A Latin American dream gone awry — At just 19, Guk-hui dreamed of a fresh start with a new chapter half way across the world in Colombia with his family, only to encounter relentless struggles, human greed and the faint hope of friendship.

Film “Bogotá: City of the Lost” explores the tapestry of human lives through a Korean community in a faraway land in the late 1990s, capturing the hopes and hardships of those fighting to survive in an unfamiliar world, experienced by a young "bundle of desire" of a man navigating a completely new country when immigration was still considered a last resort.


“I think this might be the most desire-soaked character I've portrayed recently,” actor Song Joong-ki said during the film’s press conference held in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Friday. “He is a walking bundle of desire.”

Directed by Kim Seong-je, the film is set in the late 1990s to the 2000s in the Colombian capital of Bogotá. It revolves around Guk-hui, played by Song, as he moves there after his family business collapses due to the Asian financial crisis in 1997. The story follows his struggles to settle into the new environment while getting entangled with the Korean community in the city.

The film features actors Song, Lee Hee-jun, Kwon Hae-hyo, Park Ji-hwan, Kim Jong-soo and Cho Hyun-chul. It is set to premiere on Dec. 31.

The film is a tapestry of survival, friendship and betrayal, as well as a coming-of-age story, according to the actors and director.

“The story, spanning from 1997 to 2008, pierces through the narrative of that time and follows a survival story, as Song mentioned,” director Kim said. “In that process, [Guk-hui] ends up growing up too fast, like, as people say, those who have less, who often become adults sooner.”

“While it's about people who have left for a distant place, it's also about minor disputes over interests among Koreans — a subject that isn’t grand or extraordinary but remains universally relatable to how we live today," the director added.

Because of the story's setting, the actors were required to learn Spanish for their characters. They found the experience enjoyable and still remember their Spanish lines, even years after the film's production ended.

For Song, who spoke Italian in his 2021 tvN series “Vincenzo,” Spanish was another interesting challenge.

“To be honest, it was challenging at first, but once I started learning, I began to enjoy it,” Song said.

“The unique rhythm of Spanish was so captivating that I found myself wanting to dive deeper into it. Honestly, I think I enjoyed it even more than speaking Italian in ‘Vincenzo.’"

But the actor hesitated to recite his Spanish lines, saying with a laugh, “I do remember them, but most of them are curses.”

The film is a general story about human life, according to director Kim, saying the word "overwhelmed" is one of its key themes.

“The word ‘overwhelmed’ is a word that not only holds the meaning of joy, but is also used when we are in a difficult situation,” he said.

“While writing the film, I constantly wondered how to express the dual nature of the word 'overwhelmed,'” he continued. “I believe this emotion is something that can resonate with everyone."

The director also clarified the production period of the time, stating that his film is “not old” but rather a “freshly completed” one.

Production was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which paused filming while the shooting took place overseas, extending the overall timeline. The actors came to Bogotá in December 2019 and started to start shooting in 2020, according to the director. But it was soon put to a halt in March 2020 and resumed its shooting schedule in June 2021.

“I was upset hearing [that my film was shot five years ago],” director Kim said. “Because I was still confirming the final footage until last month and the filming ended in 2023.”

“So the film was not shot four to five years ago, but it started shooting four years ago and continued shooting for two and a half years. And then the post-production process took about a year and a half,” the director said.

One thing the cast picked out for audiences to keep their eyes open for was how the film doesn't simply follow the growth of Guk-hui but shows the change of each and every character featured in the story — and the development of their thoughts and relationships that takes place as a result.

“Our film offers the thrill of witnessing the relationships between truly unique characters evolve,” Cho said. “We hope that people will come to theaters to witness it for themselves.”


BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]