Overseas Marketing of Metropolitan Filming Locations Starts in Earnest

The Film Commission of Gyeonggi and the Seoul Film Commission have initiated cooperative marketing to attract foreign filming teams.
The Film Commission of Gyeonggi and the Seoul Film Commission will, for the first time, jointly participate in the “Location Trade Show” held in Santa Monica, USA, from April 12 to 14, and will start full-fledged promotion of the metropolitan area as an optimal filming location.

The “Location Trade Show,” sponsored by the Association of Film Commissioners International, the largest organization of its kind in the world, is the only international trade show dedicated to the presentation of locations for filming. The Location Trade Show will be an opportunity to exchange specific information and to understand overseas trends, through seminars dealing with incentive packages and other forms of support provided by countries around the world to attract filming and filming support systems.

Lee Hyun-seung, head of the steering committee of the Film Commission of Gyeonggi said, “More than 90% of the infrastructure of the Korean film industry is concentrated in the metropolitan area, and based on its proximity with the international airport and other diverse merits, the metropolitan area possesses limitless potential to be utilized for filming locations.” When asked the reasons behind taking part in the Location Trade Show, Mr. Lee stated, “It is important to become equipped with a system that enables seamless support when foreign filming teams come to Korea, which enables them to shoot their films anytime, anywhere, by benchmarking world-class location services through participating in this event.”

There will be fierce competition at the 2007 Trade Show, as about 260 companies engaged in location support, including regional film commissions from New Zealand and Australia, countries that have recently gained great attention as internationally recognized filming locations, are expected to participate. The Film Commission of Gyeonggi and the Seoul Film Commission will install a joint booth, and will elaborate discussions to attract studios based on a long-term plan by holding individual meetings with location managers of Hollywood Blockbuster films and studio associates.

The Film Commission of Gyeonggi and the Seoul Film Commission has joined hands for continuous cooperative marketing of filming locations, through initiatives such as the holding of a regular “Metropolitan Filming Location Familiarization Tour(‘Fam-Tour’)” for those engaged in the film industry since October 2006, in order to introduce filming locations in the metropolitan area.

The Fam-Tour received positive assessment for opening new possibilities in attracting overseas filming teams to Korea, and for serving a meaningful role in facilitating exchanges between film associates home and abroad. In fact, major American studios and producers are already showing interest in the second Metropolitan Filming Location Familiarization Tour, which will be held this October.

The tour will serve as a meaningful opportunity to maximize promotion of filming locations in the metropolitan area, based on cooperation and active support between Gyeonggi Province and Seoul. We hope that it will not be long until the metropolitan area becomes a central filming location, not only for Korean films but for foreign films as well.