Korean snapper buys entire village for €520,000
Published: 22 May 2012 10:39 GMT+02:00 | Print version
Updated: 22 May 2012 10:11 GMT+02:00
A Korean photographer has bought a deserted village in south-western France for just €520,000. The artist says he wants to set up an artistic and environmental project in the village.
The Courbefy village has been deserted since 2008 and includes 19 homes, stables, a tennis court and a swimming pool.
The US-based Korean photographer called Ahae bought the village at an auction in the city of Limoges on Monday. Other potential buyers including a Dutch TV company which wanted to shoot a reality TV show in the village and a Belgian firm which wanted to build a retirement home there.
Ahae says he is passionate about nature and wants to set up an "environmental, artistic and cultural" project in the village, according to his representative at the auction.
Ahae’s nature shots are to be exhibited in the Tuileries garden of the Musée du Louvre in Paris in June.
Local neighbours pinned a lot of hopes on a buyer who would revive the village and bring jobs to the region.
Mayor of the area Saint-Nicolas Courbefy Bernard Guilhem says Ahae’s project will create jobs, but could not specify how many.
"I’m reassured the village has at last been sold, even if the (artist’s) project is not very clear, I’m sure it will revive the area and boost the economy," he told French radio station RTL.
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