Foreign Location Shooting on the Rise
As the Korean film industry continues to grow, so too does the geographical scope of its productions. While Korean filmmakers have long sought out overseas locations for their films, of late a number of large-scale productions have been looking to foreign lands for new vistas and sensations to entice film viewers in 2020. Some of the industry’s biggest names are either preparing for or currently shooting in locations as far flung as Colombia, Latvia, Morocco and Jordan.
As they try to appeal to sophisticated Korean audiences, who have quickly grown accustomed to the large-scale productions of the last few years, filmmakers seem to be hedging their bets on Korean tales set in never-before-seen locations, in addition to star power and high concepts, to draw in crowds in the near future. Below is a brief rundown of just some of the major Korean titles eyeing or currently conducting foreign shoots.
Mogadishu (working title)
Cast ZO In-sung, KIM Yun-seok, HUH Joon-ho, KOO Kyo-hwan
Status Filming
Distributor Lotte Entertainment
Based on real events that took place in the 1990s, Mogadishu, which was previously known by the title Escape, take place against the backdrop of the Somalian Civil War and will chronicle a daring escape attempt made by North and South Korean embassy workers who are stranded during the conflict.
Bogota (literal title)
Cast SONG Joong-ki
Status Pre-production
Distributor Megabox Plus M
KIM Sung-je, director of the acclaimed legal drama The Unfair (2015), is heading back to the director’s chair for the 1990s-set tale Bogota (literal title), which will feature young star SONG Joong-ki in the lead. The crime drama will depict the lives of youths who left Korea for Latin America, and will take place in the basin of the Colombian Andes.
Hero (translated title)
Director JK YOUN
Cast CHUNG Sung-hwa, KIM Go-eun, NA Moon-hee
Status Filming
Distributor CJ Entertainment
JK YOUN, the man behind the 10 million viewer hits Haeundae (2009) and Ode to My Father (2014), is currently in Latvia filming the adaptation of the hit Korean stage musical Hero (translated title). Production began on September 10 and is spread across both Latvia and Korea.
Bargaining (translated title)
Cast HYUN Bin, HWANG Jung-min
Status Pre-production
Distributor Megabox Plus M
HYUN will play an expert negotiator who teams up with HWANG’s diplomat to save Korean nationals being held hostage in the Middle East. The film is planning to shoot in Jordan. Once the actors have completed their current shooting commitments, production on Bargaining will begin in the Middle East around the start of 2020.
Kidnap (translated title)
Director KIM Seong-hun
Cast HA Jung-woo
Status Pre-production
KIM Seong-hun and HA Jung-woo, the director and star combo of the hit disaster drama Tunnel (2016), are teaming up once more for the upcoming action-thriller Kidnap (translated title). Their new collaboration is based on an incident that occurred in 1986, involving a Korean diplomat who was kidnapped in Lebanon.
Director KIM is also known for his Cannes-screened thriller A Hard Day (2014) and as the director of the first season of Kingdom, the first Netflix Original Series produced for Korea. Star HA recently completed a run of blockbusters, which included both Along with the Gods films, 1987: When the Day Comes (2017) and Take Point (2018). He is back on screens this month with the disaster action-drama Ashfall and will first complete the period sports drama Boston 1947 (literal title) before joining the production of Kidnap, which is exited to kick off at some point in 2020. Though the location of the production has yet to be revealed, it is expected to be somewhere in the Middle East.