Citygate Films

Lessons Learned: Filming in South Korea

Jun 17

One of the red bridges spanning the Han River in Seoul.

Continuing the Lessons Learned series on Citygate’s blog, I now have the pleasure of focusing on shooting in South Korea. I took a four-person crew to Seoul in June 2010, and hired a local gaffer and his lighting gear to join us on indoor shoots. We traveled with minimum gear (three Canon T2i cameras, three-mic sound gear and mixer, RedRock camera support and grip gear), but still had to deal with a carnet and excess baggage fees.

I set a land-speed record prepping for this shoot. Due to circumstances beyond their control, the nonprofit client could only give me three weeks’ advance notice. Fortunately, South Korea does not require visas for U.S. citizens on short stays, nor does it have any additional immunization requirements beyond what we had already received. But it is a carnet nation, meaning that there is an agreement in place with the U.S. for the importation of non-personal effects. A carnet is like a visa for your gear. It’s easily done on the Corporation for International Business’ ATA Carnet website. However, the underwriter required a current balance sheet or recent tax forms to underwrite the bond for the gear. That caught me by surprise because it hadn’t been required the last few times I’ve submitted a carnet application. Fortunately, I was current on my books and was able to spit out a balance sheet from Quickbooks right away and still get the carnet before the Memorial Day holiday arrived.

Carnets always seem like more hassle than they are worth. But they are a requirement and they will protect you from some problems with bringing in more cases than a tourist would need. But you should always call the customs office at your departure airport a few days before you depart to make sure someone will be there to “check in” your carnet. International flights often depart after business hours and I would have arrived at my departing airport well after the customs office had closed for Memorial Day if I hadn’t called in advance. (You generally don’t have to worry about this upon arriving at your destination.)

We flew Asiana Airlines direct from Chicago. They were pleasant enough, but lacked some amenities I would have thought were standard for such expensive and long flights, such as video on demand. We also had numerous ticketing problems, requiring a refund that I am still pursuing. But the food and cabin service were very good. We arrived at 4:30 in the morning, made our way fairly quickly through customs (use the phrase “ATA” instead of “carnet,” if you want to be widely understood) and proceeded to S’Roaming (also known as KCellrental) to pick up our rental phones. I had read that the networks of South Korean mobile phone carriers use highly specialized CDMA technology and unlocked GSM mobile phones like mine cannot be used there. These phones were a real deal: around $1/day to rent and about 42 cents per minute for outgoing domestic calls (incoming calls are free). We made calls locally and internationally on three phones throughout the trip and my total rental costs were only $45.

Sound recordist Lucien Dowdell getting some location sounds in the busy Myeong-dong market in Seoul.

We stayed at the Lotte City Hotel Mapo in the centrally located Mapo-gu district. I liked it much better than the busier shopping district of Myeong-dong or Seoul Central. The hotel had a circular driveway for loading and unloading our gear (something that didn’t appear to be common there) and was connected to a subway station. It also sat on top of three levels of a shopping mall. They called it an arcade. It’s not quite like an American mall, but it had plenty of coffee shops and restaurants and even one grocery store. All the caffeine and carbs a crew needs, not to mention batteries and band-aids. There is no room service, but there is a restaurant with an (expensive!) buffet and bar. The rooms are small, so I wouldn’t recommend doubling up–especially not if you have your gear with you. There is free wired internet and a desk outlet with both 110 and 220 plugs. There’s also a bank and an ATM in the lobby. All in all, everything a crew needs.

We hired LocationPro to supply our Arri and Diva lights, as well as basic grip gear. Raymond Im was prompt on email and brought everything we needed to each location and on time. He served as our gaffer, but it seemed his stronger suit may be as a location manager. Nevertheless, I was told by another production company in Seoul that English speakers prefer higher-paying jobs, so it is rare to find English-speaking grips and gaffers. (If you have experienced something different, please leave a comment!)

It is a delight to shoot in South Korea for several reasons, including the fact that no tips are ever expected and the city is exceedingly clean. But you will be much better received if you hire a fixer or work with a local contact who can advise you on the etiquette and customs in particular situations. For example, younger adults do not freely address older adults. Rank and status are highly observed and respected. Shoes are removed in most situations indoors, including many public restaurants. And if you shoot at the DMZ and don’t comply with the rules about photos, you can expect that your footage and/or photos will be deleted by a guard (at minimum) or your gear will be confiscated (at maximum). This is one location when shooting with HDSLR cameras will be to your benefit, as they will pass as tourist cameras.

Finally, should anyone on your crew get sick during your visit, I recommend visiting the International Health Care Center at the Severance Hospital at Yonsei University. One of my team suffered a form of heat stroke and had to be admitted for hydration therapy. Though I had purchased medical insurance from International SOS, as I typically do, there was an administrative problem and SOS said that visit wasn’t covered. Fortunately, Korean medical care is FAR more reasonably priced than American medical care, so the visit and IV costs were only $75. That means more money for Korean barbeque dinners … which are an absolute must!