[Joseonggwan's Global Humanities Journey] The Landmark Connecting 'John Wick 4, Las Vegas, and Christian Dior'

Recently, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced plans to install the Seoul Ring at Haneul Park. The Seoul Ring is a circular observation Ferris wheel. It is intended to be a circular observation wheel like the London Eye along the Thames River in London or the Ferris wheel in Vienna's Prater Park. The Seoul city government expects the Seoul Ring to become a landmark of the Han River once it is built.

As soon as the announcement was made, the Seoul Ring became embroiled in plagiarism controversies, and some experts such as architects and sculptors expressed skepticism about its feasibility. Regardless of whether the Seoul Ring is realized, the 'Seoul Ring controversy' has become an opportunity to think about landmarks.

Until about ten years ago, Seoul did not have any notable landmarks to boast about. Namsan N Tower falls short in terms of artistry and contemporaneity. However, since the Lotte World Tower (555m) was built in Jamsil, Seoul in 2016, the city's thirst for landmarks seems to have been somewhat quenched. Everything becomes clear when you go up to the observation deck, 'Seoul Sky,' of the Lotte World Tower.

Sunset view of the Eiffel Tower from Trocad?ro Square. Photo by Seonggwan Cho

Let's take a look at the landmarks of major cities around the world. The Statue of Liberty in New York, Big Ben in London, Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Eiffel Tower in Paris, Colosseum in Rome, Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Prague Castle in Prague, Sydney Opera House, Leaning Tower of Pisa... For some reason, nothing definitive comes to mind for Tokyo. It's hard to say it's Meiji Jingu Shrine's main gate, and Tokyo Tower is also insufficient.

What conditions and processes are necessary for a city's sculpture or building to become a global landmark? Above all, contemporaneity, artistry, and functionality must be united. It must continuously appear in culture and arts over time and be consumed as a cultural product. It must be layered with storytelling.

Movie poster for 'John Wick 4'. Photo by Movie Still

When riding buses and subways, one becomes sensitive to the flow of the world. Bus advertisements, in particular, have high readability. Recently, the action movie 'John Wick 4,' starring Keanu Reeves, swept through Seoul city. The background of the 'John Wick 4' advertisement, where the protagonist is aiming a pistol, was the Eiffel Tower. The halo of the Eiffel Tower suggested that 'John Wick 4' was set in Paris. The Eiffel Tower appears in countless films like 'John Wick 4.'

Recently, I watched a movie called 'Secret Laundry' on TV because the title caught my attention. After about ten minutes, I realized it was a film I had seen long ago. How could I have completely forgotten the movie title? Perhaps because I didn't take notes. To my surprise, there was a scene in Las Vegas.

The protagonist enters a hotel in Las Vegas with his daughter and granddaughters. Approaching the window, he points and says,

"Do you see the Eiffel Tower over there?"

"Yes? I see it."

"It really looks like Paris, doesn't it?"

"Kailun, look over there. They keep the lights on all night, so it's really beautiful."

The miniature Eiffel Tower is located on the Las Vegas Strip, the city's central area. This area is themed around ancient Egypt, ancient Rome, Paris, New York, and more. The Eiffel Tower stands out prominently. In this gambling city, travelers enjoy the pleasure of experiencing world-famous landmarks in miniature form.

Marc Chagall's 'The Bride and Groom of the Eiffel Tower' Photo by Pompidou Center

Marc Chagall (1887?1985), called the 'Magician of Color,' was born in Belarus and blossomed as a painter after moving to Paris. Chagall, who led the Cubist movement alongside Picasso and Braque in Paris, often featured Paris as the background in his works. Among them, the widely known piece is 'The Bride and Groom of the Eiffel Tower.' The groom is pressed against the bride, who wears a white dress. The groom's lips touch the bride's earlobe. The groom's feet float in the air. It is a dreamlike supernatural scene where humans and animals become one.

Chagall, a Jew, believed in Orthodox Judaism. Orthodox Judaism holds that when a person dies, their soul enters an animal. Due to this religious belief, animals such as horses, chickens, sheep, and goats frequently appear in his works. The Eiffel Tower stands at the center of this painting.

'The Bride and Groom of the Eiffel Tower' was completed in 1938, just before Chagall fled to the United States to escape Hitler. The bride is his wife, Bella. This work is part of the Pompidou Center collection. The 1913 work 'Paris Through the Window' also features the Eiffel Tower at its center. Every time we see Chagall's works, we fall into the fantasy of the Eiffel Tower.

Samuel Beckett's immortal play 'Waiting for Godot' earned him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1969. I watched 'Waiting for Godot' twice at the Sanullim Theater in Seoul with some time in between. Vladimir exchanges words with Estragon.

Estragon: I don't want to hear it! Take off this damn god.

Vladimir: They must have held hands and jumped off the top of the Eiffel Tower. They were among the first to jump. They were quite robust back then. But now it's too late. They probably won't even let people like us go up anymore. (Estragon struggles to take off his shoes) What are you doing?

The Eiffel Tower appears suddenly in paintings and literature like this.

What about music? One of the songs in the musical film 'Mamma Mia' is 'Our Last Summer.' It plays during a scene where the male lead, Sam Michael, recalls the joyful times he spent with the female lead, Donna.

"I remember all of last summer, walking by the Seine, past the Eiffel Tower."

The Eiffel Tower is synonymous with love and romance.

Title cover of Pink Martini's album 'Sympathique'. Photo by Pink Martini

One of my favorite bands is Pink Martini. Their 20th-anniversary album is 'Sympathique.' The album cover features the Eiffel Tower. Three boys are roller skating, and a man who appears to be a coach watches them. In the distance, a couple walks toward them.

The boys are roller skating at Place du Trocad?ro. The view of the Eiffel Tower from this square is the most beautiful. Behind the lovers, the Eiffel Tower stands like a pillar of mist. In the album 'Sympathique,' the Eiffel Tower is dreamlike.

When the Eiffel Tower is used as a backdrop, all products become premium. Christian Dior often holds fashion shows at Place du Trocad?ro. When models walk the square as a runway, the Eiffel Tower is captured behind them.

The 3rd floor and the top spire as seen from the 2nd floor of the Eiffel Tower. Photo by Seonggwan Jo

The charm of the Eiffel Tower, an observation tower, lies not only in its aesthetic beauty and functional excellence but also in the fact that it can be experienced through touch with hands and feet. No matter where you are, touching the iron structure makes you marvel at the insight of a genius engineer. Anyone who experiences the Eiffel Tower never forgets it.

Once, I took subway line 9 and noticed a young woman sitting with a golden Eiffel Tower earring sparkling from her ear. The image of Paris Baguette is the Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower sways in plastic bags and roams nationwide even at this hour. Although the Eiffel Tower is 8,000 km away in Paris, it has long permeated our daily lives. So who wouldn't want to go up the Eiffel Tower?