The Battle of Jangsari (Korean: 장사리: 잊혀진 영웅들; RR: Jangsari: Yicheojin Yeongungdeul; lit. Jangsari: Forgotten Heroes) is a 2019 South Korean action-war film[4] co-directed by Kwak Kyung-taek and Kim Tae-hoon, starring Kim Myung-min, Megan Fox, and Choi Min-ho in the lead roles.[5] The second installment in a trilogy following Operation Chromite, the film tells the true story of a group of 772 student soldiers who staged a small diversionary operation at Jangsari beach in Yeongdeok to draw away North Korean attention from Incheon.[6]

The Battle of Jangsari
Official poster
Directed by	Kwak Kyung-taek Kim Tae-hoon
Written by	Lee Man-Hee Jung Tae-won
Produced by	Kim Sung-mi Kim Dong-won Jung Tae-won
Starring	Kim Myung-min Megan Fox Choi Min-ho Kim Sung-cheol Kim In-kwon Kwak Si-yang
Cinematography	Kim Sung-hwan
Production company	Taewon Entertainment
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Korea
Release date	September 25, 2019 (2019-09-25)
Running time	103 minutes[1]
Country	South Korea
Languages	Korean English
Box office	$7.8 million[2][3]

Megan Fox plays the role of Maggie, an American reporter and war correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune, who covered the Korean War and called on the international community for assistance. Kim Myung-min plays a guerrilla task force commander while Choi Min-ho plays a low-ranking soldier. George Eads plays the leader of the landing operation.[7][8]

Produced by Taewon Entertainment and distributed by Warner Bros. Korea, the film released theatrically in South Korea on 25 September 2019 and was released in U.S. on 4 October 2019 by Well Go USA.[9]

Synopsis

During the Korean War, a group of 772 student soldiers led by a guerrilla task force commander is tasked with staging a diversionary mission at Jangsari Beach in South Korea, in order to deceive the North Korean forces into thinking the opposition forces would launch a decisive invasion there. In doing so, they would be able to pave the way for the Incheon Landing Operation. Meanwhile, an American reporter and war correspondent (Megan Fox) covers the Korean War and tries to get help from the international community as the soldiers struggle to accomplish their mission due to a lack of proper training, weapons, and adequate food and supplies.

Cast

• Kim Myung-min as Lee Myung-joon
• Megan Fox as Maggie (fictional character based on Marguerite Higgins and Margaret Bourke-White)[10]
• Choi Min-ho as Choi Sung-pil
• Kim Sung-cheol as Ki Ha-ryun
• Kim In-kwon as Ryu Tae-seok
• Kwak Si-yang as Park Chan-nyeon
• Jang Ji-gun as Guk Man-deuk
• Lee Ho-jung as Moon Jong-nyeo
• Lee Jae-wook as Lee Gae-tae
• Go Geon-han as Choi Jae-pil
• Dong Bang-woo as General Lim Choon-bong
• George Eads as Colonel Stephen
• Jeong Jong-jun as Guk Man-deuk (old)
• Kim Min-kyu as Choi Jae-pil
• Choi Jae-pil as North Korean Army General
• Han Chul-woo as Moonsan ship captain
• Jang Myung-kab as Jochiwon ship captain
• Baek Shin as Myung troops officer 1
• Oh Gyu-chul as village North Korean Army soldier 2
• Daniel Joey Albright as U.S. Navy soldier 2

Filming

Principal photography commenced on 3 October 2018 and was completed on 12 January 2019.[11]

Release

The film was released in 1,090 South Korean theaters on 25 September 2019.[12] It released in USA theatrically on 4 October 2019 with English subtitles.

Reception

Yoon Min-sik from The Korea Herald praised the opening sequence, the subsequent 40 minutes and how the film managed to introduce the main characters and their traits without feeling forced while also depicting the gritty, grotesque face of war. However, the reviewer felt the plot was "too contrived", Fox's character spelt out the director’s message through her dialogue, and that the film started out as something like Saving Private Ryan and ended up along the lines of Pearl Harbor.[13]

Box office

Opening alongside By Quantum Physics: A Nightlife Venture, the film debuted at number one position and sold above 485,000 tickets (USD 3.44 million) over the weekend and a total of 690,000 tickets (USD 4.57 million) in its first five days.[14][15][16][17]

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• The Battle of Jangsari at IMDb
• The Battle of Jangsari at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Battle of Jangsari at Box Office Mojo
• The Battle of Jangsari at HanCinema