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Secret Cold War Project Revealed in New Film

By Joon Soh

In 1968, when tensions between South and North Korea were running high, a special unit of 31 North Korean soldiers infiltrated Seoul and attempted to kill then-President Park Chung-hee. The news of the failed assassination plot, which ended with the death of all but one member of the unit, shocked and terrified the public.

The new domestic film "Silmido", however, shows how the South Korean government then tried to retaliate by doing the same. Promised a new lease on life if they succeeded in their mission to assassinate the North Korean leader Kim Il-sung, a group of criminals and outcasts undergo intense and sometimes deadly training on the remote island of Silmido.

According to the film's director Kang Woo-suk, the actual situation was even more lethal and tragic than the one depicted in the film. Also, the film, which opens Dec. 24 and stars Ahn Sung-ki and Sol Kyung-gu, doesn't get into the details of who was ultimately responsible for the Silmido project.

But Kang, famous for the popular comedy "Two Cops" and for establishing the film company Cinema Service, said at a press conference last week that sometimes too many facts can hinder rather than support the story's reality.

"Trying to prove to the audience that a film is based on a true story can be a burden instead" and can narrow the possibility of imagination, Kang said.

While "Silmido" uses Cold-War tensions between the two Koreas as background, Kang said he doesn't "know completely the politics (behind the story) nor am I that interested in it".

"Rather I think there's no limit in terms of material investment or subject matter in films these days, and I'm interested in making a film that can completely win over an audience", Kang said. "Also, some might ask rather if it's necessary to make a movie that makes the intimacies of the government public. But I think our society now has been made possible because we passed through such a barbarous stage".

Requiring seven months of shooting in such locations as Pusan, Inchon, Cheju Island and the original Silmido island, as well as New Zealand and Malta, "Silmido" was a massive undertaking by Kang and his company, which invested over 10 billion won in the film. According to Ahn, who plays the general in charge of training the criminals, the making of the film was a physically demanding experience as well.

"I knew I was going to be making this film with Kang Woo-suk, so I exercised a lot to prepare for my role", Ahn, 51, said. However, he joked that he felt disappointed that so few of the scenes where he shows off his body made it into the final movie.

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