'Agent Kim Reactivated' uses AI to create So Ji-sub's past story sequence

A scene from SBS drama 'Agent Kim Reactivated'/Captured from SBS

The SBS drama "Agent Kim Reactivated" has showcased a large-scale action sequence created using artificial intelligence, signaling its ambition to open a new chapter for K-dramas through the active adoption of AI technology.

Currently airing on SBS, "Agent Kim Reactivated" featured a roughly three-minute sequence depicting the past of its protagonist, Manager Kim, played by So Ji-sub. The scene was produced entirely with AI, making it a rare example of a Korean drama using a single AI-generated sequence to tell such an extended narrative.

The sequence was created using AICRON, an AI platform developed by Korean visual effects (VFX) specialists. Set in North Korea, it follows Manager Kim as he carries out a special mission and was featured across the drama's first and second episodes.

The AI-generated footage includes large-scale action scenes such as building explosions, high-speed car chases on snow-covered roads and through tunnels, vehicle rollovers and crashes, underwater submersion and vehicle recovery operations. It also depicts gunfights, hand-to-hand combat and close-up shots of characters, addressing one of the major limitations of AI-generated video by maintaining a high level of character consistency throughout the sequence.

Such scenes would normally require a substantial production budget, including overseas location shoots, large-scale set construction, practical special effects and extensive VFX work. The production team opted to use AI to efficiently portray Manager Kim's backstory while reducing the need for costly live-action production.

Actor So Ji-sub, right, in a scene from SBS drama "Agent Kim Reactivated" / Courtesy of SBS

At SBS's Drama media day held earlier this year, Studio S CEO Hong Sung-chang spoke about the company's AI initiatives.

"We have incorporated AI extensively into upcoming productions," Hong said. "Viewers will be informed through on-screen captions whenever AI is used. Reducing production costs is certainly one advantage, but the greater significance lies in proving that it can be done. I believe audiences will come to appreciate it even more over time."

The AI production was handled by Morpheus Studio under the supervision of vice president Ryu Jae-hwan, a VFX supervisor whose film credits include "1947 Boston," "Swing Kids" and "Flu."

From left, actors Choi Dae-hoon, So Ji-sub and Yoon Kyung-ho pose during a press conference for the SBS Friday-Saturday drama "Agent Kim Reactivated" at SBS headquarters in Seoul, June 25. Yonhap

"The biggest significance is that we didn't simply replace a few seconds of visual effects with AI," Ryu said. "We completed an entire story sequence essential to the narrative using AI. Manager Kim was conceived from the planning stage with a clear purpose for incorporating AI. It demonstrates the potential for AI to become a new production tool that brings creators' imagination to life."

Morpheus Studio also emphasized that the sequence was completed entirely using AICRON, a domestically developed AI platform.

"It is meaningful that the entire sequence was produced using Korean-developed technology alone," the studio said. "Based on this experience, we plan to continue advancing AICRON into an AI platform that can be widely used in commercial content production."

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.