Crime Drama from Director Kim Sungjae Shot in Korea and Colombia 

Following a long shoot that encountered several delays and difficulties due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the crime film Bogota (literal title) recently wrapped shooting, ending a 21-month journey that began in South America in January of last year. The film stars Song Joongki, Lee Heejun and Kwon Haehyo.

The production originally began in Colombia in January 2020, but filming was suspended in March as the pandemic grew and countries around the world began to shut down. Forced to reorganize their production, the team behind Bogota went back into pre-production and eventually abandoned plans to continue filming in Colombia, and instead worked carefully to substitute Korea for the South American nation. The production eventually resumed in June. 

Bogota will star Song Joongki as Kookhee, a young man who arrives penniless in Colombia as a 19-year-old and rises up to build his own empire. Lee Heejun will appear as Sooyoung, a man who transferred to Colombia when he worked for a large corporation and is now an established merchant who knows the ins and outs of local trade. Meanwhile, veteran actor Kwon Haehyo will portray Park Byeongjang, the head of the local Korean Merchant Association, who is also an old Vietnam War pal of Kookhee’s father.

Song Joongki recently appeared in the SF-action film Space Sweepers and the hit drama series Vincenzo, which also featured Lee in a small role. Lee Heejun appeared in the hit political drama The Man Standing Next (2020) and this year’s serial killer drama series Mouse. Kwon Haehyo has featured in several Hong Sangsoo films, including Hotel By the River (2018), as well as Yeon Sangho’s Peninsula last summer.

The film is the second from director Kim Sungje, who previously made the legal drama The Unfair (2015) and wrote the period film Blood Rain (2005). Bogota is being financed and distributed by Megabox Plus M and produced by Watermelon Pictures, the company behind Little Forest (2018).