[Edaily Reporter Oh Hee-na ] Local governments across the country are actively competing to attract film and TV drama production locations. As the virtuous cycle—where the box office success of a single film leads to the revitalization of local businesses and an influx of tourists—has been proven, competition among local governments over incentives (support) is intensifying.
According to data from the Korea Film Commission obtained by E-Daily on the 8th, 15 local governments nationwide have supported the filming of 290 movies and TV dramas over the past three years (2023–2025). By region, South Chungcheong Province supported the most productions with 38, followed by Busan and Gangwon with 35 each, and Seoul with 29.

Location support is primarily provided through a system where a certain percentage of expenses—such as accommodation, meals, vehicle rentals, fuel, and venue fees—actually incurred by production companies in the region is reimbursed after the fact. This initiative is considered a prime example of a “mutually beneficial regional partnership” project, as it helps production companies reduce costs while enabling local governments to stimulate local spending that exceeds the amount of the subsidies provided.
Busan is a prime example of a successful location support model. The Busan Film Commission attracted hit productions such as the films *Exhumation* and *Spring in Seoul* and the drama *Moving* through a program that covers up to 50% of accommodation expenses and up to 100% of food, fuel, and venue usage fees within the city.
South Chungcheong Province has expanded its support scope this year as Asan City and Yesan County joined the location support initiative. The province provides 30% of local spending—up to 60 million won—for productions filming three or more days within the province, while Dangjin, Asan, and Yesan offer 50% of local spending—up to 60 million won—for productions filming at two or more locations within their jurisdictions. Jeju Province provides support covering 30% of expenses incurred within the province, up to 100 million won, while North Gyeongsang Province has established the “North Gyeongsang Location Archive” platform, which consolidates filming locations across its 23 cities and counties.
An official from a local government stated, “Recently, many regions have been actively working to attract film productions,” adding, “In some cases, they select ‘killer content’—projects that meet certain conditions, such as filming key scenes in the region—and provide production grants.”
◇Movies and Dramas Deliver Significant Economic Benefits to Local Economies
The reason local governments are actively pursuing film location attractions is that the tangible economic benefits for the region have been proven. According to the report “Current Status of Location Incentive Support Projects” compiled by the Gyeongnam Research Institute, Gyeongnam enjoyed a direct expenditure effect of 3.5 billion won—3.2 times the 1.083 billion won in subsidies provided over the four-year period from 2022 to 2025. The induced production effect was 5.6 billion won, and the induced value-added effect was 3.1 billion won, amounting to 5.3 times and 2.9 times the subsidy amount, respectively. In particular, the tourism attraction effect reached 22.6 billion won, which is 20.9 times the subsidy amount. These results demonstrate that attracting film and drama locations goes beyond simply stimulating local consumption and leads to the effect of drawing tourists to the region.

Jeju is also reaping significant benefits from the revitalization of its local economy through the attraction of film and drama locations. According to the “Study on the Economic Ripple Effects of Attracting Film and Drama Locations in Jeju” by the Jeju Content Agency, direct expenditures resulting from film and drama location shoots in Jeju over the three-year period from 2022 to 2024 totaled 10.381 billion won—17 times the 611 million won in subsidies provided. The induced production effect was calculated at 21.562 billion won, the induced value-added effect at 8.855 billion won, and the employment effect at 117.3 jobs.
The impact of location filming is having an even greater and more sustained ripple effect after production, depending on the box office or ratings success. This is due to the spread of so-called “screen tourism,” in which films and dramas weave stories into local landscapes and spaces, causing the filming locations to emerge as new tourist destinations.
Buoyed by the popularity of the dramas “The Odd Lawyer Woo Young-woo,” “Welcome to Samdalli,” and “I Was Completely Duped,” Jeju Island saw a surge in tourists from April to July last year, with visitors from Taiwan increasing by about 36% and those from Thailand by over 290%. As demand grows for people to experience the stories firsthand at the locations featured in these productions, new offerings have emerged—including driving routes, cafes, and multi-purpose cultural spaces that utilize roads and abandoned schools seen in the dramas, as well as travel packages that bundle major filming locations into itineraries.
◇Abandoned Sets and Filming Locations… “Need for IP-Linked Tourism Products”
The problem is that the “location effect” often proves short-lived. Sets built at enormous cost are either dismantled or left abandoned after filming wraps, and since information signs and experiential activities are often not properly provided, it’s common for visitors to simply take photos and leave.
In fact, the area near the Incheon Baedari Used Bookstore Street—a filming location for the movie *Extreme Job*—retains the atmosphere of the 1980s and 1990s and is frequently used as a filming site, yet there are absolutely no promotional materials available. On Jeju Island, there are also cases where sites commemorating the filming of movies and dramas, such as *All In*, have become white elephants.
Experts agree that, as seen overseas—such as in Kamiichi Town, Toyama Prefecture, Japan, the setting for the animated film “Wolf Children,” or Hobbiton, the filming location for “The Lord of the Rings”—discussions on IP utilization—including the preservation of filming locations and the development of tour routes—should take place from the very beginning of the location selection process, following a roadmap for commercialization as a tourist attraction.
Jeong Ran-su, a professor in the Department of Tourism at Hanyang University, emphasized, “Film and drama filming locations have a shorter lifecycle than typical tourist attractions, so visitor demand can drop sharply once interest in the work wanes.” She added, “Just as Nami Island has maintained steady visitor demand by expanding the popularity of the drama ‘Winter Sonata’ into various forms of content, new content development—such as attempts to integrate with diverse tourism offerings—must be pursued in tandem.”