EDITOR’S NOTE: K-Everything: A NCS Original Series is hosted by Daniel Dae Kim and explores the worldwide influence of South Korean tradition. You can now watch the sequence on NCS International, NCS All Access and HBO Max.
Globally, Korean content material is booming. K-film and tv exports doubled between 2019 and 2024, and final 12 months, the nation’s audiovisual sector added $16.4 billion to the financial system, supporting 291,100 jobs.
But beneath the floor, South Korea’s movie industry is dealing with monumental funding challenges. Domestic field workplace gross sales are 45% lower than they had been pre-pandemic, partly as a result of rise of streaming. As a outcome, manufacturing firms are pulling again on funding: final 12 months, simply 20 films had been made with a funds over 3 billion gained ($2.15 million), in comparison with 40 to 50 yearly pre-pandemic, in keeping with the Korean Film Council.
“Korean production costs have risen significantly in recent years,” says Hyun-jung Baek, head of content material innovation at CJ ENM, South Korea’s largest leisure and content material manufacturing firm. “So even though K-content is expanding globally, the profits coming from it aren’t great.”
Many manufacturing firms, together with CJ ENM, are turning to synthetic intelligence (AI) to assist them minimize prices and speed up timelines.
Advocates say it may revive South Korea’s competitiveness, whereas critics fear it would substitute jobs and dilute the distinctive character of Korean cinema.
“There is a real spectrum of opinions on it,” says Seoul-based movie critic Darcy Paquet. While the know-how could make human labor “more effective,” it can be used to “cut corners, save costs and speed up the process without the quality,” says Paquet.
While South Korea has been embracing AI-generated content material for a number of years — with totally AI-generated shorts like “It’s Me, Moon-hee,” and extra lately with CJ ENM’s webtoon sequence “Cat Biggie” — the know-how is now showing in feature-length movies in a serious manner.
“Run to the West,” billed as South Korea’s “first AI feature film” when it launched in October, used in depth AI to render legendary creatures, fantastical backdrops, explosions and particular results sequences.
Compared with conventional computer-generated imagery strategies, AI instruments had been 10 instances quicker and minimize prices by half, says the movie’s AI director, Hansl Kwon, founder and CEO of Seoul-based AI movie studio Freewillusion.
The studio lately employed 60 new AI artists, quadrupling its expertise pool and creating new profession alternatives on the slicing fringe of filmmaking, he says.
Just final month, CJ ENM launched its personal AI-hybrid movie, “The House,” a 60-minute horror thriller produced in collaboration with Google Cloud Korea for simply 500 million gained (round $336,000).
Namsan Seoul Tower: A romantic image of Seoul, this tower has seen numerous Okay-drama confessions and breakups, together with “My Love from the Star,” “Boys Over Flowers,” and “Itaewon Class.” For one of the best view, head to Euljiro 2-ga, simply exterior the metro station.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
Han River Parks: The Han River is virtually a supporting character in lots of Okay-dramas, together with standard sequence “Start-Up,” and “While You Were Sleeping.” Locations like Yeouido Hangang Park are incessantly used for night time walks and bike‑date scenes. Iconic spots alongside the river, together with Mapo Bridge — featured internationally in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” — spotlight the Han River’s versatility as each a romantic backdrop and a world cinematic setting.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
Bukchon Hanok Village: Traditional hanok houses meet trendy storytelling, this well-preserved historic neighborhood recurrently seems in interval dramas. It’s additionally appeared in trendy dramas, too, like “Personal Taste,” and “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God,” as a backdrop for emotional conversations.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2001″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
Gyeongbokgung Palace: Once house to the kings of the Joseon dynasty, this 600-year-old palace complicated is now one of many go‑to filming areas for historic dramas equivalent to “Kingdom” and “The Moon Embracing the Sun.” Mainly used for exterior courtyard and gate scenes quite than interiors, its structure and layered historical past lends an authenticity that creates a putting cinematic distinction in opposition to trendy Seoul.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2002″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
Ikseon-dong Hanok Street: Charming alleyways lined with artisan cafes, wine bars and photogenic storefronts make this space a rising star amongst vacationers and locals. It’s as standard in real-life tourism because it is in fictional romances like “Hotel Del Luna,” and “Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol.”” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2026″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP): A futuristic landmark of flowing curves, DDP typically units the tone for smooth sci-fi moments and high-fashion visuals. It’s additionally a favourite backdrop for iconic entrances — equivalent to Lee Jae-kyung, the villain in “My Love from the Star,” or Vincenzo Cassano and Hong Cha-young in “Vincenzo.”” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
Jumunjin Breakwater, Gangneung: While not technically in Seoul, it is simply two hours from the capital on South Korea’s east coast and a must-see for Okay-drama followers. This iconic location options in a pivotal scene within the fantasy-romance sequence, “Guardian: The Lonely and Great God” (popularly generally known as “Goblin”), the place protagonist Kim Shin first meets love curiosity Ji Eun-tak.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1996″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
Nine iconic Okay-drama filming areas to go to close to Seoul
Shot in simply 4 days in a single indoor studio, Google AI instruments Imagen, Nano Banana 2 and Veo had been used to generate the backgrounds and visible results.
“Even though generative AI has advanced significantly, most trained AI is based on Western graphics,” says Baek, including that, to create reasonable imagery, CJ ENM has been constructing an asset library of Okay-content.
Utilizing AI for backgrounds as an alternative of elaborate units may assist save time and prices by limiting location adjustments for actors and crew, in addition to create extra reasonable backdrops for interval dramas. Baek estimates AI may “reduce the timeline by 50%.”
On May 21, two extra AI options had been launched in South Korean cinemas. Sci-fi cyborg courtroom drama “I’m Popo” and interval drama “Man in Hanbok” had been fully AI-generated, with the latter already receiving consideration at AI-focused festivals.
This flurry of AI productions comes off the again of big authorities funding and a speedy growth of training and manufacturing assist applications round AI.
The South Korean authorities tripled its AI funds in 2026, and final month, 8 billion gained ($5.37 million) of emergency funding for the movie industry (which had its annual funds elevated by 81% this 12 months) was earmarked for productions utilizing superior applied sciences, together with AI.
State-backed businesses are on board, too: The Korean Film Council hosted an AI movie showcase in the course of the Busan International Film Festival in September, whereas the Korea Creative Content Agency is investing 19.8 billion gained ($13.3 million) into AI productions.
In February, CJ ENM launched the “AI Content Alliance,” an initiative that brings collectively academia and the personal sector, together with small and mid-sized studios, to scale South Korea’s AI content material ecosystem.
South Korea’s angle sits in stark distinction to Hollywood, the place higher AI rules and protections had been a serious sticking level within the prolonged Writers Guild and Screen Actors Guild strike in 2023. AI has been utilized in dozens of main Hollywood movies prior to now 5 years, though many — like “The Brutalist” — have confronted backlash for doing so.
“Hollywood is very cautious right now; they have a strong aversion to replacing human resources,” says movie director and visible results veteran Seong-Ho Jang. But South Korea’s movie guilds are much less established than these within the US and have restricted affect and strike rights, so “individual voices tend to be drowned out,” says Jang.
His firm, MOFAC Studios, produced the animated hit “The King of Kings,” the highest-grossing Korean movie within the US to this point, for a fraction of the price of a Hollywood manufacturing.
For a small studio like his, Jang says AI is not nearly slicing prices, however bettering high quality: he’s presently integrating AI into MOFAC’s manufacturing workflows, with the corporate receiving a 6-billion-won ($4 million) funding final 12 months to additional develop its Unreal Engine-based manufacturing know-how.
“In the past, a team leader would have 20 or 30 people working in each department. Now, with just one or two, or at most three or four, team leaders can achieve the same level of efficiency, faster, and with higher quality. That’s a tremendous advantage,” he says.
Ethics, bias and copyright
While the South Korean authorities is perhaps all-in on AI, not everybody is on board.
Park Chan-wook, one of many nation’s most acclaimed administrators, has been vocal in his considerations in regards to the encroachment of AI on the industry, worrying that it’ll substitute an enormous variety of jobs and filmmakers will probably be pressured to embrace it.
In the climax of his current movie “No Other Choice,” starring Lee Byung-Hun, Park touches on the substitute of human labor with AI.
“I wanted to convey the message that getting fired is a very violent act that destroys one’s humanity — and AI is doing that to mankind right now,” Park told The Hollywood Reporter in October.
Similarly, “Parasite” director Bong Joon Ho has been outspoken about his fears of AI’s use within the movie industry, though he acknowledged that AI was utilized in among the visible results in his 2025 movie “Mickey 17.”
Copyright frameworks are nonetheless evolving: whereas the Korea Copyright Commission has issued a number of generative AI pointers — addressing what works qualify for copyright, stopping copyright disputes, and the way truthful use applies to coaching AI fashions — there are nonetheless many unanswered questions round authorship and possession for generative AI works.
“The concept of credit may now shift from individual artists to companies,” speculates Baek. “Of course, the artist takes credit for that work that he or she did; but ultimately, the company that built the system of the database is also important.”
AI in cinema raises moral challenges round bias, stereotyping, and cultural homogenization, and a few critics argue that algorithm-driven aesthetics might erode the human contact that made Okay-cinema iconic.
“I think there’s a real risk that, on the one hand, you’re able to create these images that are really difficult to create in the real world; but you lose something at the same time,” says Paquet. “AI is going to give new options to filmmakers, but I’m not sure it’s going to make things easier, because if a production does sacrifice quality, I think the audience may not support that.”
The use of AI isn’t essentially a draw for viewers, both. AI characteristic “Run to the West” carried out poorly on the field workplace, regardless of half-price tickets. Even with its low funds, admissions had been around one-seventh of the quantity wanted to interrupt even.
“The industry is still sort of feeling out what’s possible, what’s reasonable, and what might be the best choice,” says Paquet, including: “The industry is open minded, but my feeling is, it hasn’t really strongly committed to AI yet.”
For many, although, AI is simply one other know-how: many have compared it to different sector-wide know-how adjustments — such because the introduction of sound to silent movies within the Twenties, videotape within the Eighties, or the appearance of streaming — which the industry has largely weathered.
“Content has always evolved alongside technology,” says Baek, including that along with bettering productiveness and effectivity, creativity will probably be enhanced “by enabling things that weren’t possible before.”
There are areas that may’t get replaced by AI, she provides: for instance, story growth, scripting and appearing.
“The characters driving a live-action story are actual actors, and AI cannot replicate the actor’s eye expression or the facial nuances,” she says.
Kwon sees the combination of AI into movies as an extension of CGI know-how: he remembers fears that movies utilizing pc graphics wouldn’t resonate, however movies like “Avatar” demonstrated the know-how may ship emotional influence.
“It is not important what tool makes a film, but the real importance of filmmaking is the core message,” he says.
For Jang, AI must be “understood as a useful tool,” and used sparingly.
“The moment you start thinking AI can do everything and overusing it, it’s not a good approach. Audiences will quickly notice that,” says Jang, including: “My goal is to use AI effectively, but also to get audiences to ask, ‘Where did you use AI?’”