Distant memories of first love <Architecture 101> breaks new ground in Korean melodrama history
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09.27.2013
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Distant memories of first love <Architecture 101> breaks new ground in Korean melodrama history
A film full of college life paraphernalia, campus culture and even the song “An Essay of Memory” by 1990s icon Kim Dong-ryool. <Architecture 101>, which recently sparked a wave of nostalgia for the 1990s, broke Korean box office records for a melodrama and won positive reviews for its elaborate directing and revival of memories of the 1990s. This is a film that left audiences with a renewed sensation of the excitement of first love. It was also director Lee Yong-joo's second film since breaking his 10-year spell in the wilderness in 2009 with the film <Living Death>. In <Architecture 101>, Lee brought together memories of first love and a new element: “architecture.” Lee, who majored in architecture at university, based the film on his own experiences studying and working in an architect's practice. Here, we explore the Seoul locations featured in <Architecture 101>.
Perhaps the most memorable scene starring Suzi, winner of best actress awards and attention as a future star, is when she gets entire audiences laughing by giving the wrong answer to a question in class: when asked who is buried in the royal tomb of Jeongneung, she answers, “Jeong Yak-yong” (an 18th - 19th century scholar). In the film, the park that now contains Jeongneung is the place where the two stars start to become close. There is even a rumor that Suzi herself didn't know whose tomb it was when filming the scenes shot here.
Jeongneung is an officially designated historical site in Korea. Taejo, first king of the Joseon Dynasty, is buried here together with Queen Sindeok. It is said that the site originally chosen for the tomb was Anam-dong in northeastern Seoul, but that this was changed to the area now known as Jeongneung-dong after water spouted out of the ground when construction work on the original site began.
Jeongneung is at its most beautiful between May and August, when the abundant foliage on the tomb's many trees is at at its greenest. After the ticket office at the entrance, you'll find the site map that appeared in the film and a large, old tree. This is where the scene was filmed in which Seung-min (Lee Je-hoon) keeps stepping backwards in order to take a picture of the whole tree until he sees the Seo-yeon (Suzi) of the past in the camera. Since the film's release, many people are said to have become curious about whose tomb it really is, and visitor numbers are said to have increased significantly. Further on is a map of walking paths in the park: the circumference path is 2.5km long and takes around 50 minutes to walk, making it a great way to enjoy a pleasant walk in the heart of one of Asia's biggest cities.
March - October: 06:00 ~ 18:30 (last entry at 17:30)
November- February: 06:30 ~ 17:30 (last entry at 16:30)
Admission fee: Adult (19-64 yrs old) 1,000 won; groups of 10 or more 800 won
Contact: Management office (02) 914 - 5133
The place where young Seung-min and Seo-yeon go to watch college radio broadcasters at work is Kyunghee University's radio station (VOU). VOU is broadcast from a neat building in a wood, set some way apart from the rest of the university. The interior retains traces of the university radio station's history, along with several hundred LP records. The fact that the station still uses vinyl records for its broadcasts gives a stronger sense than ever of its classical elegance.
When I visited it in April to research this article, the campus was full of falling cherry blossom, carried by the wind like a snowstorm. Because of its location as portrayed in the film, many people believe the radio station building to be located on the campus of Yonsei University, but in fact the director used Yonsei, his alma mater, as the background and filmed the actual station at Kyunghee. Han Ga-in, who plays the older Seo-yeon in the film, is also a graduate of Yonsei. The scene in which Seung-min delivers the line, “Why don't you just piss off?” to Seo-yeon as she waits outside class for him to explain a misunderstanding, which so many viewers found hard to watch, was filmed in front of the College of Liberal Arts. This is also the scene in which the two protagonists' younger versions meet for the last time. So much of this film was shot at university campus locations such as radio stations and lecture rooms that every the student I asked for directions was able to tell me what had been filmed where. It seems students at Kyunghee University will enjoy the romance of campus life while remembering <Architecture 101> for quite some time.
<Architecture 101> begins when the older Seo-yeon visits the older Seung-min (Uhm Tae-woong)'s studio. Given the film's title, it's not surprising the architect's studio also plays a very significant role in it. This is also the place where the two protagonists meet again for the first time since their university days. In fact, the studio used in the film is CRAFT_design, located in Seoul's affluent Hannam-dong neighborhood in Yongsan-gu Ward. The distinctive interior and meeting room reminiscent of a fitting room stand out as places full of original ideas. In fact, despite the studio's Hannam-dong address, it is located closer to the adjacent bustling, multicultural neighborhood of Itaewon.
One scene in the film shows a meeting in a wine bar between the older Seo-yeon and Seung-min. This is the older pair's first private meeting after Seo-yeon asks Seung-min to design her house; she even takes Seung-min a necktie as a present, but ends up finding out that he has a girlfriend. This scene was filmed at Bar 153 at Garden Place Gwanghwamun. Garden Place Gwanghwamun aims to provide a place to relax and enjoy culture for modern city dweller worn down by the stress and monotony of the daily grind. The concept it aims to embody is that of “a resting place in the heart of the city; a meeting like something out of a film.” Garden Place Gwanghwamun combines a theater, an Italian restaurant and a wine bar in one building and is within easy reach of several ancient palaces, museums, art galleries and Cheonggyecheon Stream, making it the ideal cultural venue. It hosts a variety of cultural events, from film and commercial shootings and film festivals to corporate functions and parties – more information is available on its website (address below).
Website: www.gardenplace.co.kr
Inqiuries: (02) 734 – 1189
5 Fraser Place Central Seoul
Fraser Place Central Seoul was used as the location for the neat apartment in which older Seo-yeon lives alone following her divorce. This is a serviced residence offering home-like levels of comfort to high-income travelers and families.
Fraser Place Central Seoul has a total of 254 rooms, ranging from studios to penthouses, designed to cater to the needs of every guest. Each room is equipped with several bedrooms, a spacious living room and a kitchen to offer maximum convenience for both long- and short-term guests, creating a suite of services different not found in conventional hotels. This makes Fraser Place an ideal location for scenes depicting high-quality one-room studios in films or TV dramas. Though it gives priority to guest reservations and the comfort of guests in residence at any time, filming is possible after negotiation of an appropriate fee. Competent schedule management is essential, however, to avoid disruption to long-term residents.
Website: www.fraserplace.co.kr
Inquiries: (02) 2220 – 8888
Many people leave theaters after watching Architecture 101 with a bittersweet sense of nostalgia for their first love. It took 10 years for this ordinary, unsensational tale of first love to reach completion in the form of a film, but somehow it ended up causing a sensation, striking an emotional chord with millions of viewers. After moving so many people by stirring vague memories of first love, Architecture 101 looks set to carry on thrilling audiences for some time to come.
Source: Film Seoul Briefing (Seoul Film Commission)
Written by_Seo Yeon, Jeong Jae-hui (Location Support Team)
Images courtesy of Myung Films, Fraser Place Seoul and Seoul Film Council
A film full of college life paraphernalia, campus culture and even the song “An Essay of Memory” by 1990s icon Kim Dong-ryool. <Architecture 101>, which recently sparked a wave of nostalgia for the 1990s, broke Korean box office records for a melodrama and won positive reviews for its elaborate directing and revival of memories of the 1990s. This is a film that left audiences with a renewed sensation of the excitement of first love. It was also director Lee Yong-joo's second film since breaking his 10-year spell in the wilderness in 2009 with the film <Living Death>. In <Architecture 101>, Lee brought together memories of first love and a new element: “architecture.” Lee, who majored in architecture at university, based the film on his own experiences studying and working in an architect's practice. Here, we explore the Seoul locations featured in <Architecture 101>.1 Jeongneung Park
The place where young Seung-min and Seo-yeon go to watch college radio broadcasters at work is Kyunghee University's radio station (VOU). VOU is broadcast from a neat building in a wood, set some way apart from the rest of the university. The interior retains traces of the university radio station's history, along with several hundred LP records. The fact that the station still uses vinyl records for its broadcasts gives a stronger sense than ever of its classical elegance.When I visited it in April to research this article, the campus was full of falling cherry blossom, carried by the wind like a snowstorm. Because of its location as portrayed in the film, many people believe the radio station building to be located on the campus of Yonsei University, but in fact the director used Yonsei, his alma mater, as the background and filmed the actual station at Kyunghee. Han Ga-in, who plays the older Seo-yeon in the film, is also a graduate of Yonsei. The scene in which Seung-min delivers the line, “Why don't you just piss off?” to Seo-yeon as she waits outside class for him to explain a misunderstanding, which so many viewers found hard to watch, was filmed in front of the College of Liberal Arts. This is also the scene in which the two protagonists' younger versions meet for the last time. So much of this film was shot at university campus locations such as radio stations and lecture rooms that every the student I asked for directions was able to tell me what had been filmed where. It seems students at Kyunghee University will enjoy the romance of campus life while remembering <Architecture 101> for quite some time.3 CRAFT_design
<Architecture 101> begins when the older Seo-yeon visits the older Seung-min (Uhm Tae-woong)'s studio. Given the film's title, it's not surprising the architect's studio also plays a very significant role in it. This is also the place where the two protagonists meet again for the first time since their university days. In fact, the studio used in the film is CRAFT_design, located in Seoul's affluent Hannam-dong neighborhood in Yongsan-gu Ward. The distinctive interior and meeting room reminiscent of a fitting room stand out as places full of original ideas. In fact, despite the studio's Hannam-dong address, it is located closer to the adjacent bustling, multicultural neighborhood of Itaewon.4 Wine bar 'Bar 153'
One scene in the film shows a meeting in a wine bar between the older Seo-yeon and Seung-min. This is the older pair's first private meeting after Seo-yeon asks Seung-min to design her house; she even takes Seung-min a necktie as a present, but ends up finding out that he has a girlfriend. This scene was filmed at Bar 153 at Garden Place Gwanghwamun. Garden Place Gwanghwamun aims to provide a place to relax and enjoy culture for modern city dweller worn down by the stress and monotony of the daily grind. The concept it aims to embody is that of “a resting place in the heart of the city; a meeting like something out of a film.” Garden Place Gwanghwamun combines a theater, an Italian restaurant and a wine bar in one building and is within easy reach of several ancient palaces, museums, art galleries and Cheonggyecheon Stream, making it the ideal cultural venue. It hosts a variety of cultural events, from film and commercial shootings and film festivals to corporate functions and parties – more information is available on its website (address below).Website: www.gardenplace.co.krInqiuries: (02) 734 – 11895 Fraser Place Central Seoul