Singer Kim Jang-hoon and Paris Hilton in 3-D music video

Singer Kim Jang-hoon and American socialite Paris Hilton recently unveiled a teaser clip for the upcoming release of their new music video, “Not Here.”

According to Kim’s agency, the video was also shot in 3-D by Hollywood’s top 3-D specialists, including Look FX, the company that did some of the special effects for James Cameron’s blockbuster smash “Avatar.”

The video was filmed in Los Angeles and Malibu in August and it was reported that producing the music video for this ballad song, to be featured on Kim’s upcoming 10th album, has a price tag of approximately $1.3 million. In addition, Hilton is said to have received $1 million for her two-day beach shoots. 

The release of the music video was initially scheduled for Oct. 4 but was delayed due to the Ministry of Gender Equality & Family’s rating that deemed that it was unfit for minors. However, after multiple subsequent edits, the video has now been approved for all audiences.

“Basically we took a lot of a car crash scene out,” said a representative from Kim’s agency. “We also took out a heated love scene with Paris Hilton.“

Song Kyu-ho, the director of 3-D production, said he still wants to somehow release the full version.

“A lot of money and effort went into this,” said Song. “We worked with the best crew so I’d like to air the full-length video.”

The MOGEF approved version of “Not Here” will be released on Thursday.

Kim’s agency stated that the original casting list for this video was Jessica Alba, Scarlett Johansson and Paris Hilton, but after conducting a survey in Korea to see which starlet was most widely recognized, Hilton received the most votes and therefore offered to join in this collaboration.

Hilton has appeared in many advertisements in Korea, especially when she signed a contract as a model for Fila Korea in 2007, adding to her local popularity. In 2006, she released her self-titled debut album which received mixed reviews from critics for her attempts to pursue a music career. Despite the lack of success of her first album, she is currently attempting to launch a career as a DJ and is now working on her second album, moving away from pop-style tracks to more house-inspired songs.

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)