''The Marines Who Never Returned'' (; aka ''Marines Are Gone'') is a

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n film directed by

Lee Man-hee Lee Man-hee (; born 15 September 1931) is a Korean religious leader. Lee is the founder of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a South Korean Christian group that is often described as a cult. Lee is a self-proclaimed messiah, whose followers be ...

. It was released in the U.S. in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

as ''Marine Battleground''. For this film, Lee was given the Best Director award at the third

Grand Bell Awards The Grand Bell Awards (), also known as the Daejong Film Awards, is an awards ceremony presented annually by The Motion Pictures Association of Korea for excellence in film in South Korea. The Grand Bell Awards retains prestige as the oldest co ...

ceremony in 1964. The film was also given the awards for Best Sound and Best Cinematography.

Synopsis

During the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, a squad of Marines from the South battle Chinese forces in the North, and are killed off one by one. At the beginning of the film, a young girl Young-hui and her mother desperately try to run for their lives from the Chinese soldiers. The girl's mother is shot dead but soldiers rescue Young-Hui in time and they immediately hide her from their higher-ranking commanders. Young-Hui is then instructed to continue hiding when she is delivered to their camp, out of fear that the general will send her to an orphanage. The first half of the film centers on the Marines focusing on entertainment and looking after the young girl to alleviate the burden of the war. Afterwards, the Marines depart Young-Hui and head to the mountains to go into heated combat to confront the People's Volunteer Army.Synopsis from

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * 1963 films 1960s Korean-language films Korean War films South Korean war drama films Films directed by Lee Man-hee (director) Films about the Republic of Korea Marine Corps {{Korea-War-drama-film-stub