South Korean blockbuster 'Joint Security Area' strikes a chord 25 years on
Seoul –
Twenty-five years ago, director Park Chan-wook risked jail to make a movie about friendship between North and South Korean soldiers, striking box-office gold and beginning his actors' ascent to global stardom.
Relations between the two Koreas have since plunged, with Pyongyang renouncing its long-held goal of unification and last week destroying a venue that traditionally hosted reunions of families separated by decades of divisions. However, Park says his smash hit "Joint Security Area" still strikes a chord a quarter of a century later.
"It is a sad reality that this movie's themes still resonate with the younger generation," he says. "I hope that by the 50th anniversary, we will be able to discuss it as just a story from the past."
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