I recently returned from a FAM tour of Busan, South Korea and for those of you who follow my page, you might recall that when I last visited Korea in 2015, I wasn't entirely sold on selling Korea as a viable foreign destination for Hollywood at the time.

The Busan Film Commission wanted a chance to prove that they were indeed ready for prime time, and invited me out again with lessons learned from their most recent experience hosting Marvel's Black Panther earlier this year.

With a national 25% incentive, conveniently located sound stage, basic grip/electric packages, and post facilites available locally, with a western experienced crew in Seoul, Busan already looks pretty attractive on paper.

In addition, Busan offers an enthusiastic commission staff and film friendly local government, diverse locations from the typical modern Asian metropolis to gritty working class neighborhoods, beautiful beaches and seaside communities, an abandoned shipyard, and a variety of roads, train stations, and bridges that can be controlled for filming.

Some highlights include the Gwangan Diamond Bridge featured in the Black Panther trailer, the neighborhood surround the BEXCO convention center, and the old dock areas of Yeongdo.

The recent examples of South Korea and Busan in particular's ability to accomodate the logistically challenging needs of Black Panther, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Sense8 have shown that they are receptive to big budget, western filming needs, and proves to be a viable option to its more restrictive neighbors in East Asia.

Check out an example of the locations available in Busan [here]