By Honorary Reporter Ramona Stefania Tulug from Romania
Photos = Stephany Yujin Hong

The music video for "Lost," the title track of Rm of BTS' second solo album "Right Place, Wrong Person," was filmed at Buftea Studios in Romania with a multinational production crew. 

Korean model Stephany Yujin Hong, who appeared in the video, in a June 4 email interview discussed her role in the project and her experience filming in the Eastern European country. The following are excerpts from the interview. 

Stephany Yujin Hong

Briefly introduce yourself. 

I've worked as a fashion model for five years, and after getting a master's degree last year, I've been modeling full time. I recently moved to Paris for work.

Describe about your character in the music video for "Lost"

The music video shows RM's four personas, namely his personalities as the leader of the immensely popular K-pop group but also as an individual. Among them, I portrayed his "jaded" or exhausted persona.

Hong (left on RM) appears on the set of the video with RM (center) and other cast members.

How were you cast in the video?

I'd applied to countless castings, and one casting agency suggested that I go for this. Since my main job is modeling, not acting, I feared that they wouldn't cast me if I submitted a typical audition video. So after studying the casting sheet, I created a distinct persona of my own and acted from the heart. Luckily, the director liked it and even referred to my video when filming a scene for it.

Until I got the final confirmation for shooting, I was told that the video was for a "major K-pop artist." Funnily enough, I told my friend that I hoped it was RM as I'm a big fan of his. Two days later, I found out that the artist was indeed RM.

How was the filming process and production? 

From my observation, there were three teams: RM's crew and British and Romanian production teams. The U.K. team had the director and planned and designed the shooting like casting and leading overall filming, while the Romanian team handled technicalities, installation, and management of snack bars and meals. 

Hong appears as one of RM's personas in the latter's music video for "Lost." 

How was it working with a Romanian team? 

I'd never met Romanians before and this was my first time in Eastern Europe, so everything was new to me. Thankfully the Romanian team was very welcoming and friendly despite our tight schedule. Bucharest was very peaceful and I had good memories working there.

Any concluding message for our readers? 

As I mentioned before, this was my first trip to Romania. I was initially unsure if I'd have a good time, but overall it was a great filming experience. Many great Korean artists have yet to be noticed by the public, so keep an eye on Korean musicians and explore our culture.

msjeon22@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.