The Seoul of 'Cloud Atlas'

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Bae Doona, one of Korea's A-list actresses, has been getting high marks for her performance in the new sci-fi movie Cloud Atlas. But, she isn't the only Korean star in the film.

Seoul itself gets a mega re-imagination as a dystopian city in the year 2144, called Neo-Seoul, that was built on top of the crumbling, original city. Here's a little preview of Cloud Atlas' futuristic portrayal of Seoul and how it compares to the city today.

The film's concept art (below) shows where Bae's character, Sonmi-451, takes part in action scenes in a city full of flyingcarsand blocks of glitzy skyscrapers. Today's Seoulites complain about modern development seemingly gobbling upgreenspaces and historic neighborhoods.

But, we still very much appreciate nature and clean air. Take a bike ride along the Han River or stroll through Seoul Forest to see for yourself!

Sonmi-451 is a clone who was created to serve customers at a fast-food restaurant in Neo-Seoul. Korea is known for leading the world in stem cell and cloning research, with frequent reports of successful animal cloning. So it's not unreasonable for the film to take this idea to the extreme.

However, even Korea is still far from cloning actual human beings, and with current public sentiment strongly against the idea, it's not likely to ever happen! In the unlikely event that an evil cloning revolution threatens to take over the city, just stay tuned into the AT&D blog. We'll be sure to warn you!

Photo Credit: http://tinyurl.com/bzdayvp

This cool piece of concept art from Cloud Atlas does a good job of conjuring a menacing Neo-Seoul, where a worst-case scenario of our future is imagined. While it makes for amazing visual effects for moviegoers, residents of Seoul can breathe easy.

We know that we live in real-Seoul, where air quality has actually improved substantially over the past five years and blue skies are the norm.

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About the author by Anna Sohn

I'm a New Jersey girl with a lifelong fascination with Korea, my motherland. In 2011, I moved to Seoul and I've enjoyed living in this wired and fast-paced city ever since. I'm excited to share the latest tech and design developments I encounter in Korea and hope you enjoy the AT&D blog as much I enjoy writing for it!

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