Interview with Eric Rhee, producer PBS TV series on Korean Food

picnic overlooking island

Eric Rhee, producer of “Stop and Bap” (working title) PBS TV Series

by Dave Kim

D.K. What is the project you are currently working on and what inspired you to do it?

E.R. I’m currently working on a TV series for PBS called “Stop and Bap” (working title).  It’s a food and travel series about Korean food and culture with Chef Jean Georges Vongerichten and his wife Marja, a Korean American adoptee with an amazing story.

My biggest inspiration is my mom.  Her love for food and cooking for our family is something I am so grateful for and something I feel many Korean Americans have in common.  Also, having produced on a similar series about Spain with Mario Batali, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mark Bittman, and Claudia Bassols, I felt the need to also do a series that shares the beauty of Korea, it’s people, history and culture.

D.K. What is the scale/scope of this project?  What is the size of the production?

E.R. The final product will be 13 half-hour episodes expected to air on PBS starting Spring 2011.  We are also producing a companion book to the series that will have photos and recipes of the trip by Marja and Jean Georges.  Another important goal we would like to do is setup a website that gives people the ability to watch the series, learn the recipes, and even purchase some of the ingredients from our site.

In terms of the actual production, we like to travel as light and lean as possible.  We usually travel 3-4 cameramen, a sound engineer, some lighting personnel, the director, myself, a couple production support staff and the talent.  It ends up being anywhere from 10-15 people traveling like the Brady Bunch.

D.K. Who is supporting the project?

E.R. The main sponsors have been the Visit Korean Committee and the Korean Food Foundation.  We also have private sponsors that include: Samsung, CJ, Hite Jinro Group, Amore Pacific, Korean Air, and the Westin Chosun Hotel

D.K. To what target audience do you plan on airing/screening the project?

E.R. Our target audience is anyone who loves food, travel, or has some interest to learn about some Korean culture.  Throughout the series, we feel there will always be a great story to tell.    While we don’t intend the series to cover everything on Korean culture, we hope that the stories such as seeing how green tea is grown and roasted to seeing some of the vibrant markets and restaurants in Korea will inspire people to try visiting Korea or perhaps try some Korean food.

making food

D.K. What difficulties did you have trying to get the project off the ground?  What production issues have you had?

E.R. One of the more difficult things was to get our 1st sponsor to commit to the series and negotiating the terms.  If people see you have at least 1 sponsor, it’s an easier sell and quite frankly, you really can’t start a project if you have zero sponsors.  And usually, governments are nice organizations to approach first because at least for what I do, there’s usually a tourism and/or agriculture budget each year that can be available.

There are always production issues whether it’s personnel, equipment, logistics, etc.  We haven’t had any major issues (knock on wood), but something that’s always hard to do in production is timing and scheduling things.  Weather, personnel, or even equipment can change the location or timing of a shoot.  We also try to do our best to plan for contingencies and make the best of a day, but more important than that is to communicate with the crew and people involved in the stories to make sure people understand what’s going on.

D.K. What issues do you foresee?

E.R. I think we are going to continue to face challenges with scheduling and timing, which also has implications on the budget.  I hope when we plan our Fall shoot, we can build an efficient yet flexible schedule to make sure we maximize the amount of footage and avoid any idle time.  Idle time is the worst, especially if the crew is on the clock!  I also think that in the post production phase, we’ll have to do a lot of research to give viewers a bit more background and context and to do that will require a lot of time and feedback from many many many people.

D.K. What effect do you think/hope this project will have on your audience?

E.R. I hope for Koreans and Korean Americans they can watch it and appreciate some aspects of their Korean heritage.  For non-Koreans, I hope they can learn something about what I feel is a fascinating culture and try some of the great food I’ve been able to enjoy.  I really believe there’s something for everyone in Korean cuisine and it isn’t just BBQ and Kimchi, there’s hundreds of dishes ranging from vegetarian to seafood and from spicy to savory.

Jean Georges