“When you think about it, this country is just a tollgate—a stop on the way to America.” With those words, Guk-hee’s family flees South Korea for Colombia after his father’s business collapses during the 1997 Asian financial crisis. In Bogota: City of the Lost, Guk-hee (played by Song Joong-ki) is drawn into Colombia’s illicit clothing smuggling trade, evolving from a naïve youth to a player in its dangerous underworld.
Released on Dec. 31, the crime noir stands out for its sweeping visuals of the Andes and the vibrant, striking colors of Latin America, captured on location in Colombia. It is part of a growing trend of Korean productions filmed in far-flung locales, joining the comedy Amazon Bullseye, shot in Brazil’s Amazon, and the Netflix series Narco-Saints, filmed in the Dominican Republic.
Korean cinema’s tradition of international shoots dates back to the 1957 Hong Kong-based production An Exotic Garden. Since then, filmmakers have explored locations across the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. More recently, South America has emerged as a new frontier. This shift was fueled by the record-breaking box office boom of 2019, which drove demand for fresh and unfamiliar backdrops. Films like The Point Men, Escape from Mogadishu, and Ransomed capitalized on this trend, aided by incentives from developing nations to attract foreign productions.
Bogota: City of the Lost began filming in late 2019, with the crew spending three months in Bogotá before the COVID-19 pandemic halted production in March 2020. Colombia, which has become a sought-after filming location following Netflix’s Narcos, offers generous tax incentives, refunding up to 35% of local expenditures.
“CGI has its limits,” said Park Seong-il, CEO of production company IDIOPLAN. “For films like Bogota: City of the Lost, which are deeply rooted in real-world settings, capturing the air and atmosphere of the location is vital.” He also pointed to Colombia’s diverse landscapes, ranging from the Andes to the Caribbean, and its growing appeal to Hollywood. “Costs are another factor—local labor is about one-third the price of Korean crews. We minimized our Korean staff and relied heavily on local teams.”
Actor Ryu Seung-ryong’s comedy Amazon Bullseye faced logistical hurdles during its seven-month shoot in Brazil’s Amazon, including 40-hour travel times. The film tells the story of a former archery champion training Amazonian warriors for a global competition and features real Indigenous locals in key roles. “Filming on location was a deliberate choice because of the authenticity the Amazonian people brought to the narrative,” Ryu said.
Still, cultural sensitivity remains a challenge for international productions. Netflix’s Narco-Saints faced backlash from Suriname’s government, which objected to its depiction of the country as a hub for drugs and corruption. The English title was changed from Suriname to Narco-Saints. Similarly, Amazon Bullseye drew criticism for portraying Brazil’s Indigenous people as primitive.
Concerns about stereotyping also surrounded Bogota: City of the Lost. Critics worried it would paint Colombia as a land rife with corruption and crime. Director Kim Seong-je addressed these concerns, saying, “Hollywood has produced far grittier films about Colombia, like Narcos. Surprisingly, locals didn’t react negatively to our film.”
