''Once Upon a Time in a Battlefield'' () is a 2003 South Korean war

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Lee Joon-ik Lee Joon-ik (born September 21, 1959) is a South Korean film director and producer. He is best known for directing and producing ''King and the Clown'' (2005), one of the highest grossing Korean films of all time. Other notable films include ' ...

. Its plot is about the

Battle of Hwangsanbeol The Battle of Hwangsanbeol (Hangul: 황산벌 전투, Hanja: 黃山伐戰鬪) took place between the forces of Silla and Baekje in Hwangsanbeol (currently Nonsan) in 660.Il-yeon: ''Samguk Yusa: Legends and History of the Three Kingdoms of Ancien ...

between

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder Jum ...

and

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of K ...

in the 7th century. The film was the 8th most attended film of 2003 with 2,835,000 tickets sold nationwide. Its popularity has spawned a sequel, titled ''

Battlefield Heroes ''Battlefield Heroes'' was a 2009 third-person shooter video game developed by DICE initially and further developed by Easy Studios, published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows. ''Battlefield Heroes'' was a third-person, free-to-play s ...

'', which debuted in 2011, and takes place in the subsequent Silla-Tang invasion of

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled most ...

Plot

The movie starts out with a meeting between the rulers of

Tang China The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...

, and

. They are arguing why the Korean southern kingdoms have to pay tribute to China, even though Tang is only 50 years old. The king of Silla sides with the Emperor of Tang. The movie flashes forward to the scene in which Baekje soldiers rush to the king with ill news of Silla and Tang allying together, bringing an army of 50,000

soldiers A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

. The Baekje council discusses

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

plans. But in the end, all of the officials run away out of

cowardice Cowardice is a trait wherein excessive fear prevents an individual from taking a risk or facing danger. It is the opposite of courage. As a label, "cowardice" indicates a failure of character in the face of a challenge. One who succumbs to cowa ...

. The king of Baekje calls for the great warrior, Kyebaek. He accepts the offer to protect his country after three glasses of

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

. Kaebaek is forced to kill his family in fear of something worse happening to them. Soon, Gyebaek engages the Silla forces in so called "battles" where the opponents insult the others with Gyebaek winning in the beginning of these battles.

Cast

Park Joong-hoon Park Joong-hoon (born March 22, 1966) is a South Korean actor. Early life and family Park was born and raised in Seoul. He was classmates with retired basketball legend Hur Jae at Yongsan High School and attended Chung-Ang University toget ...

as Gye-baek *

Jung Jin-young Jung Jin-young may refer to: * Jung Jin-young (actor) (born 1964), South Korean actor * Jung Jin-young (singer) Jung Jin-young (; born November 18, 1991), professionally known as Jinyoung, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, record producer ...

as Kim Yoo-shin *

Lee Moon-sik Lee Moon-sik (born November 13, 1967) is a South Korean actor. Lee Moon-sik debuted in Jang Jin films of the late 1990s after an illustrious career in Daehak-ro (considered the "Korean Broadway"), where he learned great comic timing, ad-lib pr ...

as Geo Shi-gi * Oh Ji-myeong *

Lee Won-jong Lee Won-jong (born January 1, 1966) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Film Television series Variety shows Theater *''Blind'' (2010) *''The Masked Hut Murder Case'' (2022) - Nobuhiko Awards *2002 SBS Drama Awards: Best Supporting Act ...

* Kim Byeong-cheol as Silla spy *Lee Ho-sung as Kim Chun-choo * Kim Sun-ah *

Ryu Seung-soo Ryu Seung-soo (born August 12, 1971) is a South Korean actor. Ryu made his acting debut in 1997 with a minor role in Park Chan-wook's film ''Trio'', and has been active as a supporting actor on film and television since. Among his notable films a ...

as Kin In-moon *

Ahn Nae-sang Ahn Nae-sang (born December 25, 1964) is a South Korean actor. He began his career on the stage, and in 1994 made his film debut in the Bong Joon-ho short film ''Baeksekin'' ("White Man" or "White-collar worker"), followed by Jang Sun-woo's ''B ...

as Kim Beob-min *

Ko Kyu-pil Ko Kyu-pil (born May 2, 1982) is a South Korean actor. He debuted in the 1993 South Korean children's film A children's film, or family film, is a film genre that contains children or relates to them in the context of home and family. Child ...

as Prince of Baekje

References

External links

* * 2003 films 2000s war comedy films South Korean war comedy films War films based on actual events War adventure films Military humor in film Films set in the 7th century Films set in Goguryeo Films set in Baekje Films set in Silla Films directed by Lee Joon-ik 2000s Korean-language films Films set in 7th-century Tang dynasty 2003 comedy films 2000s South Korean films {{war-film-stub