Park Seo-Joon, the king of romantic dramas in Korea, shoots an Amazon series in Malaga

Korean media has gone global thanks to Squid Game and k-dramas, which have flooded the streaming platforms like a 'hallyu' (Korean wave). This tide has also reached Malaga which this month has been the filming location for the series Surely Tomorrow, starring one of the biggest stars in Asian cinema, Park Seo-Joon.

An actor with an eternal twenty-something face, he is considered to be the king of romantic dramas in his country and has made his way into Hollywood, starring in the blockbuster The Marvels (2023). His 25 million followers on Instagram have been stirred up by his presence in Malaga to film the production that will be released on Prime Video.

Filming has also taken place in other parts of Malaga city, such as Plaza Uncibay and Molina Lario, as well as scenes shot in Marbella. Along with Seo-Joon, who arrived in Malaga earlier this month from Dubai, his co-star is popular Korean actress, Won Ji-An, known for her role in the franchise The Squid Game, as player 380 in season two of the show. The two are the main attraction of Surely Tomorrow, a romantic drama about second chances.

Although the actors aren't familiar faces in Spain, the couple are very popular in South Korea, so during the filming they had a security team and their presence did not go unnoticed in the centre of Malaga. Catching a photo or a video of the couple proved to be (almost) impossible, although many tried while the actors were filming different scenes on the street.

According to Amazon, Surely Tomorrow, directed by Lim Hyun-uk and Yu Young-ah, tells the story of Lee Kyeong-do (played by Park) and Seo Ji-woo (Won), a young couple who fall in love in their early twenties and play out a passionate romance until they finally break up. Years later, they meet again, but fate puts them in a difficult situation, as the young man, now a journalist, investigates a case involving his former partner's husband.

During recent shooting, scenes were filmed in historical locations, such as at the doors of the church of San Agustín, where Park Seo-Joon's character waits for Won Ji-An, whom he surprises while her back is turned. After the cut - filming in both Spanish and English - the team lifted the tents and trucks and moved to Calle Alcazabilla to continue filming. In this new location, the South Korean stars were back in front of the cameras, although, on this occasion, they sat on the terrace of El Vegetariano for a new scene.

Produced by the South Korean company SLL (known for k-dramas such as The Tale of Lady Ok and The Art of Negotiation), Studios In, the Andalusian company Flow Studio and the Mallorcan film production company Campos Films, the series is the first international production to start its shooting schedule in the area in the last four months of the year, due to the good weather in the province.

With the assistance of Malaga Film Office - Malaga city council's film production service - the shooting was achieved in collaboration with reputable Malaga-based companies, such as A Film Location, (who chose locations for the series The Crown and The Warrior Nun).

The casting was led by the Malaga agency Modexpor (Game of Thrones), whose careful selection of extras and recurring characters included, a Picasso lookalike, young actors of black ethnicity and performers aged 45 to 60 who could speak English. However, all of the attention went to the actor with 25 million followers and the actress from Squid Game.