Key Takeaways
Busan Gijang Studio was completed in August on a site of 158,412 square meters, with a total floor area of 12,631 square meters.
It is Korea's largest public integrated film studio complex, with three indoor soundstages and four outdoor sets, and it is set for a formal opening in the first half of 2027.
The first trial-production project will be chosen next month, with full rental-fee waivers and virtual production support attached.
A patch of empty land covering 158,412 square meters is being turned into the next scene in Korea's film industry.
Busan Gijang Studio, completed in August, may look like a bare stretch of ground from the outside, but inside it already contains three soundstages and four outdoor shooting areas.
The real question is not how large the facility is, but who will use it first and with what kind of production. For this studio to become a real asset, it will need more than concrete and steel; it will need a track record of actual filmmaking.
Why a public studio built around empty space matters
Busan Gijang Studio was created by the Korean Film Council, known in Korean as the KOFIC and often referred to by its Korean name, to replace the former Namyangju Studio Complex as a new production base after the agency moved its headquarters to Busan. Because the public sector built the facility directly, it is more than a simple rental space.
The indoor soundstages come in three sizes: about 3,300 square meters, 2,150 square meters, and 1,490 square meters. The largest, Studio 1, already has lighting and set-installation equipment in place, along with dressing rooms, waiting rooms, and showers ready for use. The smallest, Studio 3, is scheduled to become a virtual production stage with large LED panels.
That layout matters. When a large indoor stage and open outdoor lots sit in one complex, production teams can plan sets, lighting, and visual effects as one system. Travel time drops, logistics become simpler, and directors can think more ambitiously from the planning stage.
What virtual production can do, and what still holds it back
Virtual production uses LED screens and visual effects to replace many of the limits of weather, time, and location inside a studio. It is especially useful for scenes shot at sunset or for dangerous action sequences that are difficult to control on location.
But the technology will not spread overnight. The KOFIC has acknowledged the cost burden and the relatively low level of access for many production companies. Installing the equipment is not enough. Crews will need training, support, and hands-on experience before the system becomes routine.
That is why the real test for Busan Gijang Studio is not how impressive the facility looks, but how effectively it gets used. Its success will depend on whether the new equipment helps more productions finish with fewer missteps.
The first project will define the studio's identity
The KOFIC will select a trial-production project next month through an open call. The criteria are not based simply on box-office potential, but on large-scale feature films that can make broad use of the studio's technical capabilities. The chosen project will receive a full waiver of rental fees.
That condition shows the studio was designed with a purpose beyond basic space rental. It is meant to function as a testing ground where new facilities can be evaluated and promoted at the same time. In that sense, the first project will help define how outsiders see the studio itself.
During the 31st Busan International Film Festival, which opens on October 6, the KOFIC will also offer site tours of the studio. The timing is symbolic. By showing the complex to domestic and international filmmakers during the festival, Busan is trying to build awareness and business networks at the same time.
Busan stands to gain more than a studio complex
After the formal opening, the KOFIC plans to attract production companies from Korea and abroad and to connect studio rentals with location shooting in Busan and nearby Gijang County. The bigger impact may be felt not by the studio itself, but by the industries around it. Hotels, food service, transportation, art departments, and equipment rentals could all benefit.
Of course, infrastructure alone does not transform a local economy. If the studio sits empty, equipment will age quickly and expectations will turn to disappointment. If productions keep coming, though, the effect will last far longer than the construction cost. In film, repeated use matters more than one grand gesture.
That is the real meaning of Busan Gijang Studio. Building a large site does not automatically create an industry, but designing a space where an industry can stay may change the picture. If the complex is to be remembered as Korea's largest public integrated studio, it will need a production ecosystem that can outlast any single manager's vision. When that ecosystem begins to grow, today's empty land will finally become the next stage for Korean cinema.
