''The Battle of Jangsari'' () is a 2019 South Korean

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

co-directed by

Kwak Kyung-taek Kwak Kyung-taek (; born 23 May 1966) is a South Korean film director best known for his 2001 record-breaking film ''Friend (2001 film), Friend''. Career ''Friend'', a drama where conflicting criminal alliances turn old friends into enemies, ...

and Kim Tae-hoon, starring

Kim Myung-min Kim Myung-min (, born October 8, 1972) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his leading roles in the television series '' Immortal Admiral Yi Sun-shin'' (2004), '' White Tower'' (2007), ''Beethoven Virus'' (2008), ''Six Flying Dragons'' ...

Megan Fox Megan Denise Fox (born May 16, 1986) is an American actress. She made her acting debut in the family film '' Holiday in the Sun'' (2001), which was followed by numerous supporting roles in film and television, such as the teen musical comedy ...

, and

Choi Min-ho Choi Min-ho (; born December 9, 1991), better known by the mononym Minho, is a South Korean rapper, singer, actor, songwriter, and model. In May 2008, he debuted as a member of South Korean boy group Shinee which later became one of the best-se ...

in the lead roles. The second installment in a trilogy following ''

Operation Chromite The Battle of Incheon (), also spelled Battle of Inchon, was an amphibious invasion and a battle of the Korean War that resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favor of the United Nations Command (UN). The operation involved s ...

'', the film tells the true story of a group of 772 student soldiers who staged a small diversionary operation at Jangsari beach in

Yeongdeok Yeongdeok County (''Yeongdeok-gun'') is a county in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is well known for snow crabs. Administrative divisions Yeongdeok County is divided into 1 eup and 8 myeon. Festival Yeongdeok city hosts a 'Snow ...

to draw away North Korean attention from Incheon. Megan Fox plays the role of Maggie, an American reporter and war correspondent for the '' New York Herald Tribune'', who covered the Korean War and called on the international community for assistance. Kim Myung-min plays a guerrilla task force commander while Choi Min-ho plays a low-ranking soldier.

George Eads George Eads is an American actor, known for his role as Nick Stokes on the CBS police drama ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''. He later starred as Jack Dalton on the CBS action-adventure series ''MacGyver'' for three seasons. Biography Earl ...

plays the leader of the landing operation. Produced by Taewon Entertainment and distributed by Warner Bros. Korea, the film released theatrically in South Korea on 25 September 2019 and was released in U.S. on 4 October 2019 by Well Go USA.

Synopsis

During the Korean War, a group of 772 student soldiers led by a guerrilla task force commander is tasked with staging a diversionary mission at Jangsari Beach in South Korea, in order to deceive the North Korean forces into thinking the opposition forces would launch a decisive invasion there. In doing so, they would be able to pave the way for the Incheon Landing Operation. Meanwhile, an American reporter and war correspondent (Megan Fox) covers the Korean War and tries to get help from the international community as the soldiers struggle to accomplish their mission due to a lack of proper training, weapons, and adequate food and supplies.

Cast

as Lee Myung-joon *

as Maggie (fictional character based on

Marguerite Higgins Marguerite Higgins Hall (September 3, 1920January 3, 1966) was an American reporter and war correspondent. Higgins covered World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, and in the process advanced the cause of equal access for female war c ...

and

Margaret Bourke-White Margaret Bourke-White (; June 14, 1904 – August 27, 1971), an American photographer and documentary photographer, became arguably best known as the first foreign photographer permitted to take pictures of Soviet industry under the Soviets' ...

) *

as Choi Sung-pil *

Kim Sung-cheol Kim Sung-cheol (; born December 31, 1991) is a South Korean actor. He achieved initial success in stage musicals before being cast in his debut television role as Kim Young-cheol (a.k.a. 'Jailbird') in ''Prison Playbook'' (2017). He is recognis ...

as Ki Ha-ryun *

Kim In-kwon Kim In-kwon (born January 20, 1978) is a South Korean actor. Known for playing memorable supporting characters, he starred in his first leading role in the sleeper hit ''He's on Duty'' (2010), followed by ''Almost Che'' (2012), '' Born to Sing'' ( ...

as Ryu Tae-seok *

Kwak Si-yang Kwak Si-yang (born Kwak Myeong-jin; January 15, 1987) is a South Korean actor. Career Kwak debuted as an actor in the 2014 drama '' Glorious Day''. His first major role was the film 2014 '' Night Flight''. He then appeared in the music drama, ' ...

as Park Chan-nyeon * Jang Ji-gun as Guk Man-deuk * Lee Ho-jung as Moon Jong-nyeo *

Lee Jae-wook Lee Jae-wook (; born May 10, 1998) is a South Korean actor and model. He made his acting debut in the science fiction thriller ''Memories of the Alhambra'' (2018–2019) and gained popularity after starring in the office romance ''Search: WWW'' ...

as Lee Gae-tae *

Go Geon-han Go Geon-han is a South Korean actor and model. He is known for his roles in dramas such as ''Clean with Passion for Now'', ''The Tale of Nokdu ''The Tale of Nokdu'' () is a 2019 South Korean television series starring Jang Dong-yoon, Kim ...

as Choi Jae-pil * Dong Bang-woo as General Lim Choon-bong *

as Colonel Stephen * Jeong Jong-jun as Guk Man-deuk (old) * Kim Min-kyu as Choi Jae-pil * Choi Jae-pil as North Korean Army General * Han Chul-woo as Moonsan ship captain * Jang Myung-kab as Jochiwon ship captain * Baek Shin as Myung troops officer 1 * Oh Gyu-chul as village North Korean Army soldier 2 * Daniel Joey Albright as U.S. Navy soldier 2

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

commenced on 3 October 2018 and was completed on 12 January 2019.

Release

The film was released in 1,090 South Korean theaters on 25 September 2019. It was released in the USA theatrically on 4 October 2019 with English subtitles.

Reception

Yoon Min-sik from ''

The Korea Herald ''The Korea Herald'' is a leading English-language daily newspaper founded in 1953 and published in Seoul, South Korea. The editorial staff is composed of Korean and international writers and editors, with additional news coverage drawn from int ...

'' praised the opening sequence, the subsequent 40 minutes and how the film managed to introduce the main characters and their traits without feeling forced while also depicting the gritty, grotesque face of war. However, the reviewer felt the plot was "too contrived", Fox's character spelt out the director's message through her dialogue, and that the film started out as something like ''

Saving Private Ryan ''Saving Private Ryan'' is a 1998 American epic war film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. Set during the Battle of Normandy in World War II, the film is known for its graphic portrayal of war, especially its depicti ...

'' and ended up along the lines of ''

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the R ...

''.

Box office

Opening alongside ''By Quantum Physics: A Nightlife Venture'', the film debuted at the number one position and sold over 485,000 tickets (USD $3.44 million) through the weekend and a total of 690,000 tickets (USD $4.57 million) in its first five days.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Jangsari, The South Korean action war films Action films based on actual events 2010s action war films Films set in 1950 Films shot in South Korea 2010s English-language films English-language South Korean films Korean War films 2010s Korean-language films South Korean historical action films War films based on actual events 2019 films 2010s historical action films 2010s South Korean films Warner Bros. films