From singer G-Dragon to IVE's Jang Wonyoung, Korea's representative famous celebrities all appeared in the promotional video for the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit, drawing attention.
The "2025 APEC leaders' summit" promotional video was simultaneously released domestically and internationally on the 2nd through terrestrial and cable broadcasts, YouTube and various other channels.
This promotional video was produced by Dolphiners Film, who has been praised for unique imagination, storytelling and content that breaks the mold.
Director Shin Woo-seok delivered a new and pleasant sense of fun, different from existing national event promotional videos, with his distinctive creativity and dense storytelling.
In particular, President Lee Jae-myung and APEC ambassador G-Dragon, along with director Park Chan-wook, player Park Ji-sung, chef Anh Sung-jae, IVE's Jang Wonyoung, DJ Peggy Gou and representatives from various fields of the Republic of Korea were cast in diverse roles, attracting attention.
Director Shin Woo-seok set the main stage of this "2025 APEC" promotional video at a restaurant with a hanok exterior, and a variety of K-celebrities representing each field appear as cameos, passing by to reveal Gyeongju, which embraces our traditional culture. Then the scene shows APEC participating countries' pilots seated together, and President Lee Jae-myung appears as a marshaller who directs aircraft, lining up each country's planes behind a Korean plane as the video concludes. Within a story anyone can easily follow, it cheerfully conveyed that the 2025 APEC leaders' summit, where representatives from each country gather, will be held in Gyeongju, Korea, through various symbols and metaphors.
Regarding this, director Shin Woo-seok said, "When it was announced that Dolphiners Film would produce it, some might have expected comedy, some might have expected shocking creativity. Knowing the different expectations, I considered the directorial proposal carefully, but concluded that we should focus solely on the purpose and intent, and decided to participate in production. I thought our role was to create the most effective video based on our creativity, and we worked with that as the sole aim," conveying the intent.
Director Shin Woo-seok added, "As Korea is pioneering its own space on the global stage through K-content, I wanted to deliver the message in a distinctive way that breaks away from the familiar grammar of national event promotional videos." He explained, "A story that seems to unfold normally turns in an unexpected direction, and ultimately delivers the message in a somewhat unfamiliar manner," and, "Rather than having a model directly explain with dialogue, we wanted to express 'the world gathers in Gyeongju' through symbolic visuals. That is the final scene where the tails of APEC participating countries' aircraft gather and overlap behind the tail of a Korean aircraft." He also said, "The main purpose of this project is to inform about the APEC hosting, but at the same time I hoped it could give the public pride and uplift."
The video also drew attention for its star-studded cast that would be difficult to gather in one place. All cast members and the production team of Dolphiners Film participated without guarantees, adding special meaning. Director Shin Woo-seok revealed the difficulty in casting, saying, "To convey the message effectively, we needed figures who could represent Korea's popular culture and also have international recognition." G-Dragon returned from a New York performance and finished shooting before immediately departing for Las Vegas in a hectic schedule, and director Park Chan-wook also filmed upon returning home during a busy film promotion schedule. Shin said he was grateful that all participants, including IVE's Jang Wonyoung, player Park Ji-sung, chef Anh Sung-jae and DJ Peggy Gou, gladly took time from their busy schedules to participate.
President Lee Jae-myung made a surprise appearance as a "parking attendant" who guides APEC participating countries' aircraft, drawing attention. Director Shin said, "I thought President Lee Jae-myung, as a representative of the host nation, should definitely participate," and added, "But I didn't want to portray authority, so we asked him to play the role of a parking attendant organizing the participating countries' aircraft, and I'm grateful he agreed despite it being a difficult choice."
Director Shin Woo-seok said, "The main purpose of this project was to let people know that the APEC leaders' summit will be held in Gyeongju, while at the same time I hoped the public could feel pride and uplift about hosting a national event. I was grateful to be able to take part."
[Photo] video capture
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