Korean Job Discussion Forums

[waggo]

Went to see the new movie UNFURLING THE TAEGOCHKI last night ...pretty good ...very violent ...lots of strawberry jam everywhere...not sure about the shakey camera battle scenes though.
Worth a watch even if you dont know any Korean.

[komtengi]

english subtitles are available in about 4 cinemas in Seoul.... production wise great for Korean cinema... storyline blows... total bite of Saving Private Ryan

[Saxiif]

[komtengi]

cinecore in Chongro.... Coex, Zoozoo in Kangnam...
Not sure the regularity that they are showing the subtitled versions though

[Yesterday]

Everything you want to know about the movie - where to see it with English subtitles etc -

Taegukgi

Director: Gang Je-gyu
Cast: Jang Dong-geon, Won Bin, Lee Eun-ju
Genre: Drama, Action
Running Time: 140 min.
Rating: 15+
Releasing Date: Feb. 8


Four years after the crowning success of his spy-action movie "Swiri" (1999), Gang Je-gyu has again unleashed daring directoral skills, taking on the delicate combination of epic war story and heart-rending drama. Named after South Korea's national flag, "Taegukgi" is set to premiere Feb. 6, 2004, nearly a half century after the armistice that halted its backdrop, the Korean War. The movie delves into the lives of two brothers torn apart by forces beyond their control. Postings generated by its official Korean-language site show high expectations among Koreans and American vets that the movie's authenticity will stir collective consciences more than any Korean War film to date with graphic, high-intensity battle scenes shot on location rather than the hills of southern California.
The movie avoids the standard focus of Korean War films; ideological confrontation, the fellowship of soldiers. It centers around brotherly love and conflict. When Jin-tae (Jang Dong-geon)'s younger brother Jin-seok (Won Bin) is conscripted into the army to fight the North Koreans, Jin-tae enters the fighting. Not patriotism but a desperate attempt to save his brother pushes him from one heroic struggle to another until he loses touch with reality. The movie's depiction of war on a grand scale will likely jar viewers' senses as well. Produced with a record Korean film budget of 13 billion won, it vividly shows major battles like those on Dumillyeong Hill, the Nakdong River and the streets of Pyeongyang. Director Gang opened the realm of fantasy in Korean cinema with his debut "The Gingko Bed" (1996) and set box office records with "Swiri."


It will be screened with English subtitles at three theaters in Seoul on Feb. 8, two days after the beginning day of its screening in Korea. Those included theaters are Cine Core in Jongno, CGV in Myeongdong and ZOOOOZ in Gangnam.

Film Timetable

Cine Core's Hall 3 between Feb. 8 and 18
- 11:30 a.m. / 2:10 p.m. / 4:50 p.m. / 7:30 p.m.

CGV's Hall 1 in Myeongdong between Feb. 8 and 11
- 9:40 a.m. / 12:30 p.m. / 3:20 p.m. / 6:10 p.m. / 9 p.m. / 11:50 p.m.

ZOOOOZ's Hall 2 in Gangmam from Feb. 9
- 11 a.m. / 1:40 p.m. / 4:30 p.m. / 7:20 p.m. / 10:10 p.m.

How to Get There

Cine Core in Jongno: See the map below.
(www.corecine.co.kr ; Korean only)

CGV in Myeongdong: A five-minute walk from Exit 6 of Myeongdong Station, Line 4.
(www.cgv.co.kr / 1544-1122 ; Korean only)

ZOOOOZ in Gangmam: A five-minute walk from Exit 6 of Gangnam Station, Line 2.
(www.zooooz.com / 555-5088 ; Korean only)


For ticket reservations, contact Jinna (2285-2096 or [email protected]) at Cine Core. (On Saturday, she is at the office until 3 p.m., and is not on Sunday.)

For more information, contact Yeongmi Yu at Seoul Selection (734-9539, 011-9947-4177 or [email protected]).


http://www.taegukgi2004.com

mms://www.seoulselection.com/files/movie/20040209_th_trailer-300.wmv

[the_beaver]

I didn't see it as a rip off of Private Ryan.

A couple of small problems but the two that got me:

Like Private Ryan, where were the combatants from other countries?
The Hershey bar was not a 1950s era Hershey bar.

Overall, pretty good.

[Holyjoe]

Went to see it today at Cinecore with Mrs. HJ, and overall it was a reasonably good movie.

If you like the Band of Brothers series then you'll certainly appreciate the action sequences in Taegukgi, however the director did overdo the shoogly camera trick. I'm not surprised to read this film had a record Korean movie budget spent on it as they certainly went all-out to try and portray some realistic battle scenes.
It has its emotional moments too - Mrs. HJ bawled her eyes out at various stages of the movie, and the scenes weren't forced or engineered to induce tears.

One disappointment was the rather sparse subtitling, which I'm sure will be fully fleshed out by the time the movie comes out on DVD. I don't want to complain too much because it's a great chance to actually see Korean movies in the cinema, but even with my limited Korean knowledge it was apparent there was a lot of the dialogue not being related through the subtitles.
There's potential for the movie to be a reasonable hit if it were to be released on an international market...

[kylehawkins2000]

I saw the movie last night and thought it was excellent. It's the best movie I've seen in a long time.

As mentioned in the above posts you can see it with english subtitles at Z0000Z in Kangnam. It's showing on two screens, one with subtitles and one without.

One complaint I have is that the subtitles are in a rather thin font and they are white. It makes them almost impossible to read when they are against a white background. They also didn't subtitle any of the real nasty swear words. The worst word they would include was "basdard".

Anyway, I highly recommend it. Go and see it!

[ryleeys]

I saw this movie on Thursday, my thoughts:

The movie screen was way too small.

The shaky battle scenes were okay, but in individual fight scenes, hold the camera still.

Not a ripoff of "Saving Private Ryan" at all except that both were war movies.

I thought the personal story line was very moving, and that's with not having subtitles and not speaking any Korean.

This is a movie that I would buy on DVD.

[tokki]

SPR was the biggest piece of crap. Why would anyone want to rip it off?

[Holyjoe]

[tokki]

[Holyjoe]

[ryleeys]

I own Saving Private Ryan... was a good war movie.

[Kwangjuchicken]