KB News Desk
The South Jeolla village behind a fictional town writes its next chapter as a tourism destination
Na Hong-jin’s creature feature “Hope” drew more than 3 million admissions in less than two weeks in theaters. Now the village where much of it was filmed is drawing visitors of its own.
The film’s main location is Namchang-ri, in the Bukpyeong area of Haenam-gun, South Jeolla Province. Over roughly eight months of production, its narrow alleys and low-slung buildings stood in for Hopo-ri, the fictional town at the heart of the story.
The production settled on the village for its landscape and worn, decades-old streetscape, which the crew judged a strong fit for the film’s world without having to build a large set from scratch. Instead, they kept the existing buildings and raised thick false walls in front of them to recreate the period.
That backdrop is now the basis for a local tourism project. Haenam is developing what it calls a culture street through the old town, and work has picked up alongside the film’s release.
Patterns modeled from the creature’s footprints run along the road, leading visitors from the village entrance toward a string of photo spots. Inside the old town, sets from the shoot remain. The interior of the village bus terminal has been preserved as the police box seen in the film, and a retro undertaker’s sign hangs on a supermarket wall.
Along the marked route, visitors can find a 1980s street exhibition, a “Hope” film wall, a mural street, a cinema experience zone, traces of the film’s creature, a trick-art photo spot and Heawolru Pavilion.
Geumbok, a butcher-shop restaurant, was one of the filming locations. Early in the film, Beomseok, the local police chief played by Hwang Jung-min, hesitates at its entrance during the chase, talking himself into going in. The shop is closed to the public, so visitors can only view it from the street, while the neighboring stores stay open for business.
Local businesses have already felt the impact of the film, with the village supermarket, a coffee shop and nearby restaurants seeing an uptick in customers.
“Namchang-ri was long seen as a run-down village, but the film has turned its old-fashioned, retro character into an attraction. We hope it becomes a place people keep returning to, rather than one that draws crowds only briefly,” said a Haenam official.
