Shooting of Song Joong-ki's Film in Colombia Halted Due to Coronavirus

Actor Song Joong-ki's ongoing film project has been halted in Colombia due to the spreading coronavirus epidemic, and all of its cast and crew will return to Korea.

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"The Colombian government has banned foreign travelers from entering the country to contain the spread of the virus, and has also banned its own nationals from leaving the country", said one of the film's crew members. "We have decided to stop shooting the film and will monitor the situation to decide later when it is appropriate to resume filming".

With the virus having reached Latin America, which had looked largely unscathed, countries there are bracing for coronavirus while implementing travel restrictions. Currently, there are over 200 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Colombia.

As its title suggests, the film "Bogota: City of the Lost", which depicts the lives of immigrants to Colombia in the 1990s, was due to be entirely filmed in Colombia. Shooting began there in January and was due to wrap up in May.

Meanwhile, filming of director Kim Seong-hun's new film "Ransomed" has also been postponed.

Based on a real story of a Korean diplomat who was kidnapped in Beirut, Lebanon in the 1980s, the film starring Ha Jung-woo and Ju Ji-hoon was supposed to start filming later this month in Morocco.