'Avengers' add to Mapo Bridge's strange history
Foreigners gather and chat in the northern part of Mapo District in Seoul, Sunday amid police blocking Mapo Bridge-bound vehicles during the shooting of scenes for blockbuster “The Avengers: Age of Ultron.” / Yonhap
By Kim Young-jin, Baek Byung-yeul
From lovers reveling beneath New York’s Queensboro Bridge to a giant octopus devouring the Golden Gate, bridges have long been scenic locations for Hollywood films.
With Marvel Studios shooting parts of “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” in Seoul, two of the capital’s bridges are joining the list, including the Mapo Grand Bridge, which was shut down Sunday for filming.
The location shoot adds to the interesting but dark history of the Mapo Bridge ― including its reputation as an infamous symbol of the country’s soaring suicide rate.
Crossing the Han River and connecting the Mapo and Yeongdeungpo districts, the bridge is an ideal filming location due to views of iconic structures such as the National Assembly and the 63 Building.
In 2012, the city attempted to change the bridge’s reputation as a suicide hotspot, by putting LED lights on it that flashed a series of inspirational messages such as “I love you” and “Let’s walk together.”
When the number of attempted suicides then jumped more than four-fold to 65 the following year, critics said the campaign only served to compound the problem by drawing more attention to the bridge’s notoriety.
That reputation became undeniable in July after an activist, Sung Jae-gi, jumped from the bridge in what was thought to be a publicity stunt to benefit his group, Men’s Alliance. Sung’s body was found four days later.
According to data on causes of death by Statistics Korea, suicides in the country have more than tripled over the past two decades ― from 8.3 per 100,000 people in 1992 to 28.1 in 2012. This figure tops the list of nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Part of the Han River development project under authoritarian leader Park Chung-hee, the completion of the bridge in 1970 led to the rapid growth of Yeouido, an island on the Han that is now the city’s main business and investment district.
Avengers Director Joss Whedon may have a challenging time capturing Seoul’s energy through the bridge, as the structure is about as nondescript as they come. However, in comparison to other Han River Bridges, it offers better views of the urban skyline.
Whether the Avengers will alter the bridge’s reputation remains to be seen.
“I think the bridge will become more famous and popular, mainly with Japanese and Chinese tourists who often visit Korean movie sites,” predicted Robert Neff, a historian and Korea Times columnist.
“Will it deter people from jumping from it? I doubt it....it may even have the opposite effect as people try to grab their last moments with fame by jumping from it.”
Following Mapo Bridge, the Cheongdam Bridge to the east will be closed for filming, Saturday.