A new film studio will open in the Korean city of Busan in 2019. Korean capital Seoul got a big profile boost hosting an action sequence for Avengers: Age of Ultron but the new facility in the south of the country could help raise Busan’s production profile.
The studio will initially offer three sound stages and post-production facilities, with room for additional sound stage development in years to come.
Busan already has Busan Cinema Studios – Korea’s largest production facility – and the separate Busan Cinema Center, which hosts the Busan International Film Festival.
Seventeen separate features have been filmed in Busan so far this year, according to the Busan Film Commission, and the city is particularly popular for Chinese shoots.
As a country, Korea’s international production profile is rising, with the Wachowski siblings’ sci-fi TV drama Sense8, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Star Trek: Beyond all having filmed on location.
Marvel’s work for the Avengers sequel focussed on Seoul’s ten-lane Mapo Bridge for a key action sequence involving Captain America and Black Widow.
The Korean Film Commissions and Industry Network have also set up a new team to focus on promoting Korea internationally as a country, rather than by region as has been the case for the past few years.
We were actually able to spend weeks rehearsing stunts on a nearby motorway that wasn’t yet open and wasn’t enclosed by any kind of building development. That’s not an option that’s readily available in places like Hong Kong. I would think this film will only enhance Seoul’s attractiveness as an international filming location for the right project.”
Jamie Lengyel, Supervising Location Manager on Avengers: Age of Ultron
South Korea has a continental climate with cold, dry winters with an average low of -10C in January, and hot, humid summers with a daytime average of 31C in August.
Spring and autumn are very short so summer starts in late April and winter is back in October. Winters are also made harsher by cold winds from Siberia.
Between June and September the weather is very wet and typhoons are likely.
