UPDATE: The Exhibition is now over. This blog is published on 30th June 2014.
Dear readers, sorry for the lack of updates as I was busy for the whole month handling my finals and attending a K-Wave camp which ended just yesterday. It has been a really fruitful semester, I would say. Busy but very fulfilling. I had never felt like this for long, and I hope this positive energy will continue to keep my spirit high for some time. : )
For those who have been following me on my Instagram account, you may know that I have been to certain awesome places in Seoul recently. One of them that I am going to write about in this post is a special exhibition of the Daebak drama < My Love from the Star> or <My Love from Another Star> (별에서 온 그대) at the newly built Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP).
I was pretty excited when I first heard about the exhibition. Visiting Do Min-joon and Cheon Song-yi’s house? Are you kidding me? I am sure many of us here are still not over the Do-Manager and the rude Hallyu movie Star Cheon Song-yi yet. And now the drama set is rebuilt and open for public exhibition in Dongdaemun! How exciting is that? ^^
For those who don’t know about this drama yet, it is SBS’s hottest drama last winter and it quickly captured the heart of the Koreans and the rest of the world since it was aired. Not only did the OST receive the highest download rate, but the drama had also made an impact on the fashion industry, accessories and make-up products. It was rated the most favourite program locally and well-loved in China as well. The Washington Post reported in March 2014 that the Korean drama was brought up to discussion at China’s National People’s Congress, particularly in a committee of the political advisory body Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, where it reportedly topped the agenda among delegates from the culture and entertainment industry.
It was a weekday afternoon when I visited the exhibition. After purchasing the tickets and we were brought to the entrance. To my surprise, there wasn’t any crowd, which is good in a way, as no one would photo-bomb your precious pictures in the exhibition ^^
Tickets are going at KRW 15,000 per person. However, as I visited it this month, I get KRW 3,000 off the total bill!
The exhibition is divided into 2 Main Zones and 7 relatively smaller zones. Other than the 2 Main Zones, which is Do Min-Joon’s house and Cheon Song-yi’s house, a variety of exhibits and experience facilities are shown according to the concepts of “Chance”, “Meeting”, “Heartbeat”, “Yearnings”, “Destiny”, “Love” and “Memories”.
The Chance Meeting
For those who watched the drama, this corridor will be all too familiar to us. On the 23rd level, Cheon Song-yi’s corner unit 2301 and Do Min-joon’s 2302! The fight between Lawyer Jang and Song-yi’s mom, and the couple’s funny interactions, all happened here.
Do Min-Joon’s House
The main highlight of the exhibition. You get to see all the actual film set of Do Min-Joon’s house in the drama! Basically, this is my favourite zone as I get to see the magnificent library and Do Min-Joon’s university certificates all at once there.
I bet any viewer will remember the famous kiss scene that took place in Do Min-Joon’s living room. The “15 seconds fairy”, the silence, and then the smooch. To remind me of that captivating scene, I found a wonderful site that provides gif files which contain every bit and pieces about the drama: http://ywcfts.tumblr.com/page/58 so here you go!
The Balcony
“You never had a guest at home, am I right? You don’t seem to have friends either. Do you have a family? You’re living in an island like this… Aren’t you lonely?
The library.
The secret library at Do Min-Joon’s house that cost a bomb in the drama. According to the crew, the filming was done on a real set, with all props carefully chosen and assembled by their art direction team. The whole drama set took up 1 billion KRW (940,000 USD) for their sets. The grandfather clock, however, was not in the exhibition. It was said to be one of 3 that exist in Korea, costing a whopping 30 mil KRW (28,000 USD).
Cheon Song-yi’s House.
The other star zone from the exhibition. Less identical if compared to Do Min-Joon’s house. I guess it was because the space given was much smaller than the studio where the drama was filmed.
Other than these drama sets, props for example Cheon song-yi’s dress, Do Min-Joon Alien outfits, and rare meteorites that fell onto the earth were also among the many exhibits in the hall. Visitors can even take pictures at a certain photo booth and bring back home the fond memories together with Do Min-joon and Cheon Song-yi.
This DDP Art hall 1 is also a filming scene in the drama. Remember the scene where Cheon Song-yi took up a spy character in her “come back” movie in the drama? The place where she fall off was just located right beside the cafe. Remember to check it out!
My Love from the Star Exhibition Details:
DDP Art Hall 1
2014 June 10th to August 15
Exhibition time: 10am-10pm
Ticketing:
Adult KRW 15,000 (July sale KRW 12,000 per pax)
Students: KRW 10,000
Online Information: http://lovefromstar.sbs.co.kr/main_english.html#
How to Get There:
1. Get off at Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station (Seoul Subway Line 4), Exit 1.
2. Upon exiting, walk straight for about 5 mins.
