Director Kim Sung-soo Says AI Shows What's in Your Imagination

The intersection of modern artificial intelligence and traditional filmmaking has long been a subject of intense debate, with many industry professionals fearing for the future of human creativity. However, prominent South Korean director Kim Sung-soo has emerged as a voice for integration rather than opposition. Best known for directing the monumental box office hit "12.12: The Day," Kim recently revealed a profound shift in his professional philosophy regarding generative AI tools during an appearance at the Busan International Film Festival's Asian Contents & Film Market.

Addressing an audience at a session hosted by Kling AI, Kim confessed that he once considered artificial intelligence to be a potential destroyer of the film industry. Like many of his peers, he harbored deep concerns that automated generation tools would devalue human artistry and dismantle traditional production pipelines. Yet, practical experience forced a reassessment. The turning point arrived when he attempted to produce an eight-minute short film titled "Worm Train." Initially, Kim abandoned the project because existing AI capabilities could not render its most critical scene: a giant insect colliding with a packed train crowd.

Months later, as the technology rapidly advanced, Kim revisited the concept and found that the software had caught up with his vision. This realization fundamentally altered his perspective. During the panel, he articulated his new outlook by stating that technology does not replace creativity, but rather shows what is in your imagination. Having experienced this collaborative workflow, the acclaimed director firmly declared that he will never return to the traditional methods he once relied on exclusively.

Importantly, Kim's adoption of artificial intelligence does not mean abandoning traditional crew structures or collaborative filmmaking. For "Worm Train," he assembled a dedicated nine-person team, incorporating vital human talents such as an animation art director and a music director. Rather than letting algorithms completely dictate the production, Kim opted for a hybrid approach. He utilized AI to generate specific challenging segments while relying on conventional filmmaking techniques for the remainder of the project. This balanced methodology allowed the team to harness the speed of AI while maintaining human emotional resonance and artistic direction.

Building on this successful experiment, Kim is currently planning a similar hybrid production strategy for an upcoming seven-part drama series. He highlighted a complex, nearly 15-minute opening chase sequence set on the Gyeongin Expressway. Conventionally, shooting such a sequence would demand enormous financial resources and logistical hurdles. Under his new plan, the sequence will first be generated using AI tools. This preliminary AI visualization will then serve as an essential blueprint, helping the production team precisely determine which shots require live actors on set and where traditional visual effects should be integrated.

Kim was not alone in advocating for the thoughtful integration of artificial intelligence during the Busan panel. He was joined by industry figures including Harry Hyun, director and CEO of AI production company MooAm; Chinese animation director Li Wei, co-director of "Jiang Ziya"; and Lee Sangwook from MBC C&I's AI Contents Lab. Li Wei echoed Kim's sentiments, particularly regarding the animation sector. Presenting a trailer for "Born of the Tide," a 105-minute AI-animated feature focusing on China's boat-dwelling Tanka community, Li emphasized that AI excels primarily during the trial-and-error stage. Concept designs that previously required vast amounts of time and manual labor to sketch by hand can now be rapidly visualized, freeing creators to focus on deeper storytelling.

Ultimately, the discussions at the Busan International Film Festival point toward a shifting paradigm in Asian cinema and global entertainment. As directors like Kim Sung-soo and Li Wei demonstrate, artificial intelligence is increasingly viewed not as a replacement for human imagination, but as a powerful amplifier. By combining the rapid visualization capabilities of modern AI with human expertise, music direction, and traditional craftsmanship, filmmakers are finding new ways to bring ambitious, once-impossible stories to life on screen.