Star actor Song Joong-ki's latest overseas venture was, ironically, his first.

"Bogota: City of the Lost," which screened for reporters Thursday at Megabox Coex in Seoul, wrapped after an unusually prolonged production -- first halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia in 2020, with completion taking several additional years.

Although audiences now know Song from his Italian escapades in "Vincenzo" and Belgian journey in "My Name is Loh Kiwan," "Bogota" actually preceded both.

"Filming abroad is never easy, it's very unpredictable," Song said during the press conference following Thursday's screening. "But this isn't just about the setting ― it's a universal story about Koreans abroad, their relationships and conflicts."

The film follows Guk-hui (Song Joong-ki), who immigrates to Colombia with his family after the 1997 Asian financial crisis shatters their livelihood. At 19, he enters the local Korean community's black market under a powerful kingpin (Kwon Hae-hyo). What begins as a family's survival story evolves into dark noir as Guk-hui rises through the criminal ranks.

"After the IMF crisis, families grew desperate," Song said. "I wanted to try something different ― speaking Spanish, playing a character who changes dramatically over time."

Director Kim Seong-je addressed concerns about the film’s portrayal of Colombia, a sensitive issue following criticism of 2022's Suriname-based Netflix series "Narco-Saints."

"We communicated extensively with our local production team," he said. "We kept to historical accuracy ― the 1980s under Pablo Escobar did make Bogota one of the world's most dangerous cities."

Song also shared a personal perspective, drawing from his family connection to Colombia through his mother-in-law.

"Colombians were once very conscious about these stereotypes," he said. "But as public safety has improved, that anxiety has largely passed. It's really a beautiful place with amazing people and food."

Despite its ambitious premise, the film collapses under its own weight. The South American setting serves as little more than a backdrop, aside from a few scattered action sequences in the city streets. The plot lurches through each twist without much logic ― perhaps well-suited for an era of diminished attention spans and hunger for shock value.

Characters almost invariably fall flat, most jarringly in the film’s second half when Song drops his raw edge to become a caricature of his past roles, a spiffy white-collar boss without bite. Any broader message about primal instincts and human ambition gets lost in cheap thrills and surface-level conflicts. What's left is empty vibe over substance.

"Bogota: City of the Lost" is set to premiere on Dec. 31.