The production of Korean films, like other film industries, has been shaped by Hollywood, not least through its studio system. It’s also echoing Hollywood with its global ambitions. Taking benefit of tax incentives and cheaper labor, while also seeking to capitalize on the popularity of Korean films, Korean productions in increasing numbers are being shot overseas.

One of the first South Korean films to be filmed outside Korea was An Exotic Garden (1957) shot in Hong Kong, an early international co-production. In the contemporary era that saw an influx of financing in the 1990s from the conglomerates and venture capital, there have been an array of productions shot in different parts of the world. In the 2000s, Typhoon (2005) and The Good, The Bad, The Weird (2007) echoed Hollywood blockbusters in size and spectacle shot overseas. In the 2010s, this was expanded even further with The Berlin File (2013) and Snowpiercer (2013) that were shot in Europe. In the 2020s, the bar was raised again with productions including Escape from Mogadishu (2021) that was set in Somalia and filmed in Morocco.

Meanwhile as Korea’s post-production sector was rising to such an extent that VFX companies such as Dexter Studios were becoming some of the leading players in the region, outsourcing to countries like China and Vietnam is now common.

This week we look at some these developments beginning with overseas productions in the 2000s, then the 2010s and 2020s before concluding with a look at the VFX studio Westworld that established a subsidiary in Ho Chi Minh City in 2023.

2000s: Typhoon (2005) and The Good, The Bad, The Weird (2008)

Korean blockbusters would prove pivotal in the growth of Korea’s domestic market in the 2000s and 2010s after the seminal Shiri (1999) transformed the industry beating Hollywood at its own game. Adopting Korean backdrops that local audiences could relate to, the spectacle has come in leaps and bounds over the last thirty years.

One of CJ ENM’s first projects to reflect its global ambitions was Kwak Kyung-taek’s Typhoon that was shot in Korea, Thailand, and Russia. Using local crews in locations including Bangkok and Vladivostok, it was an early sign of where the industry was heading as it sought to emulate the success of Hollywood as a global content powerhouse.

Typhoon features Jang Dong-gun as a North Korean terrorist seeking revenge for the death of his parents and steals a U.S freighter ship carrying sensitive technology relating to military satellites with the help of Thai pirates. He is being pursued by a South Korean naval officer played by Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game). The film sold 4 million tickets in Korea and was also released in North America generating $139,000.

Kim Jee-woon’s The Good, The Bad, The Weird (2008) would similarly attract interest for its large budget, star-studded cast, and setting, this time taking audiences to Manchuria in the 1940s. Shot in China’s Gobi Desert, its audacious set-pieces were some of the most impressive of the decade. Inspired by Sergio Leone’s The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1966), the so-called “Kimchi Western” follows The Good (Jung Woo-sung), The Bad (Lee Byung-hun) and The Weird (Song Kang-ho) as a chase for a treasure map ensues.

Illustrating its global appeal, it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival before its theatrical rollout in Korea where it pulled in 6.6 million viewers. It was also distributed by CJ ENM.

2010s: The Berlin File (2013) and Snowpiercer (2013)

The studio CJ ENM was also responsible for The Berlin File (2013) and Snowpiercer (2013) that required large crews outside Korea.  Ryoo Seung-wan’s espionage thriller is partly set in Berlin and was shot in Germany and Latvia. It follows a North Korean agent (Ha Jung-woo) who is betrayed when a weapons deal goes awry and is pursued by North Korean and South Korean operatives.

While it is now not uncommon for Korean films to be shot overseas, this marked a new phase with some tentpole titles being shot in Europe. Ode to My Father (2014) was partly filmed in the Czech Republic, while Latvia was also chosen as a main location for Hero (2022) and Harbin (2024). Both films center on the independent fighter Ahn Jung-geun.

Bong Joon Ho’s Snowpiercer was filmed at the Barrandov Studios in Prague where a train set was built with 90 percent of the film shot there. While Korean films shot in Europe and elsewhere have used local crews, Snowpiercer took this a step further with many of the senior crew such as the production designer (Ondrej Nekvasil), composer (Marco Beltrami) and first director (Robert Grayson) from Europe and the US. This was also reflected on screen with much of the talent from the US (Chris Evans, Octavia Spencer) and the UK (Tilda Swinton, John Hurt, Jamie Bell) underscoring the transnational nature of its production. 

2020s: Escape from Mogadishu (2021), The Point Men (2022), Ransomed (2022)

In the post-Parasite era with Korean cinema being increasingly visible on the global stage, there have been several films that are largely set overseas and in countries that hadn’t previously been a central location in a Korean feature. Ryoo Seung-wan as an action maestro took his visuals to another level in Escape from Mogadishu that is set in the Somalian capital during the early 1990s when North and South Korean embassy workers are seeking to flee the city after it ravaged by civil war.

Starring Kim Yoon-seok, Zo In-sung, Huh Joon-ho and Koo Kyo-hwan the film was entirely shot in Morocco featuring a local crew of more than a 100 as well as a Korean team of professionals. Despite being on a different continent, Ryoo was able to stage some of his best set-pieces yet capturing the complex theme of inter-relations.

Filmed in Jordan was Yim Soon-rye’s action thriller The Point Men based on the South Korean hostage crisis in Afghanistan. Hwang Jung-min plays a diplomat seeking to get the 23 missionaries released, Hyun Bin stars as a NIS agent who assists the government official. The production company Fluid Productions based in Jordan provided production support, while the Jordanian director Johnny Dabeet was the line-producer.

Kim Seong-hun’s Ransomed also takes place in the middle East set in Lebanon in 1987 featuring a diplomat, this time acted by Ha Jung-woo who goes to Beirut to locate a missing colleague. It was filmed in Casablanca, Marrakesh and Tangier, Morocco. The production services in Morocco were handled by Kasbah Film.

These were not the only features to be filmed in overseas locations - other films include Deliver Us from Evil (2020) that takes place in Thailand, Bogota: City of the Lost (2024) set in the Colombian capital in the 1990s, and Amazon Bullseye (2024) that was shot in the Amazon.  The box office smash hit The Roundup (2022) was also party set in Vietnam.

Korean VFX Companies Establish Subsidiaries Overseas – Westworld

In a further sign of the global nature of Korea’s film industry, non-Korean names are frequently appearing in the end credits, especially when it comes to visual effects and post-production. Sometimes these are professionals working for visual effects companies in countries like China or Vietnam. For instance, while much of the visual effects for Escape from Mogadishu was done by Dexter Studios and other local VFX effects houses, additional work was completed by the Chinese company Qingdao Doogle Films.

Korean visual effects companies are also setting up subsidiaries overseas, particularly in Vietnam. One such case is Westworld that was founded in 2018 by CEO Daniel Son and has grown in tandem with the explosion in Korean content. It secured 20 billion won of investment ($14.4m) in 2022 from Venture Capital firm IMM Investment. Its credits include Exhuma (2024) along with the series The Glory (2022-23) and The Extraordinary Attorney Woo (2022). Located in Goyang, a hub for Korean production, it has expanded overseas establishing its first subsidiary in Vietnam’s most populous city, Ho Chi Minh at the end of 2023.

In an interview with Korea’s Joonangdaily, the CEO compared the Vietnamese market to the fast-paced Korean film industry of the 1990s. Interestingly, many of the Korean studios that were established in Korea during this decade are now also active in the wider Asian region with CJ ENM expanding into markets in Southeast Asia such as Vietnam and Indonesia.

Westworld is not alone starting a VFX venture in Vietnam, other instances include StonevsStudio (The Point Men, Moving) that opened its branch in Ho Chi Minh City in November 2022.

Twenty years ago, directors would turn to visual effects studios overseas because the capabilities did not exist in Korea – Bong Joon Ho collaborated with the now defunct company The Orphanage in San Francisco for the extensive VFX work on The Host (2006). Today, the industry is at a point where it can not only render the effects in Korea but that it can set up subsidiaries overseas capitalizing on the internationalization of Korean cinema. 

Written by Jason Bechervaise

Edited by kofic