An aluminum sculpture called "Greetingman" bows to people in Montevideo, Uruguay.

 An aluminum sculpture called "Greetingman" bows to people in Montevideo, Uruguay.

The naked blue man is nearly 20 feet tall and weighs three tons. It was donated by South Korean artist Yoo Young-ho, who has already built one "Greetingman" in his home country. Yoo's goal is to put up 1,000 of them across the globe as a way to link other cultures and people.

"The greeting is the first step in any relationship," Yoo said Wednesday in Montevideo. "It's the principle of all communication."

Uruguay was chosen by Yoo because it is diametrically opposite of South Korea on the world map. He hopes the project will help Uruguayans get to know more about his country and the traditional Korean way of greeting.

"Greetingman" is blue, Yoo says, because blue is a neutral color that couldn't be perceived as symbolizing a specific skin color. And it is naked to reflect all men -- clothing might have symbolized someone's social standing or status.

Yoo raised money for the Uruguay sculpture by selling 800 much smaller "Greetingman" statues for $200 each, according to the Uruguayan newspaper El Pais. For more about the project and Yoo's future plans, check out the "Greetingman" website.