Bullet Men
Bullet Men are sculptures by Korean artist Kim Ji-hyun, made in 2008. They show naked, muscular men wearing bullet-shaped helmets. The works measure about 230 cm tall, 65 cm wide, and 60 cm deep, and they are located in Daegwallyeong-myeon, Pyeongchang, South Korea.
The pieces are owned by the Gangwon Art & Culture Foundation. They were installed at the Alpensia Convention Center after the foundation bought them at the Pyeongchang Biennale in 2013. They drew international attention during the 2018 Winter Olympics because they were near the event’s Main Press Centre.
Meaning: Kim says the Bullet Men explore hidden desires for a perfect body, wealth, and fame in a patriarchal society. The bullet helmets symbolize human fragility, especially of masculinity in a world with many genders. The helmets protect the men from hostility but also heighten their anxiety, making them unsure whether to remove them.
During the 2018 Olympics, a Tokyo Sports reporter asked volunteers about the sculptures, and they replied, “I don’t know” in Korean. The line became a meme in Japan, read as Morugessoyo (モルゲッソヨ) on social media. Kim welcomed the various reactions and emphasized valuing humanity over ideologies.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 04:16 (CET).