Making The Film ‘Love In The Big City’ Was A Risky Proposition

Arts & Culture, Film & TV

E.oni is a rare success story. Female commercial film directors are exceptional in any country, including South Korea, where only one in 35 films is directed by a woman and most of those films are low budget indie and art films. While E.oni has been relatively successful, directing the films The Accidental Detective 2, The Killer’s Shopping List, Love Exposure and Missing, she’s aware that a controversial film topic can jeopardize a career. When it came to her film Love In The Big City, starring Kim Go-eun and Steve Sanghyun Noh, she knew the topic was risky, but decided to make the film anyway.

“Making this type of film in Korea was a big risk and a bit of a challenge in terms of a commercial film that obviously needs to do well at the box office,” said E.oni. “So it really was a challenge for me as well as everyone else who participated in this big project.”

Love in the Big City premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival and was the closing film for the 2024 London Korean Film Festival. Opening in Korean theaters on Oct. 1, the engaging story focuses on two friends, Jae-hee, who faces criticism for her freewheeling approach to love and life, and Heung-soo, who tries to hide the fact that he’s gay. Jae-hee sees a kindred spirit in Heung-soo and, despite his initial reluctance, insists they become friends. They eventually become roommates and non-romantic soulmates, supporting each other during challenging times. While depictions of homosexual characters have increased in k-media during the past decade, South Korea remains relatively socially conservative.

“There are small changes, a little progress here and there, especially when it comes to independent films and maybe novels,” said E.oni. “You see this subject serving as material more and more. And in making this film, I was also hoping to see how far we’ve come, how much we have changed.”

Actress Kim Go-eun, who plays Jae-hee, is well known for her roles in hit TV dramas such as Little Women and films such as Exhuma. Her participation helped the film happen.
Actress Kim Go-Eun, director E.oni and actor Steve Sanghyun Noh attend the ‘Love In The Big City’ … [+] press screening in South Korea. (Photo by Han Myung-Gu/WireImage)WireImage

“It was such a big risk for us to make this as a commercial film in Korea because the male protagonist is gay,” said E.oni. “So, we absolutely had to cast a top star for the female protagonist. That really was a condition of this film going forward. And I really wanted to work with Kim Go-eun. And thankfully she said, why not? It sounds fun, let’s do it.”

Casting a male actor was harder.
“With her on board, I still had to wait for more than two years because the male actors were very reluctant to be seen as gay on film and to be almost stigmatized with that image,” said E.oni. “So we had a lot of rejections from various actors, but then I came across Steve Noh through Pachinko, and I was thinking, oh, that’s a fresh face. Maybe that could work. And in fact, Go-eun recommended him to me. By the time I got to Steve Noh and gave him the offer, that really was my last straw. If he said, no, this film would not have happened. So, it’s really a miracle that this could actually go.”
Noh, who plays Kim Min-ha’s preacher husband in Pachinko, conveys an emotionally complex Heung-soo, while Kim enthusiastically embodies the gutsy no-nonsense Jae-hee, a character E.Oni notes is also controversial.
“Obviously the male protagonist being gay is a big topic, because it’s seen as such a big hurdle,” said E.oni. “But what I also want to shine the light on was the female protagonist and the actress who portrayed her. It was a very courageous decision to agree to feature in this film. Because in the film, she’s not a conventional woman in Korean society. She’s seen as loose. And there’s also the topic of abortion, which are images that female actresses in Korea do not really want to be associated with. And there’s sort of a tendency with this film in the media to focus more on the male protagonist being gay, but there are also challenges that go on with the female character.”
The film’s screenplay is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Sang Young Park, which E.oni found fun and fascinating. The message that people can help each other develop and accept themselves is dear to her heart. “What I found quite appealing was the two characters, because it’s a story about them finding out about each other and coming of age and really developing as people. I have a soft spot for the coming of age genre.”
To develop the story into a film some changes were required.
“I needed to fill in a lot of gaps and add to the story, to enrich the story, said E.oni. “And so in the book, the story of Jae-hee is seen through the perspective of the male protagonist. In the book you see Jae-hee through his eyes. But in the film, what I was trying to do was strike more of a balance between the two characters so that their stories would intertwine.”
E.oni is not sure how much of a success she is as a director or potentially could be. And she’s not just being modest. Taking risks comes with a price.
“I’m someone who’s always worried about the next project,” she said. “What can I do next? And I’m always concerned about the performance of my current film. So I’m just a constant worrier in that sense. The reason why I worry about my next project and what I can do next might be because I am quite keen to talk about topics that are not commonly discussed in Korean society.”
She’s currently considering a few stories.
“But what I can do and will do in the future will be quite heavily influenced by this current film and how it performs. I’m really facing this dilemma of either doing something very new and different or maybe considering my career, so that I can sustain my career for a longer term. So, yeah, there are some conflicting thoughts. But I know me and I think I will always end up doing something that I want to do.”

Experts call for cultural branding to boost tourism

Travel

Jin Opera actors perform at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Shanxi Tourism Development Conference in Taiyuan, Shanxi province, on Friday. ZHU XINGXIN/CHINA DAILY

As China’s cultural and tourism industry evolves to meet shifting consumer preferences, experts in applied economics and marketing have emphasized the need to prioritize cultural branding. According to them, only destinations that offer unique value and lasting appeal have the potential to move beyond fleeting trends and achieve sustainable success.
“Despite the impact of the pandemic, the growth rate of tourism revenue in recent years has still significantly outpaced GDP growth, highlighting the sector’s vital role in China’s economic transformation,” said Zhang Qinghua, professor of applied economics at Peking University’s Guanghua School of Management, at the Guanghua Scholars Forum recently.
Xu Jing, a marketing professor at the same institution, noted the post-pandemic shift towards diversified and niche tourism markets. Emerging travel preferences include family-oriented trips, “military-style” tourism and silver tourism. Additionally, innovative models such as “tourism + commerce”, “community + art” and “tourism + architecture” are reshaping the industry.
“As economic development reaches a certain stage, consumer priorities shift from material goods to spiritual enrichment, which is why more people are opting for experience-driven consumption, such as travel,” Xu added.
While these new tourism models become a key driver for boosting domestic demand and promoting consumption, challenges like homogeneous offerings, shallow cultural narratives and short-lived appeal remain common issues in many regions.
Xu pointed out that these challenges stem from the lack of effective cultural and tourism branding. “Short-lived popularity fueled by traffic and fan economies often comes quickly and fades just as fast, providing little foundation for long-term regional development. Visitors may come once but rarely return or become loyal customers,” she said.
To address these challenges, Xu proposed a three-step strategy for city branding. Firstly, create brand awareness by segmenting the market and distinguishing the city from competitors, focusing on target audiences’ needs. Secondly, build strong brand associations by effectively communicating the brand’s core meaning and unique appeal. Thirdly, foster brand loyalty by strengthening cognitive, emotional and behavioral ties to encourage repeat visits and sustained engagement.
Xu cited Huizhou’s use of Su Dongpo, a renowned poet and gourmet from the Song Dynasty, as an example of successful branding. “Cultural icons like this give a city unique character and can continuously provide both functional and emotional value for visitors,” Xu said.
Experts also highlighted the role of local governments in guiding rational market competition. “Local authorities should strategically leverage their macro-level oversight and information advantages to approach city development holistically, focus on building a strong city brand, and foster a favorable business environment,” said Zhang.
Leng Zichun contributed to the story

How Disability-Inclusive Business Travel Reflects Corporate DEI Maturity

Travel

According to the Global Business Travel Association worldwide spending on business travel is expected to reach an arresting figure of $1.8 trillion by 2027. It is a lucrative industry indeed and one which significantly underpins and knits together key components of the global economy.

However, for many workers with disabilities, business travel singularly fails to provide an enjoyable or accessible experience. This is often down to a combination of being inexorably entangled with the inherent complexities and inconsistencies of corporate DEI policies alongside deeply entrenched access barriers impacting the travel industry at large.

Back in 2022, accessible travel consultancy firm Accessio produced a report that showed that a large portion of business travelers (39%) reported access requirements that had a direct influence on their travel experience. At the same time, 70% of travel managers working for some of America’s major corporations stated that they were not in a position to estimate how many employees within their organization might have access requirements. More recently, this past summer, research undertaken by American Express Global Business Travel, a leading software and services company for travel and expenses revealed through a survey of 500 workers with disabilities in the U.K. that 50% of respondents have had to decline a job offer because they felt unable to fulfill travel requirements associated with the role. Sixty-five percent said that they could not travel on business due to their disability with an additional 63% expressing a belief that non-disabled colleagues progress faster in their careers because travel is more accessible for them.

During an email interview responding to the research Derek Moxam, Accessibility Advocate and Agent Coach at Amex GBT said, “Accessibility barriers during business travel are particularly challenging because they can disrupt our ability to meet professional obligations. While leisure travel disruption is annoying and inconvenient, there is more scope for flexibility and personalization. But business travel demands consistency and reliability. As professionals, we require seamless coordination between airlines, hotels and ground transportation to ensure we can perform our duties effectively and without interruption.”

The point on consistency is apt. Nowadays, and certainly, at large-scale organizations, business travel is booked directly by the employee through dedicated third-party platforms loosely overseen by in-house travel managers. Whether or not there will be any accessibility codes or tagging related to transport and accommodation within these platforms is somewhat hit-and-miss. An additional layer of complexity exists at an internal level within organizations with travel managers uncertain about the type of accessibility provisions and signposting to look out for due to a lack of knowledge concerning the disabilities of their employees. This often comes back to the complex issue of disability disclosure amongst staff members. Often, unless companies are proactively welcoming and overt about their disability-inclusive culture, staff may be reluctant to disclose a disability for fear of negative attitudes from coworkers and the impact it might have on career progression.

Earlier this year, in order to provide a blueprint for best practices, the Global Business Travel Association launched a business travel accessibility toolkit through its charitable arm the GBTA Foundation. Aimed at travel managers and buyers, the toolkit represents a collective endeavor involving collaboration between travel buyers, software vendors, airlines and hotels. It addresses several critical areas related to accessible business travel including travel policy, traveler communication, supplier engagement and point-of-sale.

The core intention as Delphine Millot, Managing Director of the GBTA Foundation and Senior Vice President for Sustainability and Advocacy at GBTA, explained in a recent interview is to ensure intentionality around the flow of accessibility-related information from all stakeholders so that existing gaps can start to be plugged.

“In business travel, it’s all about how information flows in both directions between the traveler and the supplier. Unfortunately, there are always going to be multiple unique points of failure as business travel is conducted through a very intermediated ecosystem,” Millot says.
She continues, “The barriers are real, but in terms of the opportunities, there is so much that companies can do to make sure that what is featured in the corporate travel booking tool of the company has accessible solutions that will ensure safe and enjoyable travel for all of their employees.”
As ever with DEI initiatives, equal access is just one side of the coin because getting corporate travel right just makes good business sense.
“Companies that set DEI objectives need to be walking the talk and if those ambitions are real, they also need to question why someone might not be comfortable disclosing a specific condition. There can be no doubt that business leaders want their employees to be productive when they travel. They certainly don’t want them spending twice the time it should take to book business trips and they want them to be safe,” Millot remarks.
This of course applies to all employees, not just those with disabilities. This reminds us of an adage of accessible universal design: if you can solve for the hardest use case, you often automatically solve for everybody else by default. Who can disagree that this makes great business sense in the long run?

How Disability-Inclusive Business Travel Reflects Corporate DEI Maturity

Travel

According to the Global Business Travel Association worldwide spending on business travel is expected to reach an arresting figure of $1.8 trillion by 2027. It is a lucrative industry indeed and one which significantly underpins and knits together key components of the global economy.

However, for many workers with disabilities, business travel singularly fails to provide an enjoyable or accessible experience. This is often down to a combination of being inexorably entangled with the inherent complexities and inconsistencies of corporate DEI policies alongside deeply entrenched access barriers impacting the travel industry at large.

Back in 2022, accessible travel consultancy firm Accessio produced a report that showed that a large portion of business travelers (39%) reported access requirements that had a direct influence on their travel experience. At the same time, 70% of travel managers working for some of America’s major corporations stated that they were not in a position to estimate how many employees within their organization might have access requirements. More recently, this past summer, research undertaken by American Express Global Business Travel, a leading software and services company for travel and expenses revealed through a survey of 500 workers with disabilities in the U.K. that 50% of respondents have had to decline a job offer because they felt unable to fulfill travel requirements associated with the role. Sixty-five percent said that they could not travel on business due to their disability with an additional 63% expressing a belief that non-disabled colleagues progress faster in their careers because travel is more accessible for them.

During an email interview responding to the research Derek Moxam, Accessibility Advocate and Agent Coach at Amex GBT said, “Accessibility barriers during business travel are particularly challenging because they can disrupt our ability to meet professional obligations. While leisure travel disruption is annoying and inconvenient, there is more scope for flexibility and personalization. But business travel demands consistency and reliability. As professionals, we require seamless coordination between airlines, hotels and ground transportation to ensure we can perform our duties effectively and without interruption.”

The point on consistency is apt. Nowadays, and certainly, at large-scale organizations, business travel is booked directly by the employee through dedicated third-party platforms loosely overseen by in-house travel managers. Whether or not there will be any accessibility codes or tagging related to transport and accommodation within these platforms is somewhat hit-and-miss. An additional layer of complexity exists at an internal level within organizations with travel managers uncertain about the type of accessibility provisions and signposting to look out for due to a lack of knowledge concerning the disabilities of their employees. This often comes back to the complex issue of disability disclosure amongst staff members. Often, unless companies are proactively welcoming and overt about their disability-inclusive culture, staff may be reluctant to disclose a disability for fear of negative attitudes from coworkers and the impact it might have on career progression.

Earlier this year, in order to provide a blueprint for best practices, the Global Business Travel Association launched a business travel accessibility toolkit through its charitable arm the GBTA Foundation. Aimed at travel managers and buyers, the toolkit represents a collective endeavor involving collaboration between travel buyers, software vendors, airlines and hotels. It addresses several critical areas related to accessible business travel including travel policy, traveler communication, supplier engagement and point-of-sale.

The core intention as Delphine Millot, Managing Director of the GBTA Foundation and Senior Vice President for Sustainability and Advocacy at GBTA, explained in a recent interview is to ensure intentionality around the flow of accessibility-related information from all stakeholders so that existing gaps can start to be plugged.

“In business travel, it’s all about how information flows in both directions between the traveler and the supplier. Unfortunately, there are always going to be multiple unique points of failure as business travel is conducted through a very intermediated ecosystem,” Millot says.
She continues, “The barriers are real, but in terms of the opportunities, there is so much that companies can do to make sure that what is featured in the corporate travel booking tool of the company has accessible solutions that will ensure safe and enjoyable travel for all of their employees.”
As ever with DEI initiatives, equal access is just one side of the coin because getting corporate travel right just makes good business sense.
“Companies that set DEI objectives need to be walking the talk and if those ambitions are real, they also need to question why someone might not be comfortable disclosing a specific condition. There can be no doubt that business leaders want their employees to be productive when they travel. They certainly don’t want them spending twice the time it should take to book business trips and they want them to be safe,” Millot remarks.
This of course applies to all employees, not just those with disabilities. This reminds us of an adage of accessible universal design: if you can solve for the hardest use case, you often automatically solve for everybody else by default. Who can disagree that this makes great business sense in the long run?