Seoul Interior Film Academy: What It Really Taught Me

As soon as I returned to Korea,
I enrolled in the Zero Interior Film Academy in Seoul.

The reason was simple.

“Before jumping into real job sites,
at least learn the fundamentals.”

The program lasted five weeks.
The tuition fee was 1.5 million KRW.

But in Korea,
interior film installation is classified as a government-supported technical skill.
If you meet the requirements,
the entire tuition is refunded.

In other words,
for Koreans, this film academy is essentially free.

(If you’re an international reader,
this is just for reference—
foreigners are realistically not eligible for this program.)

The structure of the class was straightforward.

Theory?
Barely two hours at the beginning.

The remaining five weeks were pure hands-on training.

• Door frame installation
• Window frame installation
• Flat panel (alpan) installation
• Furniture wrapping

I held film in my hands all day—
stick it, peel it off,
and stick it again.

Around the third week,
I fell into a dangerous kind of confidence.

“At this level,
wouldn’t I already be in the top 10%
of film installers in Canada?”

The reason felt obvious at the time.

I believed I was receiving
the world’s best interior film techniques,
compressed into a short, intensive course.

The instructor had over 10 years of field experience.
During class, he said:

“Korea’s interior film industry has about 30 years of history.
There are over 30 domestic film brands alone.

In the early days, film was mostly used in commercial spaces.
But today, with better pricing, durability, and design,
it’s become a mandatory process even in residential interiors.”

Then he added:

“The most widely used films are
LX Interior Film and Hyundai Bodaq.”

On the final day, he said this:

“If you work seriously on real job sites for just one year,
you’ll be recognized as a professional installer.”

Listening to that,
my mind was already racing ahead.

“So now I just go back to Canada
and make $1,000 a day.”

But reality intervened.

I had already signed
a one-year lease in Seoul.

Going back immediately
wasn’t even an option.

So I followed the advice of my friend Mr. Kim,
a general contractor,
and jumped straight into real interior film job sites.

That decision
would change everything.