Movie: Introduction to Architecture (건축학개론)

{Introduction to Architecture (건축학개론) movie poster}

Introduction to Architecture is a 2012 South Korean romance film written and directed by Lee Yong-joo. The film tells the story of two students Lee Seung-min and Yang Seo-yeon, who meet in an introductory architecture class and fall in love. Fifteen years later, the girl, Seo-yeon, tracks down her first love, Seung-min, to seek his help in building her dream house on Jeju Island. Seung-min reluctantly agrees but can’t come up with a design that pleases her. Therefore, they decide to renovate and expand the existing house, and he and Seo-yeon spend considerable amount of time together down in Jeju. Alternating time period from past to present, the audience can experience the full story of what really happened to the two characters in the past and how each event led them to behave the way they do in the present.  

{Gu-Doon Station} 

The name, Gu Doon, is believed to be named after the construction of nine hills to fend off Japanese soldiers during Imjin Japanese Invasion. In January of 1940, a train station was built near the area, which was named Gu Doon station. Although not many people use this station anymore due to the stoppage of renovation and ignorance, many tourists have visited the site ever since it has been featured in Introduction to Architecture.

{Cafe Seoyeon's House in Jeju Island}

Seo-yeon’s house in the film has been opened up as a café after the movie. Many tourists visit this venue in remembrance of this romance film.

This café sells drinks and snacks that bring back memories from the movie. For example, rice cakes are decorated with the characters’ names and nicknames

One of many movie-related canvases in the cafe. 

At the end of the movie, the two main characters lie down on the grass patio. Many wondered whether this patio was actually attached to the house, and it appears to be real! Visitors cannot enter the patio during winter because the grass needs to take a break from myriad of people visiting during the summer. It has a beautiful view of the sea and its volcanic rocks of basalt, which constitutes the base of the island.