possible.
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On the 21st of last month, at the National Institute of Biological Resources, located in Seo-gu, Incheon, stuffed seagull was almost done. It is completed only after arranging the eyebrow hair, shaping it a little more, and drying it. Joonyeol Wang
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- I heard that the work is very tricky…
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- In the case of an otter, it is stuffed and held for about 15 days to dry. For a large sample of the size of a sea lion, it can take up to 48 days. Mammals and birds have different taxidermy processes. In general, when a sample comes in, it is washed, and then the head, wings, and overall body length are measured and skinned. The skinned body is sent to a separate gene sample bank to obtain a gene sample. Mammals need an additional salting operation that acts as an antiseptic to the hide. After that, put wires that can be fixed to the wings, heads, etc. Next, cotton is added to make muscle, and then a torso-sized model is added to make a rough frame. Lastly, put the eyeball in and dry it while holding the pose.
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- There are many people who are curious about stuffed stuff…
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- Sometimes I call the National Institute of Biological Resources. The dog I had been raising at home for more than 10 years died. This is the most difficult time. However, since I understand the feeling that I want to keep by my side even when I die, I remember refusing to listen. Or, I picked up an animal that was accidentally killed, and I get many calls asking if it is possible to get stuffed. In that case, I explain, “Please send it to the National Wildlife Center.”
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“A rewarding job giving dead animals new life”
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An owl photographed at the National Institute of Biological Resources in Seo-gu, Incheon on the 21st of last month. Joonyeol Wang
– It is said that there are about 20 people currently working in the field in Korea. Mr. Ryu said, “It is never easy to deal with dead animals, but every moment is rewarding.”
In the future, his goal is to create a guidebook for stuffed technology and to cultivate backwards. There are 7 students who have learned from Ryu so far. Three of them are active as taxidermy in Seoul Grand Park and Nakdong-gwan Biological Resources Center. Even today he is breathing new life into dead animals.
“I think animals that have been killed and messed up get new life through my own hands. No one knows how rewarding it is to face the students looking at the stuffed products displayed in the museum with sparkling eyes. ”
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Reporter Choi Yeon-soo [email protected]
Video = Wang Junyeol PD
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