(Yonhap)

South Korea's largest filming studio Studio Cube will formally open its doors to the public next week after two years of construction, the culture ministry said Friday.

Located in the EXPO Science Park in Daejeon, 164 kilometers south of Seoul, the state-run facility is a two-story building with floor space of 32,040 square meters. It cost 79.7 billion won (US$70.23 million) to build.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and its affiliate the Korea Creative Content Agency will celebrate the opening in a ceremony to be attended by central and local government officials led by Culture Minister Do Jong-whan and film industry figures Monday.

The ministry expects the creation of the studio with large-scale filming capabilities will enhance competitiveness of homegrown TV dramas, in particular, which stand in the center of the Asianwide boom of Korean pop culture known as "hallyu."

(Yonhap)

"Studio Cube will become an important base for raising the competitiveness of Korea's broadcast-video content industry," a ministry official said.

The facility is equipped with a supersized studio of 5,000 square meters, which is more than double the size of the one in Wonbang Studio, Gyeonggi Province, which was previously the largest of its kind in the country. Studio Cube also has four general studios; a studio with special sets like an operating room, a courtroom, a jail and an airport; and a special-effects studio, as well as state-of-the-art production equipment and ancillary facilities related to filming and shooting dramas.

It is already popular among filmmakers and drama productions even before its official opening.

The political drama "1987" (title pending) already finished filming there, while "Changgueol" (title pending), a historical action blockbuster starring Hyun Bin and Jang Dong-gun, and director Kim Jee-woon's new sci-fi action film "Inrang" (title pending) are scheduled to go into filming soon.

"Black," a new OCN TV series led by Song Seung-heon and Go A-ra, was being filmed for release in early October.

Studio officials said they have received a flood of reservation calls from television stations and film companies for the filming of about 20 movies and dramas next year. (Yonhap)