lee min ki in manila

Korean romance movie to be filmed in Intramuros, Boracay

By Beverly T. Natividad
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 10:05pm (Mla time) 01/08/2008

MANILA, Philippines -- Apparently, the feeling is mutual.

As much as Filipinos have fallen in love with everything Korean -- borne out of a habit of watching the Koreanovelas on local free television -- the Koreans have also fallen in love with the Philippines as a tourist destination.

They love it so much that they are using the scenic sites of Intramuros in Manila and the world-renowned Boracay Islands as the backdrop for a romantic Korean movie.

Leading film production houses Story Factory and DRM Entertainment Co., Ltd. will start filming the movie “Feel So Good” on Wednesday until February 23. The executive producers of the film are behind such popular Korean films like Reversal of Fortune, Lost in Love, Arang, Perfect Couple, and Mask.

The story line will revolve around six Koreans who fly to the Philippines to escape their troubles back home and then find love in the “country of smiles.”

In a presentation, Korean director Kang Chul-woo and the producers presented a movie concept that will tackle finding love in trips abroad and never forgetting that love.

Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano told reporters in a press conference on Tuesday that the overall theme of the movie was in line with the Department’s promotion of Manila to Korean tourists.

“The characters here fall in love in the Philippines. That shows them that the Philippines is a place to fall in love with and a country where you could find love and fall in love,” Durano said.

The movie will feature three love stories. The first couple, for example, fall in love in Boracay.

The second couple pairs an unemployed Korean trying to escape his dreadful life in Korea with a famous Korean singer who sneaks away to the Philippines to escape her bustling life. These characters will be played by actors Eugene Kim and Lee Min-ki, who also star in Koreanovela “I really, really like you.”

Kim and Lee are already in Manila to start work on the film.

The third story explores the life of a married couple, where the husband goes to the Philippines to die from his brain tumor.

Durano said in order to further boost the local economy and increase the influx of foreign tourists, the DOT has long been marketing the Philippines as a good location for foreign films as a way of showcasing the country’s scenic sites.

While the country presently enjoys popularity as a tourist destination among Korean nationals, the shooting of the Korean movie here will definitely entice more tourists to visit the country.

Boracay and Intramuros, Durano said, were chosen by the Korean film producers as specific locations here because the two have been favorite spots of touring Koreans in the country for some time now.

Korea is now the country’s leading source of foreign tourists, according to DOT data. In the period January to November 2007, some 586,398 Koreans visited the Philippines, contributing a 21.2% share in the whole tourist traffic for the period.

The Korean film “Feel So Good” is scheduled to be released in Korea in May. There is no word yet if the film will also be shown in Manila

omg!!!! lee minki is already in manila!!!!!!! i'm breathing the same air as my kang tae bong!!!!! i just wish i could find a way to get his schedule in manila! !!!!!