South Korea

Continent: Asia

ABOUT THE COUNTRY South Korea has a lot of opportunities for film production, permits are usually approved in 3-7 days, and there are places to hire crew and rent equipment locally. There are three main locations where a lot of the media production in the country takes place; Seoul, Busan, and Jeju Island. Depending on the setting you are looking for, one of these places just might have the right look for you. The need for a work visa or permit is dependent on your country of origin, and there is also a possibility for incentives for foreign productions. The last fact to consider in the weather, Korea is hot and rainy during July and August, and gets very cold between December and February. Usually Spring and Autumn will yield the best weather conditions, so that is important to keep in mind when planning your shoot. INCENTIVES South Korea has an offer of a 25% rebate on production costs spent in Korea for international films. To be eligible, you must shoot for more than 10 days in Korea, and spend more than 800 Million KRW (About $583,00 USD). If you shoot for more than 5 days and spend between 100 Million KRW and 800 million KRW you are eligible for a 20% rebate. (About $73,000-$583,00 USD) Incentives in South Korea are also dependent on the region that you are filming in. There are 13 main different incentive programs based off of the region, and some of these regions even have sub-regions. For example in Seoul, there is an opportunity for a rebate of up to 30% of the production cost. To qualify, the runtime of the film, documentary, TV show, or web series, must be 60 minutes or more, and you must shoot in Seoul for at least 4 days. Seoul also offers a screenplay development incentive. If you are working on a screenplay that uses Seoul as the setting you could get financial assistance in travel costs to the city, as well as up to 30 days in a hotel with an opportunity for location tours while you research for your project. In the province of Cheongpung, The cash rebate goes up to 50% of the production costs for feature films and television. Cheongju is also up to 50%, but you must shoot for 2 days. Since the incentives in South Korea are all over the place and highly dependent on the region, it would be best to pick a few regions that meet the needs of your production and heavily research the specific incentives in each area to see what would be the best fit. Facts and Figures There are 34 sound stages in South Korea spread across the whole country, but most of them are located near the Seoul Metro area. About half of them are over 1,000 sqm. There are 24 backlots and outdoor sets available for shoots as well, including prison, theme park, and village sets. There are 13 Virtual production stages, and 4 water tanks. Sources: General info: https://www.needafixer.com/filming-in-south-korea/#:~:text=South%20Korea%20is%20generally%20welcoming,their%20own%20facilities%20for%20production. Incentives: https://engfilmkorea.or.kr/incentives/national.html Facts and Figures: https://www.engfilmkorea.or.kr/directory/studio.html?s_type%5B%5D=E&s_local=&x=32&y=21