Chowon Photo Studio

Chowon Photo Studio in Gunsan is famous as the filming location of the movie, "Christmas in August (1998)" starring actors Han Suk-kyu and Shim Eun-ha. The movie depicts unfulfilled love between photographer Jung-won (Han Suk-kyu) who lives a time-limited life with his father and parking enforcement agent Da-rim (Shim Eun-ha) who appears in front of Jung-won one day. A majority of the movie was filmed at this photo studio. At the time of the production of the film, the production crew decided not to shoot in an indoor set but, instead, searched photo studios across the country; however, they failed to find the right location. Then, one day, when they went into a cafe for a quick break, they found a garage with a shadow of a summer tree outside the window and, after getting permission from the owner, converted it into a photo studio. The name "Chowon Photo Studio" was proposed by the lead actor, Han Suk-kyu, who named it after a neighborhood photo studio near his childhood home. After the filming was completed, Chowon Photo Studio was torn down as promised with the owner but was later restored by the city of Gunsan, and it is now open free of charge to everyone who visits Gunsan. It still exhibits the cameras, fans and albums that appeared in the movie and, after tourists take photos here, the studio managers send their photos by email.