I watched this series on Viki recently.
I was excited to watch this series because it was the first one that I have watched that was filmed in a actual South Korean wilderness area/park (Mt. Jiri). I wondered how some of the more suspenseful scenes had been filmed in the woods but after watching some of the "Behind the Scenes" videos on Viki, I learned that these scenes were filmed in a studio in front of a green screen. The CGI backfill is phenomenal and very realistic looking. I hope the CGI teams win an award for the work they did on this series.
I was glad to see Jun Ji-hyun in a new series that was a straight drama and not a comedy or dramedy. A lot of her dialog was spoken in whispers. Thank goodness for sub-titles!
It was also nice to see a sprinkling of top notch primary and character actors making special appearances throughout the show.
Set design and decoration on interior locations was also excellent (S. Korean shows almost always have excellent set design and decoration). I am pretty sure most of the indoor scenes were shot on a sound stage but they looked like they could have been shot on location in the Ranger/park facilities.
The scenes that were actually filmed in the out of doors are shot beautifully. The logistics to get camera equipment and camera booms up and down those mountains and ravines must have been exhausting.
SPOILER: In my opinion, this whole series was hamstrung by the addition of the "mountain ghost" element about half way though the show. I know this kind of supernatural element is a trope in South Korean television but it could have been left out of this show and it still would have been an interesting show to watch.
Also, the feel good "one year later" ending for the two main characters (I won't give it away here), was almost too far fetched to be believable.
The final sunrise scene was very nicely shot but the sunlight and cloud continuity between the changing angle of scenes was a little off.
Overall, I enjoyed the cinematography and the majority of the acting in this show.
I was excited to watch this series because it was the first one that I have watched that was filmed in a actual South Korean wilderness area/park (Mt. Jiri). I wondered how some of the more suspenseful scenes had been filmed in the woods but after watching some of the "Behind the Scenes" videos on Viki, I learned that these scenes were filmed in a studio in front of a green screen. The CGI backfill is phenomenal and very realistic looking. I hope the CGI teams win an award for the work they did on this series.
I was glad to see Jun Ji-hyun in a new series that was a straight drama and not a comedy or dramedy. A lot of her dialog was spoken in whispers. Thank goodness for sub-titles!
It was also nice to see a sprinkling of top notch primary and character actors making special appearances throughout the show.
Set design and decoration on interior locations was also excellent (S. Korean shows almost always have excellent set design and decoration). I am pretty sure most of the indoor scenes were shot on a sound stage but they looked like they could have been shot on location in the Ranger/park facilities.
The scenes that were actually filmed in the out of doors are shot beautifully. The logistics to get camera equipment and camera booms up and down those mountains and ravines must have been exhausting.
SPOILER: In my opinion, this whole series was hamstrung by the addition of the "mountain ghost" element about half way though the show. I know this kind of supernatural element is a trope in South Korean television but it could have been left out of this show and it still would have been an interesting show to watch.
Also, the feel good "one year later" ending for the two main characters (I won't give it away here), was almost too far fetched to be believable.
The final sunrise scene was very nicely shot but the sunlight and cloud continuity between the changing angle of scenes was a little off.
Overall, I enjoyed the cinematography and the majority of the acting in this show.