Incheon’s mural is world’s largest

The outdoor mural on grain silos in the port city of Incheon has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest. [YONHAP]

An outdoor mural on grain silos in the port city of Incheon, west of Seoul, has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest, the city government said Monday.

The silos are 48 meters (157.5 feet) high, 168 meters long and 31.5 meters wide, and the mural occupies 23,688.7 square meters (254,983 square feet).

Guinness has published the record, which was recognized Sept. 20, on its website.

Previously, the Pueblo Levee Project in Pueblo, in the U.S. state of Colorado, held the Guinness record for the largest outdoor mural at 16,554.8 square meters.

The Incheon city government and Incheon Port Authority commissioned 22 painting experts and spent 550 million won ($487,000) for the mural project since January this year, with 865,400 liters (228,614 gallons) of paint used in its creation.

The mural’s design involves the story of a boy growing into an adult and resembles a complete set of 16 books with cover decorations showing the four seasons - spring, summer, autumn and winter.

According to the city government and the port operator, the project was part of efforts to improve the negative view of aged industrial facilities and originated from the community art projects of the 1920s that swept the United States and Mexico and focused on giant and colorful murals in an effort to bring residents and businesses together.

Officials at the government and the port operator hope the mural will give a boost to tourism on Wolmi Island, one of top tourist spots located near the Port of Incheon.

Yonhap