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thekoreanlass · 5 years ago

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As part of fulfilling my pledge from before and as a celebration of me becoming a fan of BTS, I’ll start my own version of ‘BTS Tour‘ with filming locations related to their album The Most Beautiful Moment In Life (화양연화 / HYYH). From MVs, jacket photos, prologue video down to their epilogue video from this comeback, I’ll try to cover them!

Without further ado, let’s go ARMY!

| PHOTO SHOOT

💜 Bomun Tourist Complex ( 보문 관광단지 )

In their album ‘The most beautiful moment in life, part 1‘, the man-made Bomun Lake (in Bomun Tourist Complex) with its many cherry blossom trees that decorate it in spring became BTS members’ backdrop for their photo shoot.

Within the Bomun Tourist Complex are facilities designed in a traditional style such as the tourist center, international conference room, golf resort, shopping mall, and a tourist hotel, etc. But Bomun Lake is famous for bikers and people who love to walk since it does have a long walkway around it with many cherry trees. Surely, you’ll love to go there too in spring!

Location: Sinpyeong-dong, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do (경상북도 경주시 신평동) Info: visitkorea

💜 Gyeongju Cheomseongdae Observatory ( 경주 첨성대 )

Another beautiful location from their 화양연화 photo shoot is the Cheomseongdae Observatory in Gyeongju.

This flower field is actually surrounding the observatory tower itself. Isn’t it really pretty from the pictures? But wait! I know you’re here for BTS, but let me tell you this: Cheomseongdae is known as the oldest existing astronomical observatory in Asia. It was constructed during the reign of Queen Seon Deok! The place stands out on its own because of its meaningful existence and history so be sure to drop by especially in the spring just like BTS did!

Location: 140-25, Cheomseong-ro, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do 경상북도 경주시 첨성로 140-25 (황남동) Info: visitkorea

💜 Jeju Island – Andeul Oreum (안돌오름)

HYYH was also filmed in various locations in Jeju island just like this particular photo shoot the boys had in one of Jeju Island’s oreum trails. The photos they had here came out looking so magical as if they were in a dream and depicted their very fun youth days as they played in the fields of Jeju while surrounded by bubbles and nature itself.

According to wikipedia, ‘oreum’ in Jeju dialect implies to the ‘parasitic cone’ and the origin of the word is also ‘climb’. Jeju’s oreum refers to a small volcano within the main volcanic crater in Jeju-do and is typically applied to the hill in Jeju. There are more than 360 oreums throughout Jeju-do from the mountains down to the coast, which is pretty surprising. I’ve actually never thought Jeju Island housing volcanoes in it! 🙂

Location: 2171 Songdang-ri, Gujwa-eup, Cheju, Jeju-do, South Korea

💜 Dongneo Bundeok (동너분덕)

As seen from their HYYH photo, the members are about to jump off a cliff. This rocky cliff is actually still located in Jeju Island, namely called ‘동너분덕’ which is part of Jeju’s hiking Olle trail #7. Out of all the hiking trails in Jeju, this is said to be the most beautiful trail that visitors should try out. The cliff overlooking the island’s surrounding sea looks especially magnificent!

Location: 797-3 Cheonji-dong, Seogwipo, Jeju-do, South Korea

💜 참외전로

BTS made this area of Songwol’s neigborhood in Incheon their very own runway as they pose for their HYYH album in chic casual clothing. In the picture, the boys are seen together crossing the street with smiles on their faces while the rays of sun adds drama to the entire concept.

Location: 11-113 Songwol-dong, Jung-gu, Incheon, South Korea

| Prologue/Music Videos/Epilogue

💜 Abandoned Swimming Pool at SNU

This abandoned swimming pool makes its appearance on their HYYH prologue video. It starts off with Taehyung alone in the empty and old pool, lying down on a mattress. The boys are seen running towards the place to hang out with Taehyung. As many fans had already been there, they say that the place looks eerie, but the boys gave life and color to the place that was once not often visited by many.

Location: SNU Genetic Engineering Research Center. Semiconductor Research Center 유전공학연구소.반도체공동연구소.

💜 Seonjaedo (Seonjae Island)

When the members decided to go to the beach in HYYH prologue it was Seonjae Island where they went to apparently.

Seonjaedo which is located in Incheon is believed to have been there since the Neolithic Era. The name Seonjaedo literally means “an island where a divine fairy came down and danced.”

Location: 101, Seonjae-ro 34beon-gil, Ongjin-gun, Incheon

💜 Nodeulseom (Nodeul Island)

As seen from their Run MV, the members of BTS passes under the Hangang Bridge in full speed, stopping at some point to join Jungkook who looks rather lonely, but smiles as soon as his hyungs reaches him.

This filming location is known to be part of Nodeulseom, which is an artificial island in Han River. The Hanggang Bridge passes directly over the said island that is actually to the east of the larger island of Yeouido.

See here an image of Nodeulseom from Google maps.

Location: 305-9 Ichon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea

💜 North of Banpo Bridge

Another scene from the Run MV was filmed around north of the infamous Banpo Bridge–known for its ‘Moonlight Rainbow Fountain‘ which is known as the world’s longest bridge fountain.

Location: 271-120 Seobinggo-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea

💜 Mosan Airfield in Jecheon

Mosan Airfield, which was featured in BTS’ ‘Epilogue: Young Forever‘ MV is now a well known tour spot to ARMY alike. In the video, the members are seen walking this path as the sky turns a shade of pink, orange, yellow and amber as the sun starts to set at the distance.

The airfield was built in the 1950s for military training as an effort to prevent war and protect peace. However, today, the place has been transformed into a park after the city and military agreed to open a part of the land to the public.

Location: 1065-2 Goam-dong, Jecheon, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea

💜 Gyeongjeong Beach

In the prologue MV, the boys went out to go to the sea. They happily watch the sun go down while sitting on the sea wall. A poignant looking Taehyung, however, looks up and notices the tall platform installed nearby facing the sea. He climbs up the platform and doesn’t go down despite the other members finally noticing him and telling him to go down. Then, Taehyung bravely jumps as if he has wings of a butterfly.

Location: 426-1 Gyeongjeong-ri, Chuksan-myeon, Yeongdeog, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea

💜 Dongdaemun Apartment

From the ‘I Need U’ MV, Taehyung is seen walking around the corridors of this apartment building.

The said apartment building is inhabited by real people and has been renovated and repainted over time, so it may be a little confusing if you go there. Also, if ever you guys have plans to go to the place please be considerate of the people living there.

Location: 328-17 Changsin-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea

💜 Wolmido Culture Street

In ‘For You‘ MV, Jungkook dejectedly sits down on a bench in his bear costume with Wolmido Island’s ‘Culture Street’ in the backdrop. The view is so captivating from the filmed MV that one won’t just be able to take their eyes of it!

In addition, the island of Wolmido is located roughly 1km off the coast of Incheon. Due to its accessibility, many people go to the island over the weekends to have fun, enjoying various activities like performances at night, street artists showcasing their talent in drawing, cafe and seafood restaurants open to bring good food along the coast so these can be enjoyed while viewing the sea. Also, there is also a theme park here called ‘Play Hill’ which is famous for its thrill rides, including the Viking and Apollo Disco.

Location: 57 Wolmimunhwa-ro, Gaho-dong, Jung-gu, Incheon, South Korea

💜 Incheon Open Port Nuri-gil

Also in ‘For You’ MV, Jungkook is seen standing right in front of an old-looking building that has that Japanese feel to it. While I want to give emphasis to how cute JK looks here, I want to also focus on the area where this building stood. This area is called ‘Incheon Open Port Nuri-gil’ which actually opened in 1883 during the Japanese colonization in Korea. The establishment of this area in Incheon forced the birth of other modern historical architecture here than are still found intact. There are also other known architectures such as the Incheon Art Platform, Jemulpo Gurakbu, Jung-gu Office and the Incheon branch of Japan’s 1st, 18th and 58th bank.

Location: 1-2 Haeandong 1(il)-ga, Jung-gu, Incheon, South Korea

💜 Saemangeum reclaimed land, Buan County

The ‘Save Me‘ MV graces us with dance moves from BTS members that I never thought would be born. Again, BTS becomes one with nature when they shot the MV at a clear land under a not-so-clear sky, but then again the ambiance added to the charm of the song itself.

But did you know this? If you watch the behind story of this MV, you’ll find out they actually filmed the MV while it was raining. So, it was very hard for them to dance as soil turned to mud! Good thing that our hard working boys made it possible for the masterpiece to still look perfect!

Going back to the main point, the MV was actually filmed in Buan County. As Yoongi hinted in the behind story, Buan is located in North Jeolla. The nondescript land is actually reclaimed land in front of the Saemangeum Project Office in Byeonsan neighborhood, so it might be hard to find. Plus, if you look in Google maps, most likely it will only point you to an image of the sea, so in case you want to try and go there try searching for ‘Saemangeum Project Office’ instead.

Location: Daehang-ri, Byeonsan-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do

💜 Neungnae Tunnel

At Neungnae tunnel, we see such a head-turning scene where Jin’s pick-up truck blocks the way, preventing other cars from passing through. Jungkook sits atop of Jin’s truck and looks back victoriously behind him and eventually the seven of them cause trouble–spray painting the cars, spitting drinks, jumping over cars, throwing cups and everything a rebellious teen in their age in BU will do.

See here for google map view of the tunnel.

Location: 951 Sanbon-dong, Gunpo-si, Gyeonggi-do

💜 Hwajeon Tunnel

Another running scene from ‘Run’ MV was shot at the Hwajeon Tunnel in Gyeonggi-do. In here, just like with most scenes from the MV, BTS goes for an endless run at night as if having a blast just being together.

See here for an image of the tunnel from Google maps.

Location: South Korea, Gyeonggi-do, Goyang-si, Deokyang-gu, Hwajeon-dong, 583-3

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So, ARMY there you have it! I didn’t know that HYYH era actually used a lot of filming locations in Korea, but here they are. This is for sure not the complete list you must be looking for but I’ll try to find out more information as I search along, since I do still wonder where that trailer track is located at, or that place at the end of the prologue MV where they all fell asleep at. I’m still so much curious and I know I haven’t showcased everything, so I’ll make sure to update this post once I get a hold of the right information.

Lastly, this shall not be the last ‘BTS Tour’ post! I’ll come up with other posts for the other eras or other BTS related filming locations and try to research really hard to help whoever curious souls are out there that are hungry to know where they can go in Korea in the name of BTS. 🙂

In the meantime, check out the other snapshots I took from their videos.

More images captured from BTS’ videos during HYYH era:

credits: wikipedia, DEOKUTOUR, visitkorea, jjkfire, koreajoongangdaily, btsinfo1 snapshots are all by THE KOREAN LASS 2019

[Travel] BTS -‘The Most Beautiful Moment In Life’ Filming Location Tour As part of fulfilling my pledge from before and as a celebration of me becoming a fan of BTS, I'll start my own version of '

#Bangtan Sonyeondan #Beyond The Scene #BTS #BTS Tour #guide #korean #korean pop #kpop #music video #Must-visit #recommendation #south korea #thekoreanlass #tour #Travel

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thekoreanlass · 5 years ago

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The last museum I’ll be creating a post about is the ‘Grevin Museum‘.

Grevin Museum has over 130 years of history in it from its foundation back in 1882 in Paris with the collaboration of Arthur Meyer and Alfred Grevin.

From then till now the museum has given visitors a chance to meet famous personalities from all over the world based on the spirit of its founders, producing and exhibiting over 2,000 wax figures right from its opening until today.

Right after celebrating its 130th anniversary in 2012, the museum began expanding globally, opening a branch in Montreal in 2013, in Prague in 2014, and finally in Seoul in 2015.

Today, we will learn more about Grevin Museum which I visited back in 2017.

Navigating through the museum:

1st Floor

Of course, has the entrance, the shop where you can buy original artists’ goods and also the awesome elevator that will transport you through time to meet the most iconic personalities!

2nd Floor

You can enjoy the remarkable party with worldwide stars! Meet celebrities who became icons of beauty, fashion, film, K-Pop, music and more!

3rd Floor

There’s the very realistic presidential aircraft that will take you to the flight of a lifetime! Meet leaders of the world and also play an aircraft landing game once you reach the cockpit. There are also sports champions and amazing artists along with their masterpieces. You’ll also get to experience how wax figures are first made and conceptualized digitally.

4th Floor

You get to walk the red carpet and meet the most popular Hallyu stars, historical figures of Korea, most influential inventors, creators and peace leaders beyond time and space!

Interactive Games

What I’ve also actually enjoyed a lot about Grevin Museum are the interactive games they’ve prepared for their visitors like playing casino roulette with Brad Pitt and the George Clooney, a game of basketball with Michael Jordan or baseball, wax figure making, a quiz game with Einstein and Steve Jobs, airplane landing simulator, pop art making, facial editing game, and a music quiz game with John Lennon!

I may not be able to put up pictures of the games here, but that’s because I’ve enjoyed them to the point I totally forgot to ask for my pictures to be taken. Haha.

More Information:

Address : Grévin Museum, 23, Eulji-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea Inquiry : tel +82.2.777.4700 ; fax +82.2.752.8201 Email : [email protected]

How to go there?

via subway (1) City Hall Station on Line 1, Exit 5, and walk for 5 minutes (2) Euljiro 1-ga Station on Line 2, Exit 1-1, and walk for 1 minute

Open Hours

Admission Fees

Additional tips:

Alright. So, there you have it! These are the information I can relay to you guys based on my visit there and also on their website.

The feeling of being there is like actually meeting the real stars, just that they aren’t moving. Still, seeing these wax figures made me feel like I’ve seen those icons up close without needing to pay much and the fact that most of them were born in a different generation, it feels good that this kind of place can bring me closer to them.

Anyway, you should visit Grevin Museum and enjoy the fun-filled adventure of navigating through four floors filled with amazing personalities. 🙂

[Travel] Grevin Museum The last museum I'll be creating a post about is the 'Grevin Museum'. Grevin Museum has over 130 years of history in it from its foundation back in 1882 in Paris with the collaboration of Arthur Meyer and Alfred Grevin.

#2017 #Grevin Museum #Hallyu #museum #Must-visit #outdoor #recommended #seoul #south korea #thekoreanlass #Travel #trip #wax figure

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thekoreanlass · 6 years ago

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As promised last week, I’ll be introducing you to three museums that are must-visits in Seoul! And from the last blog post you already got to know more about ‘Alive Museum‘.

Now, for this post, we will know more about the famous ‘Trick Eye Museum‘ that’s smack in the middle of Hongdae, a place popular to most youths, especially those in search of art-related stuff.

TRICK EYE MUSEUM

The museum boasts of their ‘optical illusion paradise’ in the middle of the urban jungle that last throughout the entire year. The museum combines a new concept of exhibition space about culture and entertainment And as it’s name suggest, ‘Trick Eye’ (Trick of the eye) refers to a traditional art technique ‘Trompe-l’oeil’ that turns 2D paintings into 3D images through the use of optical illusion. (c)

As a flagship museum, the Trick Eye Museum in Seoul is a 4-in-1 complex that you can visit and where you can enjoy various optical illusion art and other kinds of art and activities that will thrill you and bring a lot of fun to your trip to Seoul.

This museum’s four specialty that it currently boasts about are it’s Trick Eye AR Museum, it’s fun-rich Trickeye app, the Ice Museum and also the Love Museum.

Back then, during our trip to Korea in 2017, we visited everything except for the Love Museum as it contains ‘mature’ content. Well, if you’re old enough and is open to the kind of art that they exhibit there, it’s fine. But still it’s your personal preference at the end of the day. Either way, with or without it, my visit there was still super fun. It was worth the travel though we sort of got lost around Hongdae for that.

Here are some other photos inside the museum from their website:

More Information:

Address: #B2 Seogyo Plaza 20 Hongikro 3gil, Mapogu, Seoul

Contact Information:

Open Hours:

Prices:

How to get there:

Subway

Subway line no.2 Hongik Station (green line). Get out of the subway Exit 9 and walk straight about 151m. Cross the first traffic light towards SPAO and walk towards Hongik University on the left. Make a right turn at Tonymoly corner and walk into the alley straight 105m until you reach the museum.

Bus

Blue bus 271, 602, 603, 760 Green Bus 5712, 5714, 6712, 6716, 7612, 7733 Red Bus 1000, 1100, 1101, 1200, 1300, 1301, 1302, 1601

Personal Experience

From my personal experience, we actually enjoyed this itinerary at a much cheaper cost thanks to their ‘Discover Seoul Pass’ which I will discuss more in in a separate post. We bought a 48H pass and this is one of the places you can visit for free for as long as you’ve got the pass I’m talking about.

Then, during our visit, we were staying around Hongdae, but the reason why it was so hard to find this place is that the exterior of the building does not really stand out. If you’re going to look for it honestly at first glance you wouldn’t think that the building actually houses such kind of museum.

See the pictures below:

The outside isn’t as flattering as you’ve expected, so it’s not very noticeable. Each of the pictures also show the 2 entrances. The first one is where we entered and the second picture shows where we exited. Anyway, if you use the second entrance/exit, that’s sort of located in a crowded area where people are selling local clothes, accessories, goods etc.

Some of the personal photos I took are here:

There you have it!

This is the second museum I am talking about. Hopefully, you got the information you needed and that this post actually encouraged you to try out visiting ‘Trick Eye Museum’! Trust me, you won’t regret it. 🙂

Till the next post!

[Travel] Trick Eye Museum As promised last week, I'll be introducing you to three museums that are must-visits in Seoul! And from the last blog post you already got to know more about '

#3D Art #art #hongdae #museum #Must-visit #outdoor #recommended #seoul #south korea #thekoreanlass #Travel #Trick Eye Musuem #trip

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thekoreanlass · 6 years ago

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Another travel post related to my past trip to Korea in 2017!

Are you craving for some enjoyable art? If you enjoy museums, interactive art, 3D art, and want to be thrilled by these amazing kind of new modern art, I have three museums I suggest you visit in Seoul!

We will discuss more about the first museum ‘Alive Museum’ on this post, so if you’re planning to go on a trip to Korea, this is one of the places you shouldn’t forget going to as an activity, especially if you’re a first-timer and you’re with your family.

ALIVE MUSEUM

The museum, located in Insadong, Seoul, exhibits works of illusionistic art, large object art, and various audience participatory works implemented with advanced digital media. (c)

You can be one with the objects and art, so you get a picture perfect photo that you can enjoy to post on your social media. Plus, the good thing about this museum is that they don’t limit their art to just 3D art, but really different kinds of art.

To give you a glimpse of the museum here are some photos that I took:

More Information:

In 2018, the Insadong brand of ‘Alive Museum’ actually added some new attractions in the museum that you can also enjoy!

Address: B1-2 floors, Daeil building, Insadong street 12, Jongno-gu, Seoul Tel no.: 02-2034-0600

Public Transportation:

Bus

For Anguk station direction

GREEN BUS 1012,7025

BLUE BUS 109,151.162.171,172, 272, 601

RED BUS 602-1 (Airport Limousine)

For Post Office direction

GREEN BUS 0015,7022,7023

BLUE BUS 401,406,704

RED BUS 5500, 9400, 9402

For Jonggak station Exit no. 3 direction

GREEN BUS 0212,1016

BLUE BUS 100,143,150,160,161,200,262,271.300,370,470,471,601,705,720

RED BUS 9301,9402,9411

Subway

Line no. 1 Jonggak station

Exit from exit no.3, turn left at Geumgangjehwa Intersection and go straight for 300M and it’s located on the right.

Line no. 3 Anguk station

Exit from exit no. 6, go straight for 150M on the one-way street of Insa-dong and it’s located on the left.

credit: Alive museum

[Travel] Alive Museum (Insadong) Another travel post related to my past trip to Korea in 2017! Are you craving for some enjoyable art?

#3D Art #AR #hongdae #Hongik #Ice Museum #Mapo-gu #museum #recommended #seoul #south korea #thekoreanlass #Travel #Trick Eye Musuem

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thekoreanlass · 6 years ago

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BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan/Beyond The Scene), composed of members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V & Jungkook, has been making huge waves not just in the Hallyu scene but also in the international stage. As of current, they have been breaking their own personal records through their comeback with mini album ‘Map of the Soul: Persona‘ and their title song ‘Boy with Luv‘ and is also continuously gaining a growing fanbase as their popularity spread around the world.

Through the influence that they bring to new and old fans alike, ARMY around the world become all interested in anything related to BTS, including the places that they go to.

Because of BTS, many places in South Korea that were seldom explored by locals and tourist alike are now being visited so often that you can likely call the tour a ‘BTS Tour’ on its own due to the number of outdoor filming locations that they use in their activities that are aesthetically pleasing to the eyes.

Having this topic at hand, I will be sharing with you some of the filming locations that you already saw from their ‘Spring Day‘ MV. Many more locations will be shared in the near future but it’s ‘Spring Day’ for today since it’s one of my favorite songs. 🙂

Let’s begin the tour!

Iryeong Station

V is the first member to appear during the opening of the ‘Spring Day’ MV. He’s seen standing in a snowy railway station all bundled up to fight the cold winter as he waits for the train to arrive. The train station signage read ‘Iryeong’, pertaining to the ‘Iryeong Station‘ in Yangju, Gyeonggi.

Iryeong Station, where this scene was shot, is actually a closed platform that has not been functioning since 2004. It is occasionally being used only for freight trains (or trains transporting goods).

Address: 327, Samsang-ri, Jangheung-myeon, Yangju, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

How to get there: Seoul City Center via cab to Iryeong Station is about 40min of travel time.

Jumunjin Beach

Jumunjin Beach, located in Gangneung, Gangwon-do, is both the location for the ‘You Never Walk Alone’ album jacket & also some Jimin’s cuts in the ‘Spring Day’ MV.

The album jacket and MV itself are so aesthetically pleasing that at one point it also feels like a legit promotional video about other beautiful places in Korea. BTS made it so beautiful that fans kept coming to the place to get the feel of being at the same place where BTS filmed!

Aside from the serene sea and the white sand beach though, one iconic location that a lot of ARMY always look for is the ‘bus stop’ by Jumunjin Beach they used to shoot the album jacket for ‘You Never Walk Alone’. This bus stop is actually not a real one, but the city of Gangneung recreated the bus stop for fans that kept coming in search of it.

This is the bus stop that Gangneung City recreated for BTS fans in search of the place

website: http://gangwon.com.my/you-never-walk-alone-bts-bus-stop-set-up-on-jumunjin-beach/

Address: 210, Jumunbuk-ro, Jumunjin-eup, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do

How to go there: Take a bus from Seoul Nambu Bus Terminal to Jumunjin Intercity Bus Terminal. From there, take a taxi for approx. 5 min.

Fact: This is the same beach where one of the scenes in drama ‘Goblin’ was filmed. So, going here is like hitting two birds with one stone if you’re also fan of the drama.

Sihwaho Lake

Sihwaho Lake located in Gyeonggi Province is another location for one of the scenes in the MV. It is shown at the latter part of the MV when the boys are finally together. They run towards the middle of the place and Jimin let’s go of the shoes he had been carrying with him by Jumunjin Beach. The members then watch the beautiful scene in front of them as the sun sets down behind the tree where the shoes where left at.

This tourist attraction is actually surrounded by cities of Ansan, Siheung & Hwaseong and it is actually a haven for migratory birds during winter. In addition, Sihwaho Lake is in fact formed as a result of land reclamation. The reclaimed wetlands and the man-made body of water is south of Incheon. That’s why it is said that the name of the lake came from the ‘si’ of Siheung & ‘hwa’ of Hwaseong,

Address: 1031-8, Sa-dong, Sangnok-gu, Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea (Sihwaho Lake Reed Marsh Park)

PS: the lake is partly reclaimed land so if you’re going to try and find it on google maps you’ll only see water everywhere. However, I believe the place is near the tidal power plant built nearby.

Also, I’ve researched the longest for this location because I found another information about this setting in the MV. A Korean fan apparently went to the said filming location, but she had referenced it as ‘Woo Eum Island’ and when I tried digging a bit more about the place I only saw pictures with the ‘outcast tree’ in the MV and found that it’s located in Hwaseong. It would be difficult to find more info about the island though since pictures only mostly come up (the others are in korean text and I’m still a beginner). I feel though that I’m probably looking at two similar places because Sihwaho is around Hwaseong too, but I don’t know. Haha.

Check out the fan’s Vlog though. Maybe it will help you if you want to go there. Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS4cGV9a0rU

I can’t find more information but I think this scene with Jungkook was also shot here. That dilapidated merry go round must have been installed as prop only.

For the rest of the settings in the MV, like the scene with them sitting on a mountain of clothes, them on a train, them at the Omelas, them going down the stairs while Jin is capturing the moment, etc, were all shot mainly at a studio with CG making the settings look like a real place with a beautiful view and a magical effect on the ‘Spring Day’ MV.

Here are some other captures I took from the MV:

Thank you for reading! Making this post took a little bit longer as I want to try doing my best in providing you the closest to the real information. Any comments you have on the contents of the post are welcomed, so be sure to drop one!

I’ll post more places about BTS filming locations so do watch out!

[Travel] BTS ‘Spring Day’ MV Filming Locations BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan/Beyond The Scene), composed of members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V & Jungkook…

#album #BTS #filming location #korea #kpop #Must-visit #MV #outdoor #photoshoot #popular #recommended #south korea #Spring Day #thekoreanlass #Travel #You Never Walk Alone

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thekoreanlass · 6 years ago

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I used to believe that period movies weren’t really my style, but Korean movies with historical genre entirely changed my perspective. Now, I crave such movies. I’ll definitely watch it as long as it’s worth it.

And while at this topic, I have been actually watching the drama ‘The Crowned Clown‘ which is based off the movie ‘Masquerades‘. Both stories happened during Gwanghaegun’s time on the throne, when strangely there was no entry in the records for 15 consecutive days. And the writer’s imagination basically centered on his theory that Gwanghae actually hired a clown that looked so much like him as his replacement while he’s out of the palace. The clown, named Ha Seon, ruled Joseon for 15 days with threat to his life, but with compassion for his people.

Prince Gwanghae’s life and legacy and the mystery surrounding him actually intrigued me so much that I took the time to read about him and stumbled upon another piece of work that depicts another period of his life. ‘Warriors of the Dawn‘ is a movie from 2017 that mainly focuses on the proxy soldiers who went on a really long journey to bring the Crown Prince to his destination to look for volunteer soldiers that will fight alongside them against the Japanese soldiers who were trying to take over Korea at that time.

Read below to see if this movie is somewhat your taste! I’ll give you reason why to watch it 🙂

The Story

To avoid Japanese forces, King Seonjo escapes to the Ming Empire and abandons his people in the process. In his place, Prince Gwanghae (Yeo Jin-goo) leads the royal court and confronts the enemies with the help of proxy soldiers led by To-woo (Lee Jung-jae). Proxy soldiers consist of those who are paid to serve in the military on behalf of others.

Review:

To be honest, after watching big budget period movies with heavy CGI like ‘Monstrum’ or zombie-thriller ‘Rampant’, I have lost expectations for period movies. So, I didn’t really set high standards for ‘Warriors of the Dawn’, thinking that it won’t also live up to its name.

Thankfully, though, I’m happy that I am wrong.

The movie greatly delivers, especially with it’s nice plot, sequence, as well as the battle scenes that are both heart-stopping, emotional, sometimes poignant, but also moves something in you to the point that it makes you cry.

Proxy warriors or men who were paid small wages to serve in the military in replacement of someone else are the center of this movie. It depicts their long journey and hardships as they join the royal court in delivering Prince Gwanghae to his destination in order to convince volunteers to join them in their fight against the Japanese.

Gwanghae is the son of a concubine to the King, therefore, making him an illegitimate child who should have not the right to be the heir to the throne. All thanks to an incompetent older brother and his father, King Seonjo, who fled to Ming to evade the Japanese force as well as put his illegitimate son at a spot where he would be easily killed and later blame the Japanese for his death, Gwanghae is installed to the throne to rule Joseon. Though deemed incompetent for the role as Gwanghae has not shown preparedness or huge interest to it, he is thrown into a long and dangerous journey together with a royal court that supposedly will serve him with loyalty and some proxy soldiers that actually hates the royal court and the Prince for how poorly they are treated.

Gwanghae’s entourage and the proxy soldiers, led by To Woo, go on a long journey filled with ups and downs that eventually cost them lost lives and supplies. Most of Gwanghae’s servers die from the ambushes that they experience until most of what’s left are the proxy soldiers that he does not truly trust.

Through this journey though the highlight of this film that truly moves me is how these characters from two different worlds evolve in such a harsh world full of deceit. Gwanghae who is once insecure and thinks he cannot be a good king, dances to thank his people he just met in the mountains for the food that they shared to him. He continues a journey that gets him nowhere, but fights his own battles and picks up a bow once he realizes his purpose, which is to stand up for his people and become a true King that will lead them to safety.

On the other hand, because of To Woo, his team learns to dream of a better world and learns to value their job not just because it’s something they have to do in order to earn their keep, but it’s something they have to do to protect the greater good. To Woo has learned to trust that Gwanghae will definitely become a different King. He will be a good leader and because of that found a reason to protect Gwanghae and his people until their last breaths.

I must admit that the deaths of these heroes during the last part of the film made me feel dismayed. It’s so sad that I thought of the dreams and fears of these proxy soldiers and how it will never come true now. I wish for a better end for them, but I realized that not all wars end the way we want it to be. There’s always something that will inevitably go wrong. There are a lot of sacrifices that must be made in order to achieve a bigger goal. In this movie, they are the sacrifice so more people gets saved and eventually find refuge. Prince Gwanghae truly has a more important role and I think making sure to keep him alive is the best decision in a situation wherein they have to choose who to save from a sinking ship. Gwanghae, in return, keeps to his promise to keep the flag safe and show it as proof that Joseon is going to rise again from the ashes through his rule.

Lee Jung Jae has shown such great acting and chemistry with Yeo Jin Goo, who is still a household name, whom have shown progression with his acting skills in time. Yeo Jin Goo, though only second to Jung Jae’s role also displayed his prowess in acting by perfectly portraying a flawed but compassionate ruler that puts his people first before him. His youthful face did not hinder him from making the character his. He’s so good at it that you also feel his emotions through his acting. The other minor characters are nonetheless at their best, greatly contributing to the momentum at which the story is going. I don’t see why I wouldn’t like them though I feel a little awkward meeting Esom in the film with a role I have never seen her in before.

Visually, the movie has utilized such picturesque settings from nature that made the movie even believable. The fight scenes did not need any kind of wired stunts to make it look grandiose. These fight scenes are the life of this movie and has actually had me at the edge of my seat for the most part of it, making me often curse at the Japanese for getting my team short on number. But eventually, I am happy as help arrives. Sadly, this help isn’t enough to contain the enemy and eventually they catch up to the escaping party. Though I gripe about that part a lot, it’s no saying that the movie sucks because the protagonists and main reason for this movie ends up with a sad fate. It so happened that it’s more realistic, though I was hopeful that each of them will reach the day all their dreams would come true.

All in all, the movie is perfect in all sense. It mixes action, history and drama in one movie. Add familiar and great actors to get the story going and an emotional rollercoaster ride and you’re really out for something worthwhile. Just be prepared with your tissues beside you, because I have bawled my eyes out for the second half of the film. I’m sure you also will. lol.

Rating:

The real Prince Gwanghae’s story has me intrigued so much that I currently fancy most movies and dramas about him. ‘Warriors of the Dawn’ has truly lived up to its title as well as to my expectations that I would like to recommend it to everyone as well.

Rating it, I’ll give it a 4.7 out of 5.0.

[Film Review] ‘Warriors of the Dawn’ I used to believe that period movies weren't really my style, but Korean movies with historical genre entirely changed my perspective.

#action #drama #Esom #historical #Imjin War #Kim Mu Yeol #kmovies #Lee Jung Jae #movie #Movies #must watch #recommended #review #thekoreanlass #Warriors of the Dawn #Yeo Jin Goo

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thekoreanlass · 6 years ago

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To zombie apocalypse fans alike, I think that Rampant‘s plot is going to be a lot interesting considering that South Korea did use a juxtaposing mix of genre’s in this one, possibly surpassing the uniqueness that ‘Train to Busan‘ had.

Surely, there’s nothing more intriguing than mixing zombie thriller, historical fiction and political war in one single movie. That should be the absolute and almost impossible made possible recipe that will surely bring in patrons that once loved the first-ever Korean zombie film two years ago that took over the world.

But the real question is: ‘is ‘Rampant’ able to surpass or at least come on par with ‘Train to Busan’?

Brought by the same studio as ‘Train to Busan’ and directed by Kim Sung Hoon that brought to us well-acclaimed 2017 action film ‘Confidential Assignment‘, surely ‘Rampant’ will not disappoint.

The Story:

Prince Ganglim (Hyun Bin) goes back to Joseon after a long political imprisonment abroad in the Qing Dynasty. His sudden return was due to the last will that he received from his befallen brother, the crown prince (Kim Tae Woo), who he thought died from suicide. It had stated that as a last favor for Ganglim to retrieve the crown princess and their unborn child and bring them back with him to Qing.

Ganglim’s long absence made everything in Joseon so estranged to him that he had shown great disinterest about the darkness that’s looming over his birth country. He did not wish to come back for anything else other than saving the crown princess in honor of his late brother. So, after encountering ‘night demons’ that had been plaguing Jemulpo and being saved by Park Eulryoung’s (Jo Woo Jin) group from being mugged by them, Ganglim still refused to cooperate willingly though the peasants that had been waiting for him were begging for them to be saved by the prince.

Upon seeing though the chaos and terror these ‘night demons’ caused to his people, though reluctantly, Ganglim agrees to speak to the King to send an army to help those still trapped in Jemulpo.

However, upon his return to the palace, Ganglim is denied his request by the vicious Minister of War Kim Ja Joon (Jang Dong Gun). More so, he ordered for Eulryoung and his gang to be imprisoned for high treachery. A similar incident with the ‘night demons’ happens though as one of consorts who got infected by the plague turns into a night demon and bites the King. Eventually, chaos in the palace starts after this and more people are bitten and unfortunately turned to grotesque looking monsters who feed on human flesh and blood. While Kim Ja Joon sees this as an opportunity to usurp the throne from the King’s bloodline, Ganglim, together with his men, becomes determined to end the long standing plague caused by the ‘night demons’ within the palace walls before it’s too late.

Review:

Premise

I’m giving this film extra points for the plot’s originality. I think that while ‘Train to Busan’ can be a common westerner’s vision of a modern zombie apocalypse, no one would have thought that zombies and historical period can fit in the same picture. Like how can zombies arise in the old period? There’s no way zombies could exist during those times since it will take an uncontrollable virus outbreak situation to create an army of them. So, I think it is also wise of them to call these creatures as ‘night demons’, because the real cause of the infection can be left alone as ‘unknown’, especially that this movie surely left out that very important detail: as to how the first ‘night demon’ caught the condition. It would have been more interesting if we were given a little backstory, but we’re left in the dark, so we should just take what we can.

Night Demons

In terms of the ‘night demons’ or zombies or whatever you want to call them, I think that this film has maintained the same image about zombies that we saw from ‘Train to Busan’: (1) they are sensitive to sound, (2) they go rampant upon hearing sound or upon smelling blood (3) they look grotesque, (4) they are fast, strong and vicious. The only thing I see different is that these zombies hate the sun, because the sun actually hurts them or at least I think so; while the zombies from ‘Train to Busan’ were tamer in the darkness. It is good that the same concept is used to make sure we are not lost in the story, but this actually killed some of the excitement since I was actually looking for something new. I was hoping they’ll depict zombies a little differently. Nonetheless, I have enjoyed the action packed zombie rampage scenes versus Prince Ganglim whose sword fighting skills is so unparalleled that it’s so entertaining he actually killed a whole bunch of them alone and while remaining untouched, though that basically made his role a little predictable.

Characters

The movie itself is actually plagued with cardboard characters that lacked a past, a backstory to back them up. Just like when Ganglim is introduced once his ship lands in Jemulpo, though many was said in the plot about his past and his reason for going back to Joseon, the scenes itself did not give me much information about this, so I was confused why Ganglim was coming back from Beijing.

What I like about this character the most, though, is his character development: from a vain and self-centered jerk who is more interested with vices and women he left back in Qing, Joseon molded him to become righteous and a person that thinks more of his people above all else. It made him deserving of becoming a King through his actions.

There’s even one part along the end that his lines really made me cry. He said something about it not being true that a King should be above his people, because the people are who makes the King. So, the King should protect his people. I guess, it’s at that point that he has accepted the responsibility of becoming king after Joseon rudely taught him how to be one.

I think that Hyun Bin is able to own Ganglim’s character in this movie. He has owned the spotlight all throughout and because most of the action-packed scenes are centered towards him, it highlighted even more Hyun Bin’s commendable portrayal, though it is inarguable that his character leans on the more predictable side despite the zombies’ efforts on trying to bring him down. I think the character actually beats the purpose of such a grotesque zombie thriller, but I guess since I’m more of a happy ending person, I’m happy that he did not end up dead during the final scenes; something that I did not get from ‘Train to Busan’.

The other characters, though easy to sympathize with, lacked their own backstories and development in the story, so it was hard to connect relationships among characters and read their minds. So many of them had the potential to be something more. Like for example, Kim Ja Joon who was played by Jang Dong Jun. I think that he has portrayed the role so viciously that the role was so hateable even until his end, but at the same time it missed the opportunity to be something more. I think that the script itself prevented these amazing characters from growing, so I can’t really blame the actors for how they portrayed them.

Theme

I think that though I really enjoyed the movie to the fullest, it is right to say that it lacked consistency when it comes to the themes. There’s the zombie apocalypse and endless chase, gun fights and sword fights that will totally pump up adrenaline in your body, but sometimes it is overcome by the political struggle that period movies like this has. So, we go back and forth from a zombie invasion to a dramatic political war that involves families and vicious foes. Making it a little bit behind ‘Train to Busan’ in this area, since the movie’s theme felt like its everywhere, whereas its former zombie movie sunbae actually focused on a singular item with less dramatization of the situation.

Overall

Though there’s a lot of obvious flaws to this movie and there’s still a long way for ‘Rampant’ to catch up to ‘Train to Busan’ in terms of its overall production and impact, I think that the film overall is really good. Cinematography-wise it’s really dark and grotesque depiction of a zombie plagued Joseon is flawless, believable. The sound effects also added additional suspense to important scenes, especially when it’s about time the leads face their otherwordly flesh-eating foes. The cast is also able to turn a very plot driven story to something more character focused, though there’s a lot of times it’s hard to find a distict characteristic or emotion from them.

Rating this, I’ll give it 4.4 out of 5.0. There were times when I felt like I’m losing the hype I felt before while watching some parts of the movie and when I tthought there’s nothing really extraordinary about this other than the fact we’re seeing zombies in fictitious Joseon, that’s why I’m giving it that kind of score. Other than that, it’s a good watch. I’ll recommend it to you guys at any day.

[Film Review] Korean Period Action-Zombie Movie ‘Rampant’ To zombie apocalypse fans alike, I think that Rampant's plot is going to be a lot interesting considering that South Korea did use a juxtaposing mix of genre's in this one, possibly surpassing the uniqueness that '

#action #historical #Hyun Bin #Jang Dong Gun #K-movies #korea #korean #movie #Movies #popular #Rampant #recommended #review #south korea #thekoreanlass #zombie

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