South Korea introduced first AI feature film ‘Run to the West’, with the help of Artificial intelligence in media industry.
Its debut was made in the theaters on Wednesday and is Korea’s first AI-incorporated feature film, “Run to the West,” directed by Kang Yun-sung, the acclaimed filmmaker behind Disney+’s “Big Bet” and “Low Life.”
“Run to the West” is a chaotic rollercoaster powered by the aggressive use of AI rendering. The story itself is rooted in high-concept mysticism: A group of people are stuck in limbo after near-death experiences and are hounded by unearthly figures who decide whether they belong in the afterlife or the land of the living.
Headlining the film are marquee names Byun Yo-han (“Mr. Sunshine,” “Uncle Samsik”), Bang Hyo-rin (“Aema”) and Yang Se-jong (“Low Life,” “Doona”). The trio spends much of the running time sprinting through central Seoul (mostly Anguk and Gwanghwamun areas) while being pursued by AI-generated grim reapers fashioned as animals and the Four Heavenly Kings of Buddhism.
The creatures oscillate between unsettling realism and awkward cartoonishness—at times almost comically fake—but the film hurtles onward with a pyrotechnic spectacle of explosions, chases, and fireballs that keeps you watching.
As AI continued to evolve at breakneck speed even as production was underway, Kang found himself less skeptical about the long-term role of AI in entertainment.
Executive Statement
According to Kang Yun-sung, the acclaimed filmmaker behind Disney+’s “Big Bet” and “Low Life.”, while he was filming ‘Low Life’ last year, KT proposed making a short AI film of about 5–10 minutes. At the time, he had a script called ‘Mobius’ that he had written around 25 years ago when he was preparing to debut, and thought it would be great to turn that into a film. So Kang revised the entire script into a feature-length project, and the planning process began in collaboration with KT.