''The Divine Weapon'' () is a 2008 South Korean film.

Plot

During the reign of King

Sejong the Great Sejong of Joseon (15 May 1397 – 8 April 1450), personal name Yi Do (Korean: 이도; Hanja: 李祹), widely known as Sejong the Great (Korean: 세종대왕; Hanja: 世宗大王), was the fourth ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. Initial ...

Joseon Korea Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and r ...

faces increasing hostility from

Ming China The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

. Ming China, without restraint, mounts unrelenting demands against the Korean crown, further entrenching distrust and aversion to subservience. Ming China has especially been provoked by a leaked news that Korea had under way an arms development program that would undermine theirs. Mounting pressure by threat of invasion and sending down Emperor's commands requesting tribute pf young Korean girls to be sent to China, to reduce Korea's manpower and debilitate its military capacity, the grip around the throat becomes ever tighter. It seems Joseon's fate is dependent on completing an unfinished project - that of making

Singijeon ''Singijeon'' or ''shinkichon'' ( ko, 신기전; Hanja: ; literally "Divine machine arrows") was a type of Korean fire arrow rocket, used during the era of the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1897). Multiple ''singijeon'' could be launched by ''hwacha ...

or the Divine Weapon a reality. In the final battle, severely outnumbered Korean forces (less than 100 men) successfully defeat the thousands of Ming Chinese in armed combat with spears, bombs, and several finished Singijeon via several

hwacha The ''hwacha'' or ''hwach'a'' ( ko, 화차; Hanja: ; literally "fire cart") was a multiple rocket launcher and an organ gun of similar design which were developed in fifteenth century Korea. The former variant fired one or two hundred rocket- ...

s. Thousands of Ming Chinese foot soldiers are killed as the arrows in the Singijeon are launched. More are killed with the gunpowder packed inside the arrows (standard Singeijeons). Those in the Ming Chinese army who remained are finished off with the large model Singijeons (대신기전, Grand Singijeon), except one of the nobles who prefers peace over warfare.

Cast

Jung Jae-young Jeong Jae-yeong (born Jeong Ji-hyeon; November 21, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He's best known for his roles in the critically acclaimed films '' Silmido'' (2003), ''Right Now, Wrong Then'' (2015), and '' On the Beach at Night Alone'' (2017). ...

... Seol-joo *

Han Eun-jung Han Eun-jung also known as Han Da-Gam (born July 10, 1980) is a South Korean comedienne and actress. She is known for ''Successful Story of a Bright Girl'' (2002), ''Full House ''Full House'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeff ...

... Hong-ri * Heo Joon-ho ... Chang-kang *

Ahn Sung-ki Ahn Sung-ki (born January 1, 1952) is a South Korean actor. One of the country's most respected actors, he has appeared in more than 130 films during his career of over 60 years. Career A native of Seoul, Ahn was the son of a veteran filmmaker ...

...

King Sejong Sejong of Joseon (15 May 1397 – 8 April 1450), personal name Yi Do (Korean: 이도; Hanja: 李祹), widely known as Sejong the Great (Korean: 세종대왕; Hanja: 世宗大王), was the fourth ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. Initial ...

* Jeong Seong-mo ... Sa Ma-soon * Kim Myeong-soo ... Ggya Oh-ryung * Lee Do-kyeong ... Hong-man * Do Yi-seong ... In-ha *

Ryu Hyun-kyung Ryu Hyun-kyung (born March 10, 1983) is a South Korean actress. She made her acting debut in 1996 at age 12 as the younger counterpart of the protagonist in the SBS TV series ''Oxtail Soup''. In 2010, Ryu drew attention with her supporting rol ...

... Bang-wook * Seo Joo-seong ... Moo-saeng * Cha Soon-bae ... Ming1

Release

''The Divine Weapon'' was released in

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 ...

on 4 September 2008, topping the box office on its opening weekend with 630,257 admissions. It led the box office for a further two weeks, and as of 9 November had accumulated a total of 3,749,611 admissions. As of 16 November, the film had grossed a total of .South Korea Box Office November 14–16, 2008
. ''

Box Office Mojo Box Office Mojo is an American website that tracks box-office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. The site was founded in 1998 by Brandon Gray, and was bought in 2008 by IMDb, which itself is owned by Amazon. History Brandon Gray be ...

''. Retrieved 26 November 2008. making it the seventh most popular domestic film that year.

Reception

The film was heavily criticized by Chinese audiences for historical inaccuracies and revisionism. For example, the movie depicted

and

in conflict around 1448, however in reality two nations never fought and were in fact allies in resisting Japanese invasion. The depicted the tribute of young girls occurred under the Mongol-led

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...

(1271-1368). The movie also suggested that the Ming dynasty tried to steal multiple rocket carts blueprints from Korea, despite in reality China developed rocket arrows and rocket carts that predates Korean efforts.

Awards and nominations

;

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Blue Dragon Film Awards The Blue Dragon Film Awards () is an annual awards ceremony that is presented by '' Sports Chosun'' (a sister brand of the ''Chosun Ilbo'') for excellence in film in South Korea. The Blue Dragon Film Awards considers only blockbusters and popu ...

* Nomination - Best Director - Kim Yoo-jin * Nomination - Best Art Direction - Min Eon-ok * Nomination - Best New Actress -

;2008

Korean Film Awards The Korean Film Awards was a South Korean film awards ceremony hosted by the broadcasting network MBC from 2002 to 2010. History Originally named the MBC Film Awards, the ceremony was first established in 2002. It was renamed the Korean Film Aw ...

* Nomination - Best Actor -

* Nomination - Best Sound - Oh Se-jin ;

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

Fajr International Film Festival Iran's annual Fajr International Film Festival ( fa, جشنواره بین‌المللی فیلم فجر), or Fajr Film Festival (little: FIFF; fa, جشنواره فیلم فجر), has been held every February and April in Tehran since 1982. T ...

, "World Panorama" section * Best Technical and Artistic Achievement ;

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 ...

* Best Film * Best Editing - Kim Hyeon * Best Sound - Oh Se-jin * Nomination - Best Actor -

* Nomination - Best Lighting - Im Jae-young * Nomination - Best Visual Effects - Jeong Seong-jin, Han Young-woo * Nomination - Best Planning - Lee Young-in

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Divine Weapon, The 2008 films 2000s war drama films South Korean war drama films Films set in the 15th century Films set in the Joseon dynasty Best Picture Grand Bell Award winners 2000s Korean-language films Films directed by Kim Yoo-jin 2000s South Korean films