Haeundae: Set for Destruction

Take this idyllic picture of South Korea’s Haeundae Beach:

Now add a monstrous tsunami:

What have you got? The new disaster movie from Doosaboo Film and director Je-Kyoun Youn.

In a recent press release, it was announced that on August 18 Doosaboo Film, Inc. began principal photography for Haeundae, a Korean disaster film that Backbrain previously mentioned as part of a raft of films that the company is putting into production. Filming on “Korea’s first disaster film” is taking place at the beaches of Busan, South Korea. Haeundae is one of the most popular beaches in Korea, “where one can find more than 100,000 tourists, per day, packed on its narrow one-mile strip of sand.”

Previous Doosaboo Films include Sex Is Zero, My Lovely Week, Miracle On The 1st Street and My Boss, My Hero. Haeundae’s director, Je-Kyoun Youn, is also CEO of Doosaboo Film. According to the release he is “well known for translating his humor and romantic side into his films”. This will be his approach with Haeundae as well.

After principal photography in Busan wraps, the crew will head to the US in November when special effects photography will take place. This phase of production is in the hands of the feature film production company, Polygon Entertainment, which will be responsible for CGI work, presumably of wave effects and the extensive destruction that will, let’s face it, lie at the heart of the film’s appeal.

Director Youn commented, “With PE’s founders’ impressive resume of past production [which includes a slew of watery scenarios such as The Day After Tomorrow, Perfect Storm, and Master and Commander] we are all excited to see what they come up with for this action-packed film. We know it’s going to be never seen-before footage!”

He added:

Haeundae is packed with A-list actors from the Korean film industry. To name a few: Kyung-Gu Sol, who plays the main actor is a two-time international award winner for “Best Actor”; “We are excited to see actresses like Ji-Won Ha who is currently in the main stream of popularity in Korean movies, in our film”; veteran actor, Joong-Hoon Park, who has worked with Hollywood film-makers in The Truth About Charlie, is cast in the film; and Jeong-Hwa Eom, a popular Korean actress/singer, plays a role in this thrilling feature.

CJ Entertainment will provide the entire financing for the movie and will act as co-producer. Haeundae wraps up in December 2008 and will be released in the summer of 2009.

Sources:

• Doosaboo Films Press Release of 20 August, 2008
• Images: Haeundae Beach; Tsunami