Kia EV5 Filmmaker Korea | Médongaule x Dezeen

For the third film in Dezeen and the Kia Design Team’s video series, I worked as Director, Director of Photography and Co-Editor. The series explores connections between electric vehicle design and contemporary South Korean architecture. This film features the Kia EV5 at Les Jardins de Médongaule in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.

The film centres on Seongok Seowon Academy, a contemporary educational complex designed by Seung H-Sang of Iroje Architects. Set within the landscape of Médongaule, the architecture reinterprets the traditional Korean seowon – private academies historically built in quiet, scenic locations away from urban centres.

Seongok Seowon Academy is organised around a sequence of courtyards, exposed concrete structures, stepped platforms and pathways that follow the gently sloping terrain. A pavilion overlooks the surrounding pine forest, while water gardens and a lower courtyard connect the architecture with the wider landscape.

Within this setting, the film introduces the Kia EV5, a fully electric mid-sized SUV characterised by a geometric, upright profile and Kia’s “Opposites United” design philosophy. Placing the EV5 within Médongaule allowed us to visually explore relationships between the vehicle’s sculptural surfaces and the architectural language of concrete, geometry, light and landscape.

As Director and Director of Photography, I approached the film around these connections rather than treating the architecture simply as a location for the vehicle. Aerial perspectives establish the relationship between Médongaule and its mountainous surroundings, while architectural compositions, reflections, natural details and close studies of the EV5 create visual transitions between the car, buildings and landscape.

The resulting film brings together automotive cinematography, contemporary Korean architecture and landscape around shared ideas of sanctuary, connection to nature and calmer forms of contemporary living.

The project was produced by Dezeen in partnership with Korea-based production company CONTENTED for Kia as part of the ongoing Dezeen x Kia video series.