Becoming the 2nd Main Character for Leading Storytelling

It is no longer strange to find the images of Korea in global project films. Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, which was released in 2015, is one of the representative films shot in Korea. Since then, you can also meet Korea in many films, including Black Panther (2018), The Bourne Legacy, the spin-off of the Bourne Series, Colossal starring Anne Hathaway, and Pacific Rim: Uprising, a giant robot blockbuster.

After short but impressive encounters with the images of Korea in Hollywood blockbusters, the stature of Korean filming locations in global projects has grown. Now, Korea itself has become the center stage for storytelling, playing the role of the second protagonist. Released in Korea in 2021, #Iamhere is a road movie of the main character who comes to Korea in search of an unknown woman, and Seoul is the center of the film. Also, Korea is the central background of Vanishing, directed by Denis Dercourt, which was released on March 30, 2022. The film is a crime thriller starring a Korean detective and a French forensic scientist who track a murder case in Korea. As such, the cultural identity of ‘Korea’ is becoming more important in global projects, not just one of the filming locations in Asia.

Seoul & Busan, the Representative Metropolises in Asia

Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) is a representative movie filmed in Korea, which became a hot topic. Since Marvel's superhero movies were successful in Korea at that time, when the movie was decided to be filmed in Korea, it received great attention not only in Korea but also around the world. From March 30 to April 14, 2014, the movie was filmed in several locations in Seoul, including Mapo Bridge, DMC in Sangam-dong, Cheongdam Bridge, Gangnam Daero, etc. Chris Evans, who plays Captain America, visited Korea to shoot the scenes in Korea.

The plot of the movie is the reason that it had to be filmed in Korea. Among the characters, Dr. Cho’s lab (played by Claudia Kim) was set up in Seoul. "It was the best location to film beautiful nature and the highly developed metropolis at the same time," Director Joss Whedon explained.

Busan, the ‘City of Movies,’ where you can see the sea, colorful skyscrapers, and folksy markets altogether, was also chosen by a Hollywood blockbuster. After achieving satisfactory results with Avengers: Age of Ultron, Marvel filmed Black Panther in Busan, which was released in 2018. It was filmed for two weeks at Jagalchi Market, Marine City, and Gwangalli Beach in Busan. Along with Busan, Singapore, Seoul, and Incheon were selected as candidates for the filming location, but Busan was chosen in the end. The scenes in Gwangalli Beach, Gwangan Bridge, and exotic Jagalchi Market, where Black Panther and the villain’s car-chasing took place, are considered the masterpieces of Black Panther.

Filming Hollywood blockbusters in Korea also had a positive impact on the box office hit in Korea. Avengers: Age of Ultron, in which Korean locations played a critical role, recorded the first ‘10 million viewers’ among Marvel films released in Korea, and Black Panther also succeeded in its box office hit with 5.4 million viewers. In addition, supporting production cost seems to have influenced filming the movies in Korea. Avengers: Age of Ultron was selected for the ‘Location Incentive Program’ by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. It is a support system that refunds 20-30% of location costs when foreign movies are filmed in Seoul. Black Panther was also supported by the Busan Film Commission.

Synergies between Korean Movie Stars & Locations in Korea

While Hollywood blockbusters’ filming in Korea was on the rise, PARASITE swept the Cannes International Film Festival and Academy Awards in 2020, changing the stature of K-movies. As a result, the stature of Korean filming locations also changed. They have become not just a filming location but a central stage for storytelling. This showed more synergy by casting Korean actors as major characters.

Produced by Gaumont, a famous French film production company, and directed by Eric Lartigau, #Iamhere (2021) is a global project starring French representative actor Alain Chabat and Korean actor Bae Doona, who has been active in many global projects. 70% of the movie was shot in Korea. It is a road movie of a French man who recklessly visits Korea to see cherry blossoms and his friend Soo, who he met on SNS in search of a new life. The film contains a large number of tourist attractions in Seoul, from Incheon International Airport to Cheonggyecheon Stream, Gwanghwamun, Gwangjang Market, etc. 

The Asian Angel (2021) is also a global project filmed 100% in Korea, directed by Yuya Ishii, known as a young Japanese master. Japanese actors Sosuke Ikematsu and Odagiri Joe and Korean actors Choi Heeseo and Kim Minjae starred in the film, and it was filmed 100% in Gangneung, a significant background in the story.

In Vanishing, which was released on March 30, Korea is important background, too. Director Denis Dercourt explained, "From the planning stage, the film was planned as a thriller in which a Korean detective and a French forensic scientist investigate a murder case in Korea." Korean actor Yoo Yeonseok and a Hollywood star Olga Kurylenko starred in the film. 

Since the stories of the films contain the cultural identity of ‘Korea’ beyond a simple background, they have no choice but to film them in Korea naturally. This kind of change is a great signal for the Korean film industry. Filming global projects in Korea is of great significance to the employment and economic value of manpower derived from the collaboration with the Korean film industry, while promoting Korean culture at the same time. Korean Film Council (KOFIC, Chairperson Park Kiyong) is also carrying out support projects to revitalize filming global projects in Korea. Vanishing, filmed in Seoul, Incheon, Goyang, Ilsan, and Paju in Korea, was also supported by the Location Incentive Program from KOFIC in 2020.  Also, Pachinko, a global project that has been well-received worldwide recently, received the Location Incentive Program by KOFIC in 2020. After the Pandemic, we look forward to increases in global projects containing diverse images of Korea and its cultural identities.