Living beautifully

I do admire people who can live beautifully. David Kilburn, the tea merchant and writer who has a hanok house with his wife in Seoul, seems to have won a round against the city hall officials who threatened to destroy the traditional neighbourhood where he lives.

Director Kim Ki-duk, who made Spring Summer Fall Winter and Spring, filmed scenes for his 2004 film 3-Iron at David's house. You can watch both trailers on the links above.



...It was last October when the idea first came to me. I was removing a flyer that was pasted over the keyhole on my front door when it suddenly occured to me that the houses that had these ads intact for days must have been empty. The image of an empty house that noone enters led to a story of a very lonely person cut off from others. And I wanted to make a film about a man who goes in and fills that emptiness with warmth. People who play golf would know that the 3 Iron is the least used club. Imagine the 3 Iron stuck in an expensive leathery golf bag but only rarely used. Its image parallels that of an abandoned person or an empty house. At the same time it is the tool with which Tae-suk rescues Sun-hwa and so signifies a hopeful change as well."
--Kim Ki-Duk

Click here to see the July 2006 TV show from TBS about the unique hanok houses in Seoul. Congratulations, David, I do hope many people are encouraged to reach out and help you with this endeavour.

Hanok houses previous