Busan City to Establish 'OTT Platform Content Production Hub' Based on Hyper-Realistic Virtual Production

Agreement Signing Ceremony for Studio Development Project by City, Gijang County, and Korean Film Council at 3 PM on the 3rd at City Hall

Mayor Park Hyungjun, Gijang County Governor, and Acting Chairperson of Korean Film Council to Attend

On the afternoon of the 3rd at 3:00 PM, the city of Busan will sign an implementation agreement with Gijang-gun and the Korean Film Council at the International Protocol Room of City Hall for the "OTT Platform Hub Busan Filming Studio Establishment Project."

Site layout map for the Busan Filming Studio, a hub for online video service (OTT) platforms.

Today's signing ceremony will be attended by Mayor Park Hyungjun, Gijang-gun Governor Jeong Jongbok, and Acting Chairman of the Korean Film Council Kim Donghyun.

Through this agreement, the city, Gijang-gun, and the Korean Film Council will mutually cooperate for administrative support, free land use, infrastructure accumulation for the establishment of the Busan Filming Studio, and the development of the film and video industry based on cutting-edge technology.

The online video service (OTT) platform is experiencing rapid growth, driven by various factors such as the shift to a contactless society and advances in digital innovation technology, but the biggest driving force is the increasing demand for high-quality, original media content.

The OTT-specialized studio, which integrates hyper-realistic media technology, enables real-time editing and filming, thereby strengthening the capabilities of K-content production companies and securing differentiated content.

With this, along with the Busan Filming Studio currently under construction, Busan is expected to further solidify its position as a "city ideal for filming" and as a hub for OTT platform-based production.

Although Busan has strengths as an excellent filming location with diverse natural environments and tourism resources, the lack of production infrastructure has resulted in only 30 out of 117 filming inquiries nationwide over the past four years (25.6%) actually being realized. This highlights the urgent need to establish a cutting-edge content production hub suitable for the global industrialization of K-content.

The Busan Filming Studio will be built on a 11,272-square-meter site as part of the second phase of the Busan Filming Complex (Gijang-gun, Jangan-eup, Gijang Ceramics Village), and will include a filming studio, virtual production system, and open experience studio, with completion scheduled for 2027.

In April, the city announced its plan to advance the "virtuous cycle ecosystem of the film and video industry" to become a globally recognized city leading K-culture, stating, "We will foster a high-end film and video industry by establishing video infrastructure, building a customized talent development system for companies, innovating convergent digital technology, and providing practical production support."

Mayor Park Hyungjun said, "K-content is rapidly transforming its ecosystem around OTT platforms due to advances in digital technology. This change will become a powerful momentum for a major transformation of Busan's film and video industry," adding, "Through this agreement, we will foster the related industrial ecosystem by accumulating large-scale production infrastructure, nurturing digital convergence talent, and attracting K-AI and digital content companies to Busan, making Busan a 'cultural content hub city' at the center of the world."