Seoul is more abundant than most places when it comes to film labs, and like all things in life, some are better than others. After testing various film labs in Seoul, Yeonnam Film has turned out to be one of my "better" labs that I'd like to share with you. With one-day turnaround, kind staff and a passionate owner, I believe you should have this lab pinned as somewhere to check out.
Just a short 10-minute walk away from Seoul's ever-crowded Hongik station, Yeonnam Film may be the best film lab you hadn't heard of yet.
Disclaimer: This article is not sponsored. I shop at this lab and pay the same prices that everyone else does. I simply like this shop and want to share it.
Quick Questions, Quick Answers:
Location: 202, 2F, 11 Seongmisan-ro 29an-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea. Get off at Hongik University Station, Line 2, 10 mins by foot.
Hours: 10:00AM - 7:00PM
Image Delivery Method: Email
Turnaround Time: Disposables / Color Negative same day. Black and white within a week, they tend to estimate turnaround during drop off of the film.
Black and white is processed ~2 times a week.
Scanners: Noritsu HS-1800 (main), LS-600, LS-1100, QSS-3300, S-3, plus Fujifilm Frontier SP3000
Pushing/Pulling: Only for black and white
What to expect: Bring your film or disposable camera, share your contact information (name, email), you'll receive your photos via email and can then pick up your negatives.
Additional Offerings: Development lessons (Korean only), ID and Passport photos, introduction to film class (Korean only), photo prints
Pros/Cons:
Pros:
Turnaround time is fast with color negatives generally being within a day.
Cost-per-roll for color negative 35mm / disposable cameras is good at 7000 Won. There's even a slight discount when you bring two or more color negative 35mm rolls at 6000 Won per roll.
Support for English speakers is quite good.
Half frame images do NOT incur up-charge if scanned individually but diptychs do have an up-charge.
Standard images come in at a little over 3000px on the long edge but you can pay for higher resolution images as well, up to 6700px on the long edge.
TIFFs are offered but files are huge... jpeg's tend to be flexible but it’s an option.
120 film scans will by default be delivered at max resolution supported.
Negatives are provided back to you by default. They're cut then placed in a protective sheet to be picked up after you get your scans via email.
Diverse selection of film with occasional expired films being available at a discount.
Yeonnam Film is located within Yeonnam (obviously) which is filled with various other shops and cafes that can make the trip into a day-long excursion in the area.
Cons:
There is no push or pull processing for color negative. Push and pull IS available for black and white.
Black and white film and 120 film can sometimes take longer and do cost more. At the scale for these formats it's not surprising but for anyone used to these costing the same, it's worth noting.
Negatives are cut by default, you MUST tell them not to do this if you want to preserve one long roll.
Like most labs that rely largely on traditional scanners, there can be struggles with non-traditional films that do not use orange film base. (Lucky 200, Lucky 400, Phoenix I/II, etc).
ECN-2 developing is no longer offered.
Personal Experience:
It’s probably obvious as I’m writing this article of my own free will, but I’ve had almost exclusively good experiences with Yeonnam Film over the last half year.
I came across the lab months ago when I moved here to Seoul and was trying out various options to find the lab that clicked for me. Initially, I loved the price, speed and quality of the scans and developing offered. I can drop off my rolls and within a day, I have nostalgic pictures to share with my friends and family.
And despite the scans being nice from the get-go, I also have the option to edit and clean up my images into something I can put in my portfolio or print out later.
There are many other labs here in Seoul but it didn’t feel as if they put in the personal touch that Yeonnam Film does. While I’m not really a sentiment-driven person when it comes to things like this, I think it matters because film photography is sentimental. The quality and thoughtfulness of the work are a direct reflection of the passion that the owner, Seong-ju Ryu, has put into his film business for the past 20 years.
I think that the most profound moment I had with Yeonnam was when I had them develop a roll of CatLabs' Pro black and white film. When it got developed, there was a mistake that rendered my roll unsalvageable.
Truthfully, I wasn't bothered as the images were just for a review rather than anything sentimental. The way it was handled, though, was what sold me on Yeonnam Film; I was swiftly contacted, they explained what had happened, I was offered free development on my next rolls, and I was given a gift as a form of apology.
To an extent, you can say this is expected. But I've had my share of experiences in the past where labs avoid accountability. To a business, making things "right" costs them time and money, and some don't care if they lose just one customer.
However, Yeonnam Film went so above and beyond what I expected from them that it made me decide this is where I want to take my business. I want to take my film to people who take care of me and I think others should too.
About Your Scans, Negatives and Prints
As a general principle Yeonnam Film tries to keep operator intervention to a minimum. With each roll that's dropped off, after developing the roll the lab will pick the scanner that best suits your roll. The goal is to give you results that respect the scanner and film's original character as best as possible.
Small adjustments will be made as necessary but the most important thing to Yeonnam Film and Ryu is consistency. Whether you bring your roll today or a year from now, the goal is to make sure that the results would be the same.
Once your scans are completed and show up in your email, you can then pick up your negatives. You just return to the lab and they'll give you an envelope that contains your negatives neatly sleeved to keep them from getting dust or fingerprints. This isn't required by any means but for those who want a physical copy it's nice to have. Prints can also be picked up at this time if you ordered prints when you dropped off your film.
About The Owner and Lab
Run by film lab veteran Seong-ju Ryu with 20 years of experience, Yeonnam Film is a small lab that, while unassuming, is packed full of the things needed for a successful film lab: film, scanners and passion for the craft. Located on the second floor, you'll immediately spot the lab by its distinct multicolored window that's always open when the lab is open. It's letting you know to come on in and take a look at the various films in stock or to drop off that film you just finished shooting.
Ryu has run Yeonnam for 6 years now with the philosophies of understanding each roll, working carefully, and staying consistent. When you enter, you'll immediately see the staff working on scans, handling orders or sorting negatives but despite the buzz and hum of work being done, the staff is happy to chat with you about photography. Whether it's Ryu or his staff, you can tell that the team working Yeonnam truly loves photography.
When asked what makes Yeonnam Film special, Ryu humbly said that he didn't really set out to make Yeonnam Film different. He just wanted to run a lab because he loved film photography. As a regular of this shop, I can attest that it's through this love and care of your film that Yeonnam Film stands out. I feel that the shop is run humbly and that leads to an experience that feels very human. To quote Ryu,
I treat every customer who visits Yeonnam Film, and every precious roll of film they bring, with the same care I would give to my own film.
3 Tips To Avoid Ruining Your Film:
The most common mistake the team at Yeonnam Film sees is opening the back of their film cameras without properly rewinding their film.
Just because the camera shows 36 pictures have been taken doesn't mean it's time to open the camera yet! One simple piece of advice from Ryu is to just keep shooting until the camera doesn't allow you to anymore. Film will often give you 1-3 extra shots past 36, so make sure to use them.
Most automatic cameras will then automatically wind the film back for you, preventing you from accidentally opening the camera and ruining your film. For disposables, just wind until it stops and hand it in.
For those using manual cameras the next tip is for you: When loading your film, be sure to actually advance your film and make sure it's moving before closing the camera. To quote Ryu:
You may lose one frame in the process, but that is far better than discovering later that the film was never properly loaded and that every photograph was exposed onto the same first frame.
These mistakes do not happen only to beginners. Even people who have used film for a long time can make them.
The final tip from Ryu is to try to have someone teach you! With the rise of YouTube and social media, it IS easy to find basic tips online but having someone teach you is a great way to learn how to avoid basic pitfalls that are specific to you and your camera.
With these tips, you should see a higher success rate on having your rolls developed as expected!
Additional Reading:
Layered Cafe Yeonnam - A cozy cafe less than five minutes away from the lab