by Brad Balfour

G21 Contributing Editor

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NEW YORK, NY, USA - Asian filmmakers have finally come into their own as movies such as "Hero" have established an international audience. With this continuing interest, Korean directors have started attracting attention both on the worldwide festival circuit and through global distribution. Recently, established director Je-gyu Kang has accomplished a major feat by making a serious, hard-hitting war film, "Tae Guk Gi," that details the experience of the Korean War through distinctly South Korean eyes. Two brothers are forced into service to defend South Korea when North Korea invades. This experience brings them both together and tears their family apart.

Despite some cloying moments, this feature details battle with the same realism and blunt reality that made "The Big Red One" and "Saving Private Ryan" classics of the war genre. This film became Korea's biggest seller ever and now enjoys international respect because it highlights a war often overlooked historically. Now that Korean cinema is enjoying an audience beyond its core, the film has made it to the United States and -- though its theatrical distribution was limited and, in some cases, far too short -- it is a film deserves to be seen by audiences, whether Korean or not. Your World's Magazine gives it our highest recommendation.

G21: How did the war affect you personally?

JE-GYU KANG: I was born long after the war was over so I can't say that the war affected me in any direct ways. However, growing up in Korea -- where the war tore us apart -- was indeed a unique experience because I grew up learning that North Koreans were our enemy. North Korea has a part of Korean history that we can't easily get to. I guess the effect was quite subtle that I couldn't really feel or remember much as the most of the people of my generation do.

G21: How did you cast the film?

JE-GYU KANG: When we were first conceptualized the film, the international appeal of the film was very important and internationally known casts were a good help on that part.

G21: How did you balance the sentimentality with the hard edged-ness of the film?

JE-GYU KANG: War is emotional. I have to kill somebody that I never met before if I want to live. The difficult part was to show various emotions that many people experienced and I tried to show that by showing many characters on the screen. It was somewhat difficult to build each character in limited time.

G21: Was it hard to decide how to balance out the story?

JE-GYU KANG: The film traces two brothers' journey through the war. The story starts out from a very happy and peaceful moment but instantly they were put in a misery that they could not have imagined before. So I don't think I really needed to balance any story because the focus is always at brothers and other elements were used to help developing their relationships and changing environment.

G21: Was it hard to do all the effects?

JE-GYU KANG: It definitely wasn't easy. I have to thank all the actors and casts to who had to risk themselves doing the difficult stunts. Basically who had two different types of stunts and one is explosions and the other was the hand combat scenes. The hand-to-hand combat scenes were difficult in a way that actors had to practice for a long time trying to get the moves right and they also had to act at the same time. And the explosion scenes were difficult in a way that, although we took precautions, there was always a chance that something might go wrong. With all the things flying everywhere after the bombs were set off, I couldn't allow for any mistakes.

G21: Who did you feel was the real villain of the film?

JE-GYU KANG: I don't think there is any noticeable villain in the film. If there is any, the war itself is the one creating of all the tension in the film.

G21: Would you like to make films here or in Europe?

JE-GYU KANG: I haven't thought about that yet.

G21: What's next?

JE-GYU KANG: I have a few stories that I am trying to develop. I will have to pick one soon and fully develop it.

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