Kim Jong Il, the Communist dictator of North Korea has been known for many pet projects. Perhaps the underground tunnels he had dug under the border to South Korea so he could attack Seoul at a moment’s notice. Maybe for the many elaborate museums to himself he has had built all over the country in lieu of feeding the starving people there. Or perhaps the nuclear arsenal that he is ever so proud of.
But the one thing Kim Jong Il loves above all of these things, is movies. He has his own private theater with copies of movies from all over the world. Sure, his subjects can be jailed for so much as overhearing a radio broadcast from another country, but he loves international cinema. Especially South Korean movies, and especially those by Shin Sang-Ok, his most very favorite director, and starring Ok’s wife, actress Choe Un-Hee.

One day, in 1978, Kim Jong Il decided he wanted North Korean movies to be as good as Ok and Hee’s movies.

So he did what any sane person would do. He sent agents to kidnap them.

Shin Sang-Ok was locked in prison, and Choe Un-Hee was locked in Il’s palace. They were told that the only way they could see one another again was if they would make movies for Kim Jong Il.

One would think that to go to all the trouble of kidnapping South Korea’s biggest power couple for years, Kim Jong Il must have had a brilliant idea for a film. One that was so important to him, it justified the crime.

But instead, he forced them to make Pulgasari.

Since the film is hard to find, here itis in photo-comic form.

And that’s the film.

Shortly before the film was finished, both the director and the actress escaped Kim Jong Il’s clutches and moved to the US to work in Hollywood. Once again, one would imagine that after such a powerful experience, Shin Sang-Ok would use his new-found freedom to create a masterpiece of cinema.

He went on to produce, and eventually direct the 3 Ninjas series.

Never in history has a making-of story been so much more interesting that the film itself.

And now you know…….. the rest of the story.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 23rd, 2006 at 1:35 pm and is filed under Obscure International Film. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.