I was told over the phone I had to be at the Jeju City bus terminal by 7 a.m. I groaned, but agreed, for I knew this would be my shot, my motion picture début, my chance to work my way into Hallyu (Korean wave) history and be gazed upon and admired by cinephiles the world over. I was to be an extra in a blockbuster Korean film. And if somehow my expected stardom propelled by this role did not come to fruition, I would at least have the opportunity to get an inside scoop on Jeju’s growing movie industry.
I arrived five minutes early, armed with my camera, my iPhone and all other tools a competent journalist should have and was greeted by roughly 100 or so Jeju National University Students milling about the bus terminal. They had also agreed to be extras and were now waiting for the chartered bus to take us to the set at the Jeju World Cup Stadium in Seogwipo. While waiting — a common theme throughout the day — I asked some of the students if they knew what the movie was called. No one did, but they said it was about a marathon and that we were all to be runners. Just great, I remember thinking, not only did I have to wake early, but now I was also expected to run.
Many on the bus ride over could not contain their excitement and talked with gusto while I tried to grab a couple more minutes of sleep. Sure I was excited but also tired and I needed to conserve my energy to achieve my goal. I felt like a spy on a covert operation. By playing the role of an actor and with the use of my charm and wit I would score an exclusive interview with one of the thespians.
We arrived and were quickly escorted off the bus. A man came and looked us over, and I, along with the two other foreigners, were cast as coaches and given tracksuits while the others were informed they would be runners and generic crowd scene fillers.
The front of the World Cup Stadium had undergone a face lift and was adorned with much that one would expect to see at a Korean marathon; advertisements, tents, incorrectly spelled English banners (headquoters) and a large arch that read 2012 Jeju International Marathon. There were another 100 or so foreign extras wandering about, already bedecked in their marathon gear and all wearing sneakers supplied by Nike, the film’s product placement.
It was not long before we were told to take our places out in front of the stadium. All 200 of us gathered behind the arch for a crowd shot of the runners training before the race. My motivation I was told was to simply watch a group of runners like a coach would and it was then that I decided that I would be the best damn coach that every graced the big screen.
Someone yelled action, and the runners stretched and ran in tight circles, trying not to bump into each other while the camera attached to a crane swooped overhead, and I, arms crossed, sternly coached like no one had ever coached before. We did this for hours. The runners ran, the camera swooped, I sternly coached. In between shots the extras talked. Most of them were international university students from the mainland brought in for the three-day shoot. At first they were jovial, but as the hours waned, so did their enthusiasm.
It was eventually time for lunch, and with the extras becoming sunburnt and tired, they looked for refuge under anything that cast a shadow. I went to search out my interview and found the production assistant in charge of the extras. I told him what my real motive for being there was, and he said he would ask the producer to set up the interview.
Excited, I began to take pictures of the extras wandering around, eating, resting from all the running, and waiting for the next shot. The big names in the film were hidden somewhere and only came out of their fox holes when needed.
We were now back in the same positions as before, but for this shot the only non-Korean star, presumably the comic relief of the movie, was to become overly excited by the beauty of one of the extras and in a misguided attempt to get her attention (and a better look), he somehow falls resulting in a marathon-ending injury while the rest of us continue our running and coaching.
In between the two dozen takes of this, I again approached the production assistant about my interview. He said all press was prohibited from interviewing the actors until they were officially promoting the film once shooting had completed.
So, I put all of myself into my role and wore that tracksuit with pride. During the nine-hour shoot, a total of two to three minutes were captured and everyone was exhausted. The day came to a close when the sun finally set, and it was several more hours before the extras were able to leave, only to return the next day. I, on the other hand, had copy to write and interviews to conduct, and frankly, being an extra is exhausting. And 50,000 won for a long day’s work is a pretty raw deal.
As I was waiting for the ride back to Jeju City, I ran into a translator who was on set to help instruct the foreign talent. She was holding the script, and I asked her what the title of the movie was. “Pacemaker,” she said, not like the medical device, but someone who sets the pace. Look for it eventually in a theatre near you; I’ll be the coach with his arms crossed in the dark blue tracksuit. <Jeju Weekly>
<Darryl Coote darrylcoote@jejuweekly.com ⓒ Jeju Weekly All rights reserved>
