TWSSG Shooting Location

Dear TWSSG and BTF members,


Just now I found this article in :

http://www.bangkokpost.com/

I hope you enjoy it. Love, myoce
Horizons, Thursday September 11, 2008
South Korea woos visitors with locations where popular drama series were filmed

KARNJANA KARNJANATAWE
No matter you are a fan of South Korean drama series or not, a visit to Goguryeo Blacksmith Town and Dae Jung Geum Theme Park is sure to fascinate you.

Both the theme parks can take you back several centuries and make you feel as if you were walking in an historic old town.

Located in Guri city east of Seoul, Goguryeo Blacksmith Town or Dae Jang Gan Theme Park, as the Koreans call it, is the location for The King and Four Guardians, a TV drama series aired in Thailand at the beginning of this year. It tells the story of King Gwanggaeto the Great of Goguryeo who ruled in the 19th century. Playing the king was Bae Yong Jun and the park has been attracting tourists from all over Asia, especially Japan.

The theme park has an area of 4,973 square metres and sits on the foot of Acha Mountain. It was constructed after locals found evidence showing that the area could have been a blacksmith village. The finding motivated the administration of Guri to resurrect
the blacksmith community, which cost about 2.2 billion won (around 73 million baht).

Ancient artefacts found at Acha Mountain.	Tools used for making armour in old days.
Homes during the Goguryeo period were mostly built from clay, wood and rocks.	Thai tourists wandering around blacksmith town which was used for shooting TV drama series `The King and Four Guardians'.
A tour guide points film location to visitors.	A cook at work in the royal kitchen.
A scene from the movie `Dae Jung Geum'.	Life-size photo of lead actress greets visitors.

"We found various ancient items dating 500-550 AD in this area. The evidence show this area was once part of a fortress," said the theme park's lady guide.

The park comprises of two zones; a two-storey museum and an outdoor blacksmith town. Visiting the museum you will receive background information about Goguryeo.

Goguryeo was the biggest of the three kingdoms around the time - the other being Baekje and Silla. It was powerful during 37 BC to 668 AD and spanned areas that in today's speak would straddle parts of South Korea, North Korea and China, said the guide.

The museum displays items found in the area such as broken clay bowls, vats, plates, fighting tools, war helmets, horse riding equipment and farm tools.

Behind the museum is the town of blacksmiths. It has a big wooden gate and most of the construction material used was wood, clay and rocks.

There is also a replica of the fortress, a well, a hall, a bridge, homes, a building for blacksmiths made entirely of wood and a big watermill. There are also various tools of blacksmith displayed inside the building where lead characters of The King and Four Guardians made armour for their king.

At every stop in the town are posters or television showing scenes filmed in those places.

From the blacksmith town you can take a 30-minute ride to city of Yangjoo, northeast of Seoul, to another theme park where another Korean drama series Dae Jang Geum (Jewel in the Palace) was filmed.

Constructed by Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) for shooting the series, the Dae Jang Geum Theme Park is the location of 15th century palace where lead actress Jang Geum (starring Lee Young Ae) lived during the rule of King Jung Jong.

The theme park has an area of 66,000 square metres. It opened its door to tourists in December 2004. A majority of visitors are Japanese. Once you enter the theme park, you are greeted by a life-size picture of Jang Geum.

There are maps in English that allows visitors to take a tour of the place on their own. There are some 20 points in the palace where you can stop to admire the royal kitchen, the bed chamber, the quarters of the Queen's Mother and Crown Prince. The palace is connected to an old village which the series also used as a backdrop to depict the lives of ordinary people and merchants.

The place has been left as it was at the time the series was filmed, said the park guide. Visitors can touch and feel the exhibits and fans usually rent costumes similar to those used in the film for photo shoot.

Both theme parks welcome visitors every day. Admission to Goguryeo Blacksmith Town costs 3,000 won (99 baht) and to Dae Jang Geum Theme Park 5,000 won (165 baht).

For more information, visit web site of the Korea Tourism Organization at

http://www.kto.or.th.

Myoce (Indonesia)