Christopher Nolan Finally Visits Korea After 10 Years of Wanting To

Christopher Nolan arrived in Seoul on August 1, and by the time he sat down at the Four Seasons Hotel press conference on August 3, he had already walked the Han River, eaten salt bread, and watched a KBO League game at Gocheok Sky Dome. His first Korea visit, long postponed and finally happening under 'Odyssey,' was not the dutiful leg of a promotional tour. He made that clear within the first minute.

"I've known for a long time that Korean audiences love 'Interstellar,'" Nolan told reporters. "It's a wonderful and strange feeling to have people in a country you've never visited embrace your work. Of course I wanted to go there." He had tried before: the 'Tenet' world tour in 2020 was canceled when COVID-19 closed borders. This time, with 'Odyssey' already past $900 million globally after opening in North America on July 17, there was no obstacle left.

In Korea, Nolan's track record is exceptional even by his own standards. 'Interstellar' (2014) drew 10.34 million admissions domestically. 'The Dark Knight Rises' (2012) brought in 6.42 million, 'Inception' (2010) 6 million, 'The Dark Knight' (2008) 4.08 million, 'Oppenheimer' (2023) 3.23 million, 'Dunkirk' (2017) 2.79 million, and 'Tenet' (2020) 1.99 million. There is no flop in that list.

The film itself is a production record. 'Odyssey' adapts Homer's Odysseia, following Odysseus (Matt Damon) on his homeward journey after the Trojan War. It is the first film ever shot entirely on 70mm IMAX film cameras, across 91 shooting days in Greece, Italy, Iceland, Scotland, and the United States. The production built a 10.7-meter Trojan Horse, constructed a full-scale ship and launched it at sea, and erected replica walls for Troy and the castle of Ithaca. Total footage shot: approximately 2.1 million feet, or roughly 640 kilometers of film. Runtime is 172 minutes. Production budget: $250 million.

Nolan described the intended effect as something closer to physical presence than conventional moviegoing. "I want you to feel like you're on the deck, on the mountain, inside the Cyclops's cave," he said. "Cinema gives you something no other medium can: a story shared simultaneously as a personal and a collective experience. That is why theaters are unique." He asked audiences unfamiliar with Homer not to worry. "We made it as a genuinely entertaining adventure. You don't need to know the source to receive it."

Producer Emma Thomas, who has collaborated with Nolan on every film since his 1998 debut Following and is also his wife, attended wearing a norigae (a traditional Korean decorative ornament) gifted by Universal Pictures Korea. She described 'Odyssey' plainly: "The hardest thing we've ever made. The biggest budget, the biggest scale. We poured everything into it." Her pitch for the film's universality was direct: "I'm a British person living in America, and I believe Korean audiences will feel exactly what I feel watching this. That's what cinema does."

Matt Damon, returning to Korea for the first time since 'Jason Bourne' in 2016, drew attention before the press conference even started. On August 1, he showed up at Gocheok Sky Dome wearing a Kiwoom Heroes jersey to watch the SSG Landers–Kiwoom Heroes game. "I'd heard Korean baseball was something special, and it really was," he said. "The energy from each fanbase was unlike anything I've seen in the States."

On working with Nolan, Damon was unambiguous. "When I got that call, I knew immediately this would be the greatest experience of my career. Hundreds of crew members every single day, and I had never seen a cast and crew work that hard in my life. Sweating through it with everyone was exhausting and completely worth it."

Charlize Theron, who plays Calypso, spoke briefly about the character's moral positioning. "She could be the villain or she could be the hero, depending on how you see it," Theron said. "I hope the film starts good conversations."

'Odyssey' opens in Korea on August 5. Given the scalper activity already reported around IMAX screenings domestically and internationally, the early returns on Korean box office should be clear by the weekend. The safe prediction: Nolan's Korea streak stays intact.