Overview

As a commercial director and DoP in Korea with a focus on automobile films, I collaborated with Dezeen and the Kia Design Team on a video series that explores how contemporary Korean architecture connects to Kia’s electric vehicle design. In this film, which is part of a four-part series, we focus on the Kia EV3 and its relationship to Muuun Stay, a hanok-inspired retreat in the coastal city of Gyeongju. Because of this setting, the project introduces the EV3 within both an architectural and natural landscape. As Director (working together with Dezeen’s Oliver Manzi), Director of Photography, and Editor, I helped shape the tone of the film by grounding the EV3 in the calm atmosphere of Muuun Stay.

Designed by Nomal and Onjium Housing Studio, Muuun Stay reinterprets traditional hanok principles for a contemporary audience. As a result, two buildings are arranged around a central courtyard that creates a quiet sense of enclosure. In addition, natural materials such as clay plaster, hemp cloth, and dark wood set the tone for the interior spaces. Because these materials work together in a subtle way, Korean and Western design elements can coexist smoothly. This environment also allows the EV3 to appear not only as a vehicle but as an object shaped by similar ideas of clarity and proportion.

Kia’s EV3 reflects the hotel’s simple design language through its minimal exterior, vertical-slit headlights, linear tail lights, and a streamlined interior that maximises cabin space. Therefore, by placing the EV3 inside this architectural context, the film draws a clear line between mobility, tradition, and contemporary Korean aesthetics. As a commercial director in Korea with a focus on the automobile industry, this connection offered a direct way to align my visual approach with Kia’s design vision.

Finally, the film highlights how the EV3 adapts to rural landscapes, architectural environments, and everyday travel. Through this combination of design, architecture, and mobility, the project continues the larger series by showing how Korean culture shapes Kia’s evolving identity.

DIRECTOR, DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

NILS CLAUSS

PRODUCTION

A DEZEEN PRODUCTION IN COLLABORATION WITH CONTENTED