Out & About
Malta features in Korean director’s commercial
By MaltaMedia News
Feb 23, 2007 - 10:35:21 AM

A top Korean director chose Malta as the location for the filming of a television commercial about a wheat-based beverage. The shooting took place earlier during the week and involved joint efforts of Korean, Maltese and German crew.

The 30-second–long commercial will feature scenes of Valletta and Mdina, flanked by famous Korean model, Tae-Pyoung Kim. The two-day shoot was headed by director Myung-Chun Park who is considered to be among the most established Korean commercial directors. The experience was not the director’s first in Malta, as he had filmed a Coca-Cola commercial at Rinella water tanks some years ago.

"In the only free time he had on his way to the airport, he managed to slip in a quick visit to Mdina... It was the unique characteristics of its streets that remained impressed in his memory and that allowed him to 'sell' his concept for the drink commercial in Korea," a spokesman for the Producer's Creative Partnership (PCP), engaged to organise the shoot, told The Times of Malta.

The filming of the commercial was challenging for PCP, the production company because less than a week's notice was given to scout locations, obtain permits, engage specialized technicians and equipment from Germany and coordinate the shoot. The plot of the commercial is focused on heartbroken Tae-Pyoung Kim running through various streets.

The PCP expressed its gratitude towards the local councils of Mdina, Valletta and Senglea for their cooperation in connection with the urgent preparations that had to be made, adding that "In London, you would usually need two weeks to organize permits. Here, we just had a few days.”

The commercial is being edited in London and according to The Times of Malta, "everyone there is excited about the shots we managed to capture in Malta".