Jeju Island, a long sought-after tourist site in Asia, has recently emerged as a popular shooting site for international co-production projects. Let's take a look into Jeju Island’s appeal as the new location filming Mecca for worldwide filmmakers.
 

At the moment, the USD 20 million Korea-China co-production film The Bad Man Must Die (working title) is being shot in Jeju Island. Funded and distributed by China’s largest entertainment group Huayi Brothers Media Corp. and produced by New Power Film with Korea’s KANG Je-kyu and China’s box office wonder FENG Xiaogang participating as executive producers, this project is the most awaited upcoming film in the second half of China’s 2015 box office line-up. 90% of the film, which started production in late March, will be shot on location in Jeju over the course of two months.
 
Noticeably, in addition to The Bad Man Must Die, there has been an increase in the number of films shot or scheduled to shoot on location in Jeju. So what are the reasons for this surging focus on Jeju Island which used to be just a popular tourist site but now has become an attractive shooting location as well?
 
Jeju Island’s appeal as a shooting location for foreign or international co-production projects dates back to 2007 when there was an increase in co-production projects from France, Singapore, Japan, China and the U.S. The 2008 documentary series J-M G Le Clézio, entre les mondes starring 2007 Nobel Laureate in Literature, Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, in which the author travels deep into the corners of the island to introduce Jeju’s history, culture, natural resources and its people, was the first project to start this trend, and the 2008 Korea-U.S. co-production film.
 
The Legend Of The Dancing Ninja was the first commercial non-documentary, non-music video co-production film to be shot in Jeju. Later on in 2011, China’s MA Liwen-directed A Big Deal, starring Korea’s HAN Chae-young attracted attention due to its choice of Jeju as a shooting location.
 
The location shooting scale in Jeju stepped up in full gear when a number of projects such as the 2012 ~ 2013 film Dendrobium, and Chinese TV drama starring Chinese star Yongjian LIN, The Contract of Love, vied to shoot on the island. According to Jeju Film Commission location manager JANG Su-hwan, Jeju’s international co-production shooting location boom began in 2014 due to its skyrocketing popularity among the Chinese. “China’s surging interest in Jeju as a hot tourist destination propelled the number and scale of productions.” Subsequently, the number of collaborative projects with Korean film production companies increased along with the sophistication of a system that catered to rising needs.
 
The ‘Hallyu’, or ‘Korean Wave’, also contributed to the increase of international co-productionrelated location shoots. With Korean Wave stars frequently being cast in Korea-China coproduction films, it was natural for Jeju to rise as a favored pick for location shooting. Increase in projects starring Korean actors led to more Korean locations set in Jeju. Leading Korean Wave stars appeared in a number of films including Summer Have Tears in Paradise shot last year in Jeju with JOO Won, Honey Enemy with KWON Sang-woo, and After Love with PARK Si-hoo and YUN Eun-hye.
 
Jeju, an Entire Island as an Open Set  

  

The foremost reason for international filmmakers favoring Jeju as a shooting location can be attributed to the island’s breathtaking natural landscapes. Many filmmakers and film crews claim the island’s ‘superb natural heritage’ as Jeju’s strongest point. In fact, KANG Je-kyu, during the April 8th press conference for The Bad Man Must Die, explained, “90% of the film’s main stage is set in Jeju because FENG Xiaogang was enamored by the island’s natural surroundings during a trip to Jeju.” And the Jeju film shoot became a reality when director FENG expressed his desire to shoot a film in Jeju to director KANG. Jeju Film Commission’s JANG Su-hwan states that the reason for this, is that “Most of the foreign filmmakers who have worked in Jeju commented on the island’s outstanding and unique scenery that can be used as an ‘open set’ in its entirety.”
 
Another attraction is the local space where both the old and new co-exist. In addition to its natural surroundings, the architecture, culture and lifestyle are well-preserved in physical features as well as in spirit, making it possible for various historical approaches to be applied. Mobility is the third attraction, as the short travelling distance is a budget-friendly factor as it is both time-efficient and economic.
 
Although there are quite a number of Korean filmmakers who wish to shoot in Jeju, budget issues can be a problem. Despite its excellent natural resources, shooting in Jeju for a Korean film can cause budget constraints in terms of production expenses such as accommodations, flight and equipment transportation.
 
In the case of international co-productions, it’s a totally different situation says JANG Su-hwan. “For foreign or international co-production projects that choose Korea as a shooting location, whether it’s in Seoul or Jeju, the gap in distribution costs are minimal. And because of this, Jeju can be a preferable choice with each shooting location in proximity, cutting down on moving time can work in favor of production expenses.” This explains the surging demand from foreign productions to shoot in Jeju.
 
Furthermore, the Jeju Film Commission also offers a production cost support program for production companies and organizations specializing in visual art forms such as film, TV drama, documentary and animation. The support program partially provides accommodations, flight and equipment transportation costs for projects dealing with Jeju’s natural resources, history, culture, lifestyle, etc. Details will be posted on the film commission’s official website (www.jejufc.or.kr) once the support program budget is fixed. the Jeju Film Commission’s production cost support program can overlap with the Korean Film Council (KOFIC)’S ‘KOFIC Location Incentive Program’ which supports part of the expenses of foreign feature films, television series and documentaries shot in Korea, and is another attractive cost-friendly point for choosing Jeju as a shooting location.
 

But there are also more benefits. The Jeju Film Commission is providing a ‘Pre-production Residence Program’ to give more inspiration to all producers, directors and writers developing projects based in Jeju. This service is offered to filmmakers visiting Jeju for project development by providing expenses for their stay (accommodations plus daily expenses up to three people: KRW 30,000 (USD 30)/day, KRW 40,000 (USD 40) for two persons, KRW 50,000 (USD 50) for three people) which the film commission offers up to no more than 15 days. The 2015 Pre-production Residence Program has received applications up to April 20th. Further details are being posted on its official website. In the case of foreign projects, the main film production company, director or screenplay writer can apply directly. For international co-productions, the Korean partner can apply to the program.
 
In its efforts to draw efficient cooperation from various related institutions and organizations for location shoots, the Jeju Film Commission upgraded the support committee consisting of a network of 30-some organizations by delegating responsibilities to the film commission. With this, the film commission can efficiently handle related duties as the official window and reduce any possible confusion created from multichanneling support requests to each individual institution or organization.
 
Thanks to the island’s full package of gifted natural resources and diverse support programs, Jeju in 2015 is rising as a popular shooting location for international co-production and local projects. The Chinese film May Plan starring Korean actor LEE Beom-su, and Chinese actors DENG Chao and Francis NG, is gearing up for its location shoot in Jeju, while the Korean film Gye-choon-hal-mang (working title) staring YOUN Yuh-jung and KIM Go-eun went into production on the island in mid-April with plans to conduct 80~90% of its shooting there. A native of Jeju and director of Jiseul and Golden Chariot in the Sky, O Muel is planning to shoot his next film Hwang-geum-bi-neul (working title) in Jeju , beginning preparations this May. Set 100% in Jeju, Hwang-geum-bi-neul deals with the life of the Jeju diving women Currently, approximately 26 projects have completed or are gearing up for production. Likewise, Jeju Island has become a new film shooting Mecca where the camera is never shut off, year round.