Korean director Park Gyu Tae is set to direct Vietnam-Korea co-production Saigon Oppa.
The project came together following a government event held in Seoul labelled ‘Vietnam–South Korea Forum on Cultural Industry Development Cooperation’, which saw a film production agreement signed for Saigon Oppa as a co-production between South Korea’s Film Line and Vietnam’s BHD.
The comedy adventure follows two reluctant Vietnamese husbands on a wild mission to track down their K-pop–obsessed wives in Seoul. It will feature director-writer Park trademark comedic elements such as misunderstandings, culture clashes, and language mix-ups.
The director is well known in Vietnam for his 2022 blockbuster comedy 6/45, which remains the second highest grossing Korean film of all time in Vietnam, with takings of almost $7m (VND181bn).
After visiting Vietnam for the promotion of 6/45, he spent two years writing the screenplay of Saigon Oppa. Filming is expected to start in early 2026 in both Vietnam and South Korea.
Ngo Thi Bich Hanh, BHD senior vice president, said at the forum: “Creating new IPs based on stories from both countries… is a new trend for producers from both nations and has already been proven successful, as seen with the box office performance of the movie Leaving Mom.”
Korea director Mo Hong-jin’s Vietnam-set family drama Leaving Mom has crossed $5.3m (VND140bn) in Vietnam to become the eighth biggest local film of 2025, following its release on August 1. It is the first ever equal partnership between the two countries in terms of investment and production responsibilities.
“This [Leaving Mom] demonstrates that the Vietnam-South Korea partnership has reached a new level—one of closer and more equal cooperation, where we jointly introduce the cultures of both nations,” Bich Hanh adds.
BHD was the first to introduce Korean drama series to Vietnam, having acquired Yummy, My Love from KBS in 1997. It has since distributed numerous Korean films and drama series in the country as well as produced the local remake of major Korean IPs such as Descendants Of The Sun and Good Doctor.
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