“I have finally fulfilled my dream”, celebrates Isabel Palijon when observing the small wooden jetty that rises over a turquoise water. In the background, the Swiss Alps make the canvas even more idyllic.
This small jetty is the main reason why this 38-year-old Filipino tourist traveled 11,000 kilometers to Iseltwald, a village of just 400 inhabitants on the shores of Lake Brienz, near Bern.
And it’s not her alone. The “fault” is “Emergency landing on your heart”, a tremendously popular South Korean series on Netflix, and especially a romantic scene shot in that same place.
– Romantic –
The series tells the unlikely story of a South Korean millionaire heiress, who crashes in a paraglider in the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas, and runs into a handsome knightly officer in the service of the totalitarian regime of the North.
Many scenes take place in Switzerland. In the shot in Iseltwald, the hero of the series plays the piano and the melody echoes over the lake, while the protagonist arrives by ferry from Interlaken.
“I wish one day someone would do this for me,” says Jiah Hni Gweea 35-year-old Malaysian, who casts a somewhat envious look towards the place.
“It would be amazing and romantic,” adds the woman, one of the dozens of tourists who came to that place on a sunny day last week.
The series, which its followers refer to as CLOY for the acronym of the English titleexploded in popularity in much of Asia during the long periods of covid-19 lockdown.
Outside of your country of origin, It is the second most popular Korean productionr among foreign viewers in 2021 after “The Squid Game”.
– “It’s too much” –
But for Iseltwald, it has become a problem.
“The figures have skyrocketed,” Titia Weiland, a the person in charge of the tourist office of the town.
Although it is difficult to calculate the number of fans of the series over the total number of tourists, Wieland estimates that “there are 1,000 visitors for every local person who lives here.”
“Almost everyone in the Iseltwald is happy to have a lot of tourists,” but “it’s a bit much,” he says.
Last summer, 20 coaches began to arrive every day, that obstructed circulation and sometimes blocked access to the municipality.
And the inhabitants complain that the fans of the series are content with a photograph on the pier before leaving, causing chaos but leaving little money.
“When you have hundreds or thousands of people coming to the jetty to take a photo and less than 10% come here to have a drink, it’s a problem,” explains Sonja Hornung, manager of the Strand hotel across the street.
To deal with the situation, the municipal government announced restrictions access last month and installed a turnstile at the jetty.
Now, to pass you have to pay the “selfie price” of five Swiss francs ($5.50).
– ‘Paradise on Earth’ –
For Sonja Hornung, whose restaurant offers her customers a token to pass through the turnstile, the new measures make a difference.
“Last year was terrible. But it has improved a lot,” he says.
But some tourists do not hide their surprise at the barrier of access and for the price.
“Oh, five francs!” exclaims Florita Lichtensteiger, a 64-year-old Filipina living in Switzerland. Although reluctantly, she ended up paying so that the rest of her relatives could pay, but not for her.
“All my guests want to see this site”, says the woman, who has already had to go there at least a dozen times.
Other tourists settle for a photograph from the shore.
“This is not worth it,” judges Nayeon Parka 21-year-old Korean.
For Tita Weiland there is no alternative, if only to pay for the maintenance of the jetty and guarantee the safety of those who walk along the fragile wooden walkway that, before the series, welcomed a handful of people a day.
“Many people understand that something had to be done,” he judges. iseltwald “It’s like paradise on Earth. We want to try to preserve it.”
