The Avengers: Age of Korea
By Janice Roh
Edited by William Seo
Design by Nicole Yang
Edited by William Seo
Design by Nicole Yang
After a long wait, the superheros and villains of the Marvel Comics have come back once again on the big screen with The Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, and more, this movie is the follow‐up to the biggest Superhero movie of all time. The first movie, The Avengers, directed by Joss Whedon, ranks third in highest grossing movies of all time. The film was a great success in Korea, attracting an audience of a whopping 180 thousand in Korean theaters. The Avengers: Age of Ultron was highly anticipated by Korean fans not only because it is a sequel to a great movie, but also because thirty percent of the total footage of the film was shot in Korea. The movie was filmed on various Korean landmarks such as Mapo Bridge, Gangnam Street, and many others over the course of sixteen days last spring. “The presence of the country was very advantageous for attracting Korean viewers.” Yeji Chun (8) explains, “It was just so amazing how these superheroes were taking fantastic actions in places that we always walk by.” Nicole Yang (8) also expressed her excitement after watching the movie, “I feel like the superheroes will really pop out of nowhere when I walk on the streets. I really recommend the movie.” At the press conference which took place in the Conrad Hotel Seoul on April 17th, Director Joss Whedon explained, “In this movie, the action scenes are important, but we focused more on emphasizing the identity of each character. The buildings shown behind the Mapo Bridge were the best. We wanted to show our Korean viewers first, as they have allowed our filming and have helped greatly.” As a way of thanking Korea’s collaboration with the filming, Joss Whedon released the film to South Korea on April 23rd, eight days before its release in the US. With more than 9 million views in the first two weeks, professional Korean movie raters predict that Avengers: Age of Ultron may come close to Myeongnyang’s record of 18 million viewers. As this movie is such a large‐scale production, it is a great opportunity for Korea to be exposed to a wider global audience. |
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