Korean star with 25 million social media followers premieres series filmed on the Costa for Amazon Prime Video

Just three months ago, filming was still underway on the streets of Malaga and now it's available on Prime Video. Surely Tomorrow has premiered with the big draw being one of the biggest stars of K-dramas (Korean cinema), Park Seo-Joon, leading the cast of this romantic tale alongside another popular Asian actress, Won Ji-An, who played one of the tormented characters in the blockbuster saga of Squid Game. A charming couple for a love story with melodramatic overtones, an angle that the Amazon platform is deploying, not only to position itself in the Far East market, but also to carve a niche in the Spanish-speaking world by bringing the comings and goings of these Korean protagonists to Europe and, specifically, to Malaga city.

Although the series has been available on streaming since 6 December, the scenes filmed in Mundo Nuevo and Plaza de Uncibay have not yet been revealed on screen since Amazon has chosen the format of releasing one episode per week and so, for the time being, only half of them - six - can be viewed, with no trace yet of the scenes set in the Costa del Sol capital.

Filming for Surely Tomorrow in Malaga took place in September, when most of the production had already been shot and only the main characters' trip to Andalucía remained. Judging by the scenes filmed on the Malaga streets, this is the setting that forms the most idyllic part of the story for this romantic K-drama. The series tells a tale of second chances about a couple who, after experiencing their first love together and the subsequent break-up when they were still young, meet again years later in very different circumstances. He is now a journalist reporting on the entertainment world and he publishes an article on a case of drugs and infidelity involving a well-known businessman, who also happens to be the husband of his former girlfriend, now an actress.

Although the leading actors Park Seo-Joon and Won Ji-Anno aren't household names in Spain, they're a huge hit in South Korea, where the JTBC network airs each new episode weekly on free-to-air TV, achieving a 7% audience share. In the rest of the world, distribution is handled by Amazon Prime Video.

At 38 years old, yet still with the looks of a fresh-faced teenager, the biggest attraction for Surely Tomorrow is Park Seo-Joon, one of the most sought-after actors in Korean television and film, where he has starred in popular titles such as Fight For My Way and What's Wrong With Secretary Kim. Furthermore, the king of K-drama has already been courted by Hollywood, where he participated in one of the superhero film franchises, The Marvels (a sequel to Captain Marvel), while Netflix cast him in the monster-feature series Gyeongseong Creature.

Surely Tomorrow, directed by Lim Hyun-uk and Yu Young-ah, gives Park Seo-Joon and Won Ji-Anno the opportunity to play characters who go from youth to later adulthood in a plot that is full of nostalgia, intensity and chemistry between the two actors. The relationship between the two lasts for 12 episodes, with a somewhat longer runtime than is the standard in the West: 70 minutes per episode.

The filming of this series in Malaga attracted considerable attention as the main characters were filmed in numerous locations in Malaga's city centre over several days. These included the squares of Uncibay and Camas, the area around the Church of San Agustín, Calle Molina Lario and Calle Alcazabilla, where Ji-Anno and Seo-Joon sat on the terrace of El Vegetariano to film scenes seated at a table. Also, the series' trailer shows off some striking, panoramic views of La Malagueta beach and La Farola lighthouse from Mundo Nuevo, featuring the main characters enjoying an ice cream, as well as appearing on Calle Císter and Calle Beatas. These idyllic images, along with the presence of such popular actors, promote what is known as screen tourism. Some of that fame could also rub off on Marbella, where the producers of Surely Tomorrow also filmed scenes in well-known locations, including Alameda Park.

Production was led by South Korean company SLL (known for The Tale of Lady Ok and The Art of Negotiation), Studios In, and included the Andalusian company Flow Studio and the Mallorcan production services company Campos Films. The series was produced in collaboration with the Malaga Film Office (the filming service of Malaga city council). Other specialist companies included the location-finders, A Film Location (known for The Crown and The Warrior Nun) and the agency Modexpor (Game of Thrones fame), which was in charge of casting extras.