Seoul Culture Foundation sponsored the Handpan X story series 3, and Ha Taek-hu, the representative artist of Sa-mat-di, hosted the mini documentary and music video shoot for the fairy-tale “Milky Way Project”, which ran successfully over two days from 4 to 5 July in the pine forest at ‘Parang Stay’ in Yangyang, Gangwon-do.
Under the planning intention of “Dawn stars into the Milky Way! The joy and comfort gained through the time spent performing together”, this project drew around 40 participants on a large scale, led by Ha Taek-hu, lighting up the event. In particular, for this shoot, the participating performers reportedly gathered every Friday from June for a month at ‘Domoyoga’ near Samjeon Station in Seoul, rehearsing intensely to achieve a high-quality performance.
A spotlight on collaborations with various wellness and art brands
In particular, the filming location was created into a fairy-tale-like, sensory space through collaborations with leading wellness and art brands in South Korea, capturing attention. The pine forest and premium space direction brand ‘‘Bin Collector’ provided at ‘Parang Stay’ handled the fantastic space design that blended seamlessly with nature in the pine forest of Yangyang, while exotic rugs and sheer curtains provided by the wellness lifestyle brand ‘Iya(AIYA)’ added to and maximised the mysterious atmosphere.
In addition, body art paintings of ‘tribal markers’, inspired by “missing art”, were drawn on the performers’ bodies, adding artistic depth. The delicate patterns drawn with special pens that are harmless to the human body gave the performers a special experience that connected them deeply with their inner souls, raising the visual completeness of the music video.
The harmony among performers gathered from across the country stands out
On the day of the shoot, 4 July, the participants’ passion shone through despite the punishing schedule of nearly 10 hours. A total of about 40 handpan performers, along with sessions and performers, came together from across South Korea, including Goldang Brothers and the Dokkebi Team, who had long worked in sync with Ha Taek-hu, as well as from Gurye, Gokseong, Busan, Ilsan, Paju, Cheonan, Dongtan and Osan. They transcended their respective jobs and regions and staged a deep, moving moment in which they became one solely through the mysterious melodies of the handpan.
For the music video shoot that day, three performers—TJ, Ella and instructor A-young from the Acro Move Yoga team—formed an impressive performance unit, while Yeon-jeong, an artist who majored in Korean dance, expressed Korea’s resilient women through dance in line with ‘Jowang’, widening the work’s artistic range. During the long hours of filming, ‘Sokcho Flavoring’ prepared wellbeing catering with care to replenish the participants’ tired minds and bodies, winning high praise.
The following day, 5 July, after the main filming wrapped, a variety of culture and healing programmes continued for participants. A participation tea meditation programme hosted by Kim So-hyeon, CEO of ‘So-hyeoncha Culture So’, and a healing yoga class led by instructor Sebin were held, gently comforting participants’ minds and bodies. Afterwards, some participants also took part in a surfing class on Yangyang Dongho Beach, bringing the long journey to an energetic and abundant close.
The finished version of this project is set to be unveiled immediately in November through a range of official SNS channels such as the Sa-mat-di YouTube channel and Instagram, after the final review by the Seoul Culture Foundation.
Park Mi-ran, a staff member who took part in the event, said: “It was an enormous experience and a moving moment that I will never forget for the rest of my life—the time we spent synchronising our breathing for 10 hours in the beautiful pine forest of Yangyang together with the precious performers gathered from all over the country, Ha Taek-hu artist, Goldang Brothers, the Dokkebi team, and also the PDs who worked hard with us.”