Song Joong-ki: “My mother-in-law is Colombian, I think the image of a city of crime has been largely erased” (Bogota)

Director Kim Sung-je and actor Song Joong-ki expressed their concerns about negative portrayals of Colombia.

At the press conference for the film ‘Bogota: Land of Last Chance’ held at Megabox COEX in Bongeunsa-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 19th, questions were asked about the negative frame that was a concern after the film‘s release. This is because Bogota, Colombia in the film is depicted as a city where drugs, smuggling, and assassinations occur without a problem.

Director Kim said, “I wasn’t careful because I was worried that our film would be embroiled in gossip,” and mentioned the late Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. He also added that Bogota used to be the most dangerous city in the world. Director Kim said, “It‘s true that the aftershocks still lingered even in the era depicted in our film. I didn’t try to use genre fiction, but rather than trying to damage the country‘s image, I tried to deal with the criminal elements in a way that deals with the story and conflict using realistic materials,” he said. “The local production staff were Americans, and since they had made much more violent movies, I remember that they didn’t care about the parts that I was worried about.”

Song Joong-ki also said, “I also remember some people asking me questions,” and “My mother-in-law is Colombian, so a lot of my wife‘s family lives there. I heard that they used to be ashamed of that image and tried to get rid of it, even though it’s a little bit of knowledge.” He continued, “The Colombia I lived in was full of excitement, and the food was crazy. It was so delicious. I enjoyed seeing the efforts of people trying to break away from their old image. I don‘t know if it’s a friendly place because I have family there,” he added. “I didn‘t have many opportunities to come into contact with Colombia while filming, but I think it’s easy to get information through YouTube and other platforms. I wonder if that past image has been erased. “I don’t think people will look at us negatively because of our movie,” he emphasized.

‘Bogota: The Land of the Last Chance’ is a movie that depicts the story of Guk-hee (Song Joong-ki), who heads to Bogota, Colombia on the other side of the world with new hope right after the IMF, and gets entangled with Soo-young (Lee Hee-joon) and Byeong-jang Park (Kwon Hae-hyo), who are the real powers of the Bogota Korean community. It is garnering much attention by setting Bogota, the capital of Colombia, as the main location and capturing exotic scenery such as Cartagena, a resort city in the Caribbean, and Cyprus, an island nation in the Mediterranean. It will be released in theaters on the last day of the year, December 31st.

Jeong Hee-yeon, Donga.com reporter shine2562@donga.com