Houses In Korea I Fell In Love With, Part 3

Actually I'm not crazy about the house featured in Secret Garden ( starring Ha Jiwon and Hyun Bin) - it's too white, too Zen, too contemporary for my old-fashioned tastes.  The exterior is another story, though. Loved the wooden walkway leading to the apron overlooking the small pond outside the house. The eulalia and maple trees plus the ceiling-to-wall glass windows allow for wonderful vistas which can be enjoyed throughout the seasons.

It's not going to be easy for K-drama fans to make a pilgrimage to the Maiim Vision Village which is the shooting location for this hugely popular dramatic comedy about role reversals. Getting to the Maiim Vision Village which was also the location for some scenes from  other K-dramas like "Winter Sonata" and  "Star's Lover" isn't really the problem. See the map below.

The tricky part is gaining admission onto the grounds which cover 330,000 square meters in Yeoju in Gyeonggi-do as it's  not open to the public. Unless you are a member of the press or better still, an employee who is supposed to undergo training under Maiim Group, a company selling cosmetics and health food products, your chances of getting close-up snapshots of the grounds and buildings are as slim as Ha Jiwon's character gaining approval from her snobbish mother-in-law. Otherwise, you may be lucky enough to explore its dorms, community area and sports facilities and lovely gardens. About ten years ago, it existed as a youth hostel but was converted into a training centre when the land was purchased by Maiim Group.

That being the case, you may as well be an armchair traveller and explore the place via cyberspace. One of the most significant buildings here is the Mud and Stone House. The architect, Bae Dae-yong, was responsible for this hybrid of contrasting textures which featured a stone section as a working space on the upper part of a hill and the "mud" section on the lower slope inteded as guest rooms.

Bae remarks: "Beauty is nothing but something that is hidden in nature, being revealed accidentally. It can be declared that there is no essential beauty not rooted in nature. For beauty belongs to nature. Beauty is not created but discovered, and we should approach the nature as near as possible if we want to discover it, and we men cannot create such a beauty but can only make it revealed." His ideas about how design can harmonise with nature can be found in his book, "Removing, and Becoming Transparent”.

Here are some examples of Bae's work.

 

My favourite room is probably the library - see above right. The suspended window on one end  of the room looks like a painting in itself while the rock is a pretty large token of Nature making its presence felt in this airy, ample interior.

Here's another instance of Bae's work - this time for a wealthy couple in Seoul. The ceramic tableware, stone lantern and bamboo are the traditional touches to this otherwise very Western design.

See also:

Houses In Korea I Fell In Love With, Part 1

Houses In Korea I Fell in Love With, Part 2


sources:
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/CU/CU_EN_8_5_1_68.jsp
http://www.soompi.com/news/secret-garden-press-conference-features-house-and-actors
http://www.soompi.com/content/type/2/0/3/9995
http://www.soompi.com/image/335575
http://www.bnadesign.co.kr/home/project.bna?proc=view&cateNo=100000011&index=128&lang=E#
http://www.bnadesign.co.kr/home/design.bna?lang=E
http://www.kdb.co.kr/screen/jsp/IHIre/down/new/2011.02-16.pdf
http://www.architecturaldigest.com/homes/homes/archive/pavlik_article_112002
http://www.maiim.com/eng/01_Story/03_Company_Brief.html?pageNum=1&subNum=3&ssubNum=1

How To Host A Hallyu Fan Meeting

The following thoughts come to mind after viewing this youtube footage of  a recent signing event arranged by Laneige Homme for Hyun Bin's fans. The session with the Secret Garden star lasted over two hours at Lotte Department store in Myeongdong on the 22nd of January.

1. Timing is Everything

Organisers of signing events don't need to be too successful in getting the word out that a Hallyu star is making an appearance at such a place on such a date. If the publicity details are released too early, you may get a far larger crowd that could easily become an over-excited mob that could be hard to control. Too late and you're wasting your A and P budget.

And the line went round and round - pics from Soompi

So while it seems as if winter is a lousy time for a signing event, it helps to sift out the less dedicated from the die-hard fans who are willing to queue in the freezing cold outside for hours.



How long did these Hyun-Bin diehards suffer near zero temperatures before they could shake their idol's hand?

2. Control The Information Leaks
Not necessary to spend a lot of won or resort to WikiLeaks publicising the event in conventional media - just pass on details of time and place to a well-chosen fan club or well-followed blogger and let nature take its course. If you've picked the right celebrity to be your brand ambassador, then half your job's done.




3. Ask for the Co-operation of the Traffic Police

You want to please your potential customers but at the same time, you don't want to incur the wrath of the drivers, passers-by or shoppers who have no interest in meeting your star and don't want to be inconvenienced by walkways or roads blocked by long lines of fans queuing to meet their idol or get his or her autograph.  Check out the youtube footage between  0:50 and 0:57 the bemused customer trying to get a makeover from a sales assistant at a makeup counter while surrounded by hordes of screaming teens.

4. Hire, Train and Equip Extra Bodyguards

Better to employ many bodyguards with endless patience to control the masses of screaming teenagers. Recruit tall staff members who can tower over the long lines of fans standing earnestly on tiptoe. They would need to have firm handclasps so their natural barricades would not be broken by a wall of teens who surge forward excitedly to touch their favourite Hallyu actor or singer. It's also a prudent move to train them to deal firmly but gently with female supporters who could sue your staff for manhanding or molesting them. Megaphones, queue markers and ear-plugs should form part of the regular arsenal to be handed out to your staff.

5.Monitor the Message Boards

After the event is over, it's worth checking out what the participants have to say about how well or how badly you organised the whole thing - are they satisfied customers who will fork out more won to buy the products endorsed by your chosen star or has your brand image taken a battering with more people disappointed by late and all-too-brief appearances or people who got their toes stepped on far too often or fans who decided the amount of money you got them to pay to purchase an autographed poster wasn't worth all the blood, sweat and tears?

See also
The Meeting with Lee Min-ho That Wasn't


sources:
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/01/28/2011012800768.html

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2011/01/21/2011012101080.html
http://www.laneige.com/brand/model_story2.jsp
http://en.amorepacific.com/about/about_brand_news_list.jsp#88
http://en.amorepacific.com/about/about_brand_news_list.jsp#88
http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/entertainment/enter_chart_detail.htm?No=13974
http://www.soompi.com/news/hyun-bin-holds-an-autograph-session/page/1
http://www.allkpop.com/2009/10/lee_minhos_hectic_day_in_singapore