The Spring of Seoul Director's AI Short Puts Kafka's Giant Bug on the Morning Subway
You wake up as a giant insect, and you still have to get to work. On a packed subway. That's the premise of 'Worm Train,' the AI short film director Kim Sung-su, of 'The Spring of Seoul,' is making.
A bug with a commute
'Worm Train' is inspired by Franz Kafka's 'The Metamorphosis.' Jae-hoon, a young office worker worn out by company life, turns into a giant insect and sets off for work anyway.
The centrepiece is a packed subway car, where the bug is jostled by other passengers and feels more isolated the more crowded it gets.
Even the AI blinked once
Kim started on the idea in February. A subway full of passengers tangled up with a giant insect proved too hard to render, so he stopped in March.
He restarted in August with production support from Kling AI. The film is built on Kling AI's video generation model 4.0.
"Two years of work in two days"
Scenes from the film were shown for the first time as a trailer on Oct. 11 at a conference session during the Asia Contents & Film Market at the Busan International Film Festival. "For a director to see the scene in their head on screen takes at least a year or two," Kim said. "With AI, what took two years became possible in two days."
He added: "The technology can show anything you imagine, but the value in the footage is made by people."
An AI team and a film crew
Producer Creative Mango says it is not all AI. VFX supervisor Ryu Jae-hwan, who made the AI opening of the drama 'Kim Bu-jang,' leads the AI footage, with four AI artists and art, editing and music directors alongside. Dexter The Eye handles colour grading and Monocon sound.
Production is about 70% done and in post.
Where can you watch it?
No release date or viewing route for 'Worm Train' has been announced.
The same company's AI short project with the Seoul Independent Film Festival, 'The Collaboration 2026,' premieres on Nov. 27 at CGV Apgujeong. Directors Lee Myung-se, Jang Cheol-soo, Shin Yeon-shick, Ahn Sang-hoon, Park Shin-woo, Jo Ba-reun and Kim Da-min each paired up with an AI director to make seven shorts.
Sources & context
2026-10-17T14:45:33.982Z
Dailian · 'Worm Train' announcement report (Oct. 15) ↗Mediapen · Kim Sung-su AI short report (Oct. 16) ↗MyDaily · Kling AI session at ACFM (Oct. 12) ↗Top: the Kling AI conference at ACFM in Busan on Oct. 11. Bottom four: AI-generated stills from 'Worm Train.' Photos and stills: Kim Sung-su / Creative Mango