Insider Stories – New Lounges
Korean Air
Period
2025
Format
Documentary Series
Location
Incheon, Hong Kong, Singapore
Overview
The first episode of the lounge chapter within Korean Air’s Insider Stories series, capturing from an insider’s perspective the process of redefining airport lounges from simple waiting areas into premium hospitality experience spaces.
Thematic
Clarifying Brand Vision
What We Did
Documentary Planning, Global Production, Post-production
Context
As part of its rebranding, Korean Air sought to expand its brand experience beyond inflight service to airport lounges. This documentary covers both newly opening lounges and those currently in development, making it essential to communicate the roles and perspectives of the key contributors shaping each space. David Pacey, Executive Vice President of In-flight Services and Lounges, and Yunjung Lee, Manager of Lounge Planning&Operation Team, served as the primary voices explaining how Korean Air’s lounges evolved from function-focused facilities into experience-driven spaces centered on empathy and hospitality. Meanwhile, Sue Seam Teo, Partner at LTW Designworks, Takahisa Yamaguchi, Designer at Nipek, and Helen Poon, Director at D’art, each brought expertise in spatial planning, lighting, and art curation. Their perspectives were crucial in showing how Korean Air’s service philosophy is translated into physical space and visual experience.
Challenge
The core goal of this project was to communicate a lounge experience that feels seamless and effortlessly comfortable to a guest, despite being designed through multiple layers—service, technology, culture, and emotion. The challenge was to visualize this complex, multi-disciplinary structure as one coherent story, ensuring that the many thoughtful decisions and collaborations did not appear fragmented. While introducing the lounge’s diverse spaces and services, the film needed to maintain a consistent sense of intent and philosophy throughout.
Solution
The documentary deliberately excludes narration and adopts an interview-driven structure, allowing the philosophy and evolution of the lounge to be expressed in the voices of those who planned and operated it. Elements such as streamlined circulation enabled by automated gates, atmospheric lighting and artwork, and detail shots emphasizing material textures reveal how each layer connects organically. The camera moves continuously through the space, mirroring the rhythm of a guest’s journey, while the edit prioritizes continuity over contrast so that complexity converges into a single, calm experience. As a result, the Korean Air lounge—despite being the outcome of countless decisions and collaborations—is presented simply as a space where guests feel at ease.
Watch
Insider Stories - New Lounges
From the Team
“From the beginning, we knew the lounge contained so many elements that there was a real risk of ending up with just another ‘well-made space showcase.’ But as we listened carefully to the people who planned and built it, it became clear that all of their different decisions were converging toward one shared goal: creating a layered ‘home away from home.’ Shaping the story around that idea felt less like introducing a lounge, and more like conveying the sincerity Korean Air wanted to embed in the experience.”
Diane Yoo
Producer
Credit
Director
Executive Producer
Producer
Writer
Cinematographer #1
Cinematographer #2
Lighting
Yoonseop Kim
Minseok Kim
Diane Yoo
Hyejin Jeon
Andy Choi
Seungchan Baek
Seokho Lee
Credit
DirectorYoonseop Kim
Executive ProducerMinseok Kim
ProducerDiane Yoo
WriterHyejin Jeon
Cinematographer #1Andy Choi
Cinematographer #2Seungchan Baek
LightingSeokho Lee
