Top Korean director chooses Malta for commercial

Malta will feature in a Korean TV commercial for a wheat-based beverage, scenes having been filmed in Mdina and Valletta earlier this week.

Myung-Chun Park, considered to be among the most established Korean commercial directors, was in charge of the project. He had already filmed a Coca-Cola commercial at the Rinella water tanks a few years back.

"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 said, adding that "an exotic and fantasy kind of backdrop" was required.

The filming of the commercial required a number of challenges on the part of the PCP, the production company engaged to organise the shoot.

Barely a week's notice was given to scout locations, get permits, bring over specialised technicians and equipment from Germany and coordinate everything from A to Z in time for a hectic two-day shoot, which involved a 40-strong crew of Koreans, Maltese and Germans. The 30-second commercial features a heartbroken guy running fast through various streets. To achieve the director's vision, and a cinematic feel, a special quad bike was brought over from Munich and a steadicam mounted so that the camera could move smoothly alongside the actor at high speed.

In Valletta, filming took place by the bastions near the sea, under Fort St Elmo.

A famous Korean model, Tae-Pyoung Kim, stars in the commercial, which is typically Asian because it features a celebrity to sell a product.

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.

"In London, you would usually need two weeks to organise permits. Here, we just had a few days. The residents were all extremely helpful and made us feel very welcome. There was only one who tried to extort us, but such opportunists exist everywhere, unfortunately," executive producer Jae Kim was quoted as saying by the PCP.

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