A sentence I never thought I’d write. But it’s true—a national Korean TV crew visited us a few weeks ago to film me and my life in the north. Before that, I received a message from them asking if they could come film my life in the northern winter, amidst the snow and darkness, for a documentary that would air on national television in Korea in the summer. Wild!

We arranged the dates, and two Korean videographers arrived to stay with us for a few days. I had to carefully explain that my village is nowhere near Rovaniemi, where their flight was landing, and there are no public transportation options from there. The nearest hotel had gone quiet during the off-season, as almost no one travels to Lapland in October. It must have been a surprise for them, too, that the Korean TV crew certainly does.

A white rental car pulled into our yard one afternoon, and soon there were two Koreans in our cabin with eight cameras and all kinds of filming equipment. Definitely not an ordinary weekend!

We sat them down at the coffee table with some blueberry pie, as is the Finnish custom. While enjoying the pie, we discussed and planned the upcoming filming sessions and schedules. Apparently, the blueberry pie was quite a hit—they even asked for more.

The documentary they were filming, which featured me and the northern nature, revolved around the theme of "living in nature." In addition, they wanted to capture the contrasts between two types of nights: the "white night" and the "black night." The documentary also featured another woman living in Indonesia, representing the "white night" with warmth, sunshine, sand, and clear waters. I, on the other hand, represented the "black night," embodying cold, darkness, winter, and the northern lights. These were the elements they wanted to film here in the north.

At night, the crew set up all their cameras around our cabin and by the riverbank, pointing towards the sky in hopes of capturing the northern lights. It was a cloudy and incredibly foggy October evening, and I doubted their chances. Yet, by morning, their cameras had recorded a brief moment when the sky cleared, revealing the dancing northern lights. They were visibly thrilled, though a bit disappointed that they hadn’t seen the lights themselves—only the cameras had witnessed them, while the rest of us slept soundly through the midnight hours.

The documentary also included an interview, where I answered questions like why I live so far north, whether I ever feel lonely, and how I perceive and experience the northern nature. I’ve touched on these topics here on the blog many times, so answering came relatively easily. I was extremely nervous about the filming and speaking to the camera, but in the end, being in a familiar setting and talking about subjects close to my heart made it go quite smoothly.

I lit a fire by the river, the crew set up their cameras, and on one darkening evening, under the starry sky and warmed by the fire, I answered the interviewer’s questions.

The next day, we headed to the fells. The crew wanted to continue part of the interview in the national park's landscapes, so I took them to an easily accessible but scenic spot in Muonio. We parked at the Sammaltunturi parking lot, packed up all eight cameras (I didn’t pack them, just watched from the side), and marched a few kilometers uphill through the blustery early winter snowfall.

Except the landscape was completely buried in a snowstorm. The Pallastunturit fells, which usually rise majestically on the horizon, didn’t show themselves even enough for me to lend credibility to my claim that, yes, they’re really there.

We continued the interview and filming in the freezing wind. Admirably, the TV crew set up their cameras and gear in weather that would make even Finns shiver a bit. But this wasn’t their first rodeo. I learned that the duo are well-known and highly respected filmmakers in Korea, renowned for their work.

On the way back, we chatted about the cultural differences between our countries, the cost of living, language, and people. It was fascinating to learn so much about Korean lifestyles up close. Naturally, I was particularly interested in nature. I found out that Korea has an impressive mountain range that’s popular and beautiful for hiking. When you think of Korea, the first things that come to mind are huge cities, bright lights, and massive crowds of people. Apparently, there’s plenty of that, but also lots of nature. It would be amazing to visit someday and see what Korean nature is like.

Overall, the visit was truly eye-opening. The days were long, and we worked hard on both sides. I’m eagerly waiting to see what kind of documentary the crew will put together. According to early estimates, it will air in Korea in the summer. I hope I get a chance to watch it somehow—and even more exciting, I hope I can show it to all of you!

Wishing you a wonderful, exciting, and surprising week ahead ❤️

♥ Sanna