'' The Fortress'' is a 2017 South Korean historical drama film directed by

Hwang Dong-hyuk Hwang Dong-hyuk (, Hanja: 黃東赫; born May 26, 1971) is a South Korean film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for directing the 2011 crime drama film '' Silenced'', and for creating the 2021 Netflix survival drama series ' ...

, starring

Lee Byung-hun Lee Byung-hun (; born July 12, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He has received critical acclaim for his work in a wide range of genres, most notably ''Joint Security Area'' (2000); ''A Bittersweet Life'' (2005); ''The Good, the Bad, the Weird'' ...

and

Kim Yoon-seok Kim Yoon-seok (born January 21, 1967) is a South Korean actor, film director and screenwriter. Kim began his career in theater and it subsequently led him to be cast in minor roles in films and television dramas. His breakout role came as the vi ...

. It is based on the novel ''Namhansanseong'' by Kim Hoon.

Plot

The film is set during the

Qing invasion of Joseon The Qing invasion of Joseon (Korean: Byeongja Horan) occurred in the winter of 1636 when the newly-established Qing dynasty invaded the Joseon dynasty, establishing the former's status as the hegemon in the Imperial Chinese Tributary System and ...

in 1636, when

King Injo Injo of Joseon (7 December 1595 – 17 June 1649), born Yi Jong, was the sixteenth ruler of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. He was the grandson of King Seonjo and son of Prince Jeongwon. He was the king during the Later Jin invasion of Joseon, ...

and his retainers sought refuge in the fortress located in

Namhansanseong Namhansanseong is a historical mountain fortress city 25 km southeast of Seoul, South Korea. It sits approximately 480 m above sea level and is aligned with the ridges of the mountain for maximum defensibility. The fortress, stretchin ...

Cast

Main

as Choi Myung-kil A leader of one of the two ideological cliques that battles in the fortress trying to decide whether to make peace or fight against the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

. *

as Kim Sang-hun The other leader of the ideological clique who battles with Choi's opinion and firmly believes in defending the nation's dignity by fighting against the

. *

Park Hae-il Park Hae-il (born 26 January 1977) is a South Korean actor. He began his acting career in theater, but soon gained the film industry's attention in 2003 with ''Jealousy Is My Middle Name'' and ''Memories of Murder''. Park's film career took off, ...

The king who is in agony in the tense conflicts between his men over the fate of the nation. *

Go Soo Go Soo (born October 4, 1978), also known as Ko Soo, is a South Korean actor. He has appeared in television series such as ''Piano'', '' Green Rose'' and '' Will It Snow for Christmas?'', as well as the films '' White Night'' and '' The Front Lin ...

as Seo Nal-soe A blacksmith sent out with a king's letter to recruit loyal forces. * Park Hee-soon as Lee Shi-baek The commander of the Namhansanseong garrison, silently defending the mountain fortress in the extreme cold weather conditions.

Supporting

*Song Young-chang as Kim Ryoo * Jo Woo-jin as Jung Myung-soo *

Lee David Lee David (born March 3, 1994) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his supporting roles in ''Poetry'', '' The Front Line'', and Itaewon Class. He has also had starring roles in ''Romance Joe'' and ''Pluto Pluto (minor-plane ...

as Chil-bok *

Heo Sung-tae Heo Sung-tae ( , born 20 October 1977) is a South Korean actor with over sixty film and television credits. He came to national prominence in the 2016 period thriller film ''The Age of Shadows''. Early life Heo was born in Busan, South Korea. ...

as Yong Gol-dae *Kim Beop-rae as Hong Taiji *Jo Ah-in as Na-roo *

Jin Seon-kyu Jin Seon-kyu (born September 13, 1977) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles on the big screen, such as '' The Outlaws'' (2017) and ''Extreme Job'' (2019). He won Best Supporting Actor award at the 38th Blue Dragon Film Awards ...

as Lee Doo-gap *Yoo Soon-woong as Chief Scholar *

Park Ji-il Park Ji-il (Korean: 박지일, born September 1960) is a South Korean theatre, film and television actor. He is known for his supporting roles in various TV series and films. His better known works are: 2011 TV series '' The Thorn Birds'', 2013 ...

as Deputy Chief Scholar *Choi Jong-ryul as Eunuch *Kim Joong-ki as First Secretary *

Shin Ki-joon Shin Ki-Joon (born July 27, 2001) is a South Korean actor. He acted in the lead role in the 2014 KBS 2TV's children's series ''Magic Hanja''. Filmography Television series Films References External links * 2001 births Li ...

as Crown Prince

Release and reception

The film was released in South Korean cinemas on October 3, 2017. It topped the box office on its opening day with 444,527 viewers. According to the film's distributor

CJ Entertainment CJ Entertainment (Hangul: CJ 엔터테인먼트) is a South Korean film production and distribution company under CJ ENM. The company operates as a film production company, film publishing house, investment and exhibition. History During early 1 ...

, by the second day of its release, the film had accumulated more than one million admissions, the fastest film released during the

Chuseok ''Chuseok'' (; , literally "autumn evening"), also known as ''Hangawi'' (Hangul: ; ; from archaic Korean for "the great middle (of autumn)"), is a major mid-autumn harvest festival and a three-day holiday in South Korea celebrated on the 15th ...

holidays to surpass the mark. ''The Fortress'' was sold to 28 countries worldwide including U.S.A, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore. It was the opening film at the 2nd London East Asia Film Festival. In South Korea, the film attracted a total of 3.8 million moviegoers.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fortress (2017 film) 2017 films South Korean historical drama films Films set in the 1630s Films set in the Joseon dynasty CJ Entertainment films 2010s historical drama films Drama films based on actual events 2017 drama films Manchu-language films 2010s South Korean films