Seoul Gwanjang Market 7:00 PM

I have created a short movie on Korean gastronomy and dietary habits at one of the most famous food markets, Gwanjang Market, in Seoul.

7 possible themes

Theme One >>Area<<

Theme Two >>Architecture<<

Theme Three >>Individual behavior<<

Theme Four >>Public behavior<<

Theme Five >>Food culture<<

Theme Six >>Social life<<

Theme Seven >>Intriguing discovery<<

*Images: Yuri Endo 2007-2011, design inspired by David Hall

I would like to propose a 2-3 day film making project in which groups of at randomly chosen participants, consist of locals and international, creatively capture the city of Seoul through their own lenses to understand the city, culture and people inhabiting it based on one of the themes a group picks which are exemplified above. Upon completion of the exercise, each film would be screened in front of the entire participants to share one another's view. This exercise project is ideally taken place at the very beginning of the workshop for the purpose to unite participants with different backgrounds as well as to expand their ideas for the main topic that this workshop may deal with.

Group filmmaking

When I was a film student, I was obligated to participate in group filmmaking projects every semester in which film students with various nationalities and specialities formed groups to create short films in 1-7 days. Through out this exercise, I have succeeded in pushing my limit to complete one project in short time period by working with others and expand this experience into future projects.

The above short film, which explores an up growing Capoeira culture in New York City, was created in a similar manner during a week period with my fellow film students with 4 different nationalities and specialities. On that note, I am contemplating on transforming such a project as part of our future workshops.

Survival Korean

Yuri Endo 2010

How to Survive Korea in 7 Days was also created for the purpose of assisting expats and travelers in Korea during my typography course last year. Corresponding to previous Food Guidebook project, by taking advantages of my experience as an expat, I picked seven highly useful Korean phrases which would potentially help enlighten visiters' stays in the country;

한 잔 어때요? (How about a drink?)

감사하지만 괜찮습니다 (Thanks but no thanks)

안 맵게 해주세요 (Please don't make it spicy)

사랑합니다. (I love you)

라면 주세요 (Ramen please)

등 좀 밀어주세요. (Body-scrub me please)

화장실이 어디예요? (Where is the restroom?)

On that note, I am hoping to start narrowing down the potential themes for my film making idea in relation to my experiences and works in the past.

Revolving around the food

Yuri Endo 2010

Korean Food Guide for Travelers and Expats was created during a product design class last year in collaboration with Damla Soyer, my fellow international student from Turkey, and 3 korean students from Seoul and Busan, which aimed to introduce prominent Korean cuisine and its related culture to assist travelers and expats in Korea. As an expats myself, I have realized that Korean culture is vastly revolves around food at the very early stage of my stay in the country. As their frequently used greeting expression, "밥 먹었어요?" (Have you eaten already?) hints, the act of food consuming over all, sharing food with group of people is also a big part of their daily life. In that sense, I believe exploring Korean food simultaneously with observing the locals' behavior towards the food is one of the most receptive ways to get a glimpse of the country/culture on the whole.

Movement, learning and food

Another creative traveling piece which I was vastly inspired by during my trips this summer. This compelling short film project is consist of 3 themes; Move, Learn and Eat, and conveys the ultimate traveling experiences to the viewers without them physically moving. Although it does not focus on one country/culture, I believe we can also apply these simple yet smart keynotes to capture the most intriguing parts of Seoul and Korean culture on the whole.

Subjectified

A very nice commercial for EF International Language School directed by Gustav Johansson which captures the city of Beijing from a visitor's perspective. Taking full advantage of my background in film production and my status as an exchange student, I am very much interested in capturing the city of Seoul with a similar approach.