Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005)

Director:

Kwang-Hyun Park

Writers:

Jin Jang (play)
Joong Kim (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

4 August 2005 (South Korea)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | War

Plot:

Soldiers from both sides of the Korean divide live among villagers who know nothing of the war. |

Plot Keywords:

Popcorn | Swarm Of Bees | Asia | Anti War | Nationalism

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Jae-yeong Jeong	...	Chief Comrade Lee Su-Hwa
Ha-kyun Shin	...	2nd Lt. Pyo Hyun-Chul
Hye-jeong Kang	...	Yeo-il
Ha-ryong Lim	...	Jang Young-hee (North)
Jae-kyeong Seo	...	Army Medic Mun Sang-sang (South)
Deok-Hwan Ryu	...	Seo Taek-ki (North)
Steve Taschler	...	Smith
Jae-Jin Jung
Young-yi Lee
Nam-Hee Park
Deok-hyeon Jo		(as Duk-hyun Cho)
Seung-Mok Yoo
Won-cheol Shim
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Joseph Anselmo	...	Special Forces Commander
Michael Frederick Arnold	...	Attack Pilot Last Scene
Michael Arnold	...	Attack Pilot Last Scene
Steve M. Choe
Jon Emm	...	Colonel
Leif Gantvoort	...	Major
Edwards Garrett
Clinton Morgan

Directed by
Kwang-Hyun Park

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Jin Jang		play
Joong Kim		writer
Kwang-Hyun Park		writer

Produced by
Sang-ho Choi	....	producer
Jin Jang	....	executive producer
Jin Jang	....	producer
Sang-yong Ji	....	producer
Chi-hoon Kim	....	associate producer
Woo-Taek Kim	....	executive producer
Euna Lee	....	producer
Eun-ha Lee	....	producer
Sang-jun Ma	....	executive producer
Jeong Tae-Sung	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Joe Hisaishi

Cinematography by
Sang-ho Choi

Film Editing by
Steve M. Choe

Camera and Electrical Department
Man-gyu Lee	....	lighting director

Music Department
Joe Hisaishi	....	conductor

Other crew
Joong Kim	....	visual supervisor

Production Companies

• Film It Suda

Distributors

• Nikkatsu (2006) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Nikkatsu (2007) (Japan) (DVD)
• Showbox Entertainment (2005) (South Korea) (theatrical)
• Showbox (2007) (UK) (DVD)
• Sky Entertainment Distribution (2007) (Hong Kong) (DVD)
• Subway Cinema (2006) (USA) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• HFR  digital intermediate
• Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra  orchestra

Runtime:

133 min

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean | English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:12 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Korea

Company:

Film It Suda

Trivia:

Was selected in September 2005 to represent South Korea in the Best Foreign Film category at the 2006 Oscars. Although it was reportedly very well-received at the Academy screenings, it did not get nominated.

A spellbinding gem.

I am a lover of all foreign cinema especially the Asian side of things but for me this came under the radar. I had not heard of this until i rented it in my local video shop 2 years ago. World cinema is far popular now than when i first got into it and i'm not to sure thats such a good thing because there was a time where only the best titles made there way to this country, a time where renting a foreign film guaranteed quality but that changed with the sudden American studio interest. This film was apart of that era for me, a film that i picked up many times but couldn't bring myself to rent. Wow was i wrong

This film is politically based but mythically set, get past the war and into the ethos of dongmakgol and you have a far more enjoyable film. I am not writing off the atrocities of war by no means but the way the spirit of this village has in bringing these enemies together is what the film is all about.

From the performances to the music score and even the quality SFX this film amazed me, how this isn't more widely appreciated is a sin. I urge all the people who read this that haven't seen it to watch it, and if you don't enjoy it then i can at least say i tried.