In these four must-see CJ ENM films and dramas, Korea’s military history is explored from different angles.
On Veterans Day, CJ Newsroom presents four CJ ENM films and dramas that explore Korean perspectives on different eras of conflict, shedding light on the lives of the individuals that serve in them.
With military service mandatory in Korea and the Korean War a foundational part of its modern history, military experiences and memories permeate widely in its culture, including movies and television shows.
Treacherous Landings and Behind-enemy-lines Subterfuge in Operation Chromite
2014’s Operation Chromite tells the story of the build-up to the Battle of Incheon, widely regarded as one of the most decisive military operations in modern history. The plot – a fictionalized version of real events – follows the Republic of Korea Army (ROKA) and supporting UN coalition forces, which have been pushed to the far south of the peninsula following the invasion of North Korea’s Korean People’s Army (KPA). Together, the two militaries plan a combined counterattack with the aim of landing at Incheon and liberating nearby Seoul.
The plan – devised by U.S. General Douglas MacArthur (Liam Neeson) – is a highly ambitious one, involving a daring weeklong ROKA mission behind enemy lines. Led by KPA defector Jang Hak-soo (Lee Jung-jae), the team must infiltrate Incheon and gather vital intelligence on KPA defense capabilities. Meanwhile, MacArthur himself must convince his coalition peers to pursue a risky Incheon amphibious landing over more conservative targets further south.
Generation-spanning Korean History in Ode to My Father
A tale of love, loss and determination in the face of overwhelming adversity, 2014’s Ode to My Father spotlights the resilience and tenacity of post-war Korean families.
Ode to My Father – currently South Korea’s fourth highest-grossing film of all time – spans multiple eras of Korean history through a character named Deok-su (Hwang Jung-min). As a child, Deok-su becomes separated from his father and sister during the ROKA/UN-led Hungnam evacuation of 1950, which saw over 86,000 Korean civilians evacuated by sea from the path of the oncoming KPA. As an adult awaiting his father’s return, Deok-su takes up a range of occupations to provide for his family, including working as a miner in West Germany and eventually deploying with the South Korean army as a soldier in the Vietnam War.
Through the lens of Deok-su, the film shows the profound changes war can bring to ordinary lives and explores how Korean civilians overcame hardships in the turbulent post-war period.
Courageous Resistance and Tangled Romance in Mr. Sunshine
Exploring a different period of Korean history, Mr. Sunshine offers a glimpse of Korea under Japanese rule as experienced through the unique perspective of Korean-born American military officer Eugene Choi (Lee Byung-hun).
Born into slavery in Joseon, Eugene escapes to the U.S. and eventually becomes an officer in the Marine Corps. Returning to his homeland several years later, Eugene falls in love with Go Ae-shin (Kim Tae-ri), the daughter of a local aristocrat and member of the Korean “Righteous Army.” As the story unfolds, Eugene finds himself embroiled in the struggle for the independence of the country he was born in. With Japan’s 1910 annexation of Korea looming, Eugene grapples with his identity as both a native Korean and a U.S. military officer.
Fighting Corruption Within in Military Prosecutor Doberman
Jumping forward to the modern day, in a reminder that the armed forces are made up of more than soldiers alone, Military Prosecutor Doberman puts internal security and military law center stage.
Military Prosecutor Doberman tells the story of two military prosecutors: Do Bae-man (Ahn Bo-hyun), who became a military prosecutor in the pursuit of wealth and success, and Cha Woo-in (JoBo-ah), the daughter of a wrongly framed businessman seeking vengeance. Now two dogged military lawyers aiming to root out corrupt players in the army, Bae-man and Woo-in must face down crooked Chaebols and defense industry profiteers as they fight to bring justice to Korea’s military institutions.
