The release of a trailer for The Bourne Legacy, the fourth in the Bourne series that has excited movies fans around the world, stirred Korean netizens and moviegoers, who recognized familiar views of Seoul in some of the scenes. 

The Seoul Film Commission (SFC) settled the rumors of location shoots in Korea, confirming that they supported the production of the movie which had scenes filmed in Seoul Metro Line 6 and in a neighborhood in Gangnam District. 

“This is the first time that Seoul has been featured in a Hollywood movie,” said Nina Jung, senior manager of International Affairs of the Promotion Division in the SFC, during an interview with the Chosun Ilbo.“ The Hollywood production crews seemed to be attracted to Seoul, which is less exposed than other cities in East Asia such as Tokyo and Beijing.” 



Recently, a growing number of foreign production companies have chosen Seoul as the setting for their filmsRecently, a growing number of foreign production companies have chosen Seoul as the setting for their films. A Japanese production company (above) films at Seogang Bridge, and a joint team of producers from Korea, China, and Japan (below) shoots a scene in front of a commercial building in the city (photo courtesy of the Seoul Film Commission).

The appearance of Seoul in the end credits of movies released overseas has been frequent in recent years. According to a report released by the SFC, the boom of the Hallyu craze, sparked in Southeast Asia in late 2000, spurred several overseas production companies to decide to shoot their cinematic projects against the backdrop of Seoul. 

Hello, Stranger, a Thai romantic comedy, is a great example, with 90% of its scenes filmed in downtown Seoul. It achieved success in the Thai movie market, ranking third place in the 2010 box office. The list of movies shot in Seoul includes Philippine and Malaysian movies which met with strong success in their respective markets. 

“The SFC invited Hollywood production crews to the Seoul Tour program earlier this year,” said Jung. “The overseas film crews seem to prefer Jongno or Samcheong-dong which exudes the uniqueness of Seoul rather than vibrant and modernized Gangnam.” 

By Lee Seung-ah 
Korea.net Staff Writer
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