TenAsia reporter Choi Ji-ye tells the story of the movie. We analyze every aspect of movies through live on-site reporting and write fun articles with sharp perspectives.
Why Latvia?
Korea's first musical film 'Hero' (directed by Yoon Je-kyun), which was released in December last year and greatly impressed the audience, and the movie 'Harbin' (directed by Woo Min-ho), which is currently in the middle of filming, have one thing in common: Ahn Jung-geun. Both films deal with the life and spirit of Ahn Jung-geun. Another unexpected thing in common is Latvia. Both films were filmed on location in Latvia, bringing the Latvian background to the screen.
Why did the movies 'Hero' and 'Harbin' choose Latvia among many countries? Ahn Jung-geun Jeong Seong-hwa of 'Hero' and Ahn Jung-geun and Hyun Bin of 'Harbin' headed to Latvia.
The film 'My Way' (directed by Kang Je-gyu, 2011), starring actors Jang Dong-gun, Joe Odagiri, and Fan Bingbing, depicting the Normandy landings, and the inter-Korean espionage war 'Berlin' (directed by Ryu Seung-wan, 2013), starring actors Ha Jung-woo, Han Seok-gyu, Ryu Seung-beom, and Jeon Ji-hyun, were also set in Latvia. It is known.
In the case of 'Hero', we initially considered China or Russia, but gave up on choosing a filming location because it felt like a tourist destination with a lot of human hands. We also considered Moscow, which is known to have preserved its buildings in their original form, but many of the streets and roads were modernized and there were neon signs and other sculptures here and there, so it was judged that it would be difficult to translate them into a movie. At that time, Director Yoon Je-gyun thought of Latvia.
Regarding this, Jeon Min, producer of 'Hero', said, "Director Yoon mentioned Latvia, so we went to Latvia. 'Hero' was filmed in 'Old Riga' in Latvia, and as the name 'Old Riga' suggests, the old buildings were well preserved. "We initially thought of other cities in Latvia, but something unplanned happened and we ended up seeing 'Old Riga', and it fit well with the concept we had in mind. Thanks to the art team's hard work, the background in the movie came out well. “It’s the same,” he said.
In addition, Harbin Station, where Ahn Jung-geun's heroic action takes place, was created with a large-scale set referring to photos and video materials from the time. Here, impeccable quality was achieved through a touch of delicate CG work.
‘Harbin’ also chose Latvia. This is also proof that Latvia is the best choice to capture Russia around 1900 on screen. In relation to this, a 'Harbin' official explained, "Latvia preserves Russian architecture from the early 1900s, so it can be used as a background for movies about that era," and added, "The support teams that support on-site filming are also well set up." .
The 'Harbin' team is heading to Latvia for location filming right after the Lunar New Year holiday in January. Hyun Bin as Ahn Jung-geun, Park Jung-min as Woo Deok-soon, Jo Woo-jin as Kim Sang-hyeon, Jeon Yeo-bin as a public servant, and Yoo Jae-myeong as Choi Jae-hyung are showing off their acting spirit against the backdrop of the scenery of Latvia.
'Harbin' is a spy action masterpiece that tells the story of independence fighters who risked their lives to regain the Republic of Korea that was taken away by the Japanese Empire in Harbin, far from their homeland, in 1909. Director Woo Min-ho, who directed ‘Inside Men’, ‘Drug King’, and ‘The Managers of Namsan’, took the lead.
Choi Ji-ye, Ten Asia Reporter wisdomart@tenasia.co.kr