Taegukgi (known as Brotherhood - Taegukgi in Europe, Brotherhood of War in America, or 태극기 in Korea or 太極旗 in Hanja] is a 2004 film directed by Kang Je-gyu dealing with the Korean War. The film's title, "Taegukgi" (Flag of the Taeguk), is the name of the prewar Flag of Korea as well as the postwar Flag of South Korea. Download high resolution version (580x827, 86 KB)Taegukgi movie poster. ... Kang Je-gyu (b. ... Kang Je-gyu (b. ... Jang Dong-gun (born March 7, 1972) is a South Korean actor and musician. ... Won Bin (born September 29, 1977 as Kim Do-jin) is a South Korean actor. ... February 6 is the 37th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Jamo redirects here. ... Hanja is the Korean name for Chinese characters. ... The Revised Romanization of Korean is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea. ... McCune-Reischauer romanization is one of the two most widely used Korean language romanization systems, along with the Revised Romanization of Korean, which replaced (a modified) McCune-Reischauer as the official romanization system in South Korea in 2000. ... Motto: (traditional) In God We Trust (official, 1956–present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City Official language(s) None at the federal level; English de facto Government Federal Republic  - President George W. Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence - Declared - Recognized... Hanja is the Korean name for Chinese characters. ... The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... Kang Je-gyu (b. ... Combatants United Nations:  Republic of Korea,  Australia,  Belgium,  Luxembourg,  Canada,  Colombia,  Ethiopia,  France,  Greece,  Luxembourg,  Netherlands,  New Zealand,  Philippines,  South Africa,  Thailand,  Turkey,  United Kingdom,  United States Medical staff:  Denmark,  Australia,  Italy,  Norway,  Sweden Communist states:  Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,  Peoples Republic of China,  Soviet Union Commanders... Taeguk (Hangeul: 태극, Hanja: 太極) is the Korean pronunciation of Taiji, a Chinese principle associated with Taoism that refers to the co-existent union of yin and yang, from which all is actualized. ... Please see: North Korea: Flag of North Korea South Korea: Flag of South Korea Unification Flag This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The flag of South Korea has three parts: a white background; a red and blue taegeuk in the center; and four black trigrams, one in each corner of the flag. ...

Kang Je-gyu made a name for himself directing Shiri and was able to attract top talent and capital to his new project, eventually spending US $12.8 million on production. The film became one of the biggest successes in Korean film history up to that time, attracting 11.74 million people (almost 25% of South Korea's population^{[citation needed]}) to the theatre, beating the previous record holder Silmido Shiri (Swiri) is a 1999 Korean film written and directed by Kang Je-gyu. ... Silmido is a 2003 South Korean film directed by Kang Woo-suk. ...

Synopsis

The story begins with the South Korean Army digging up remains at a Korean War battlefield to set up a memorial site. An elderly Korean man is called by the excavation team to confirm the identity of the remains believed to be his brother. As the man prepares to leave, he retrieves a pair of shoes near an old family photo that brings back old memories and brings him to tears. The Republic of Korea Army (ROK Army, ROKA, hangul: 대한민국 육군; hanja: 大韓民國 陸軍) is by far the largest of the military branches, with over 560,000 members as of 2004. ... The memorial at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii commemorates American dead from wars in the Pacific. ...

The brothers are actually Lee Jin-tae (played by Jang Dong-gun), who owns a small shoeshine stand in Seoul, and Lee Jin-seok (played by Won Bin), a bright young student who's at the top of his class and wants to attend college. Jin-tae's fiancee Young-shin (played by Lee Eun-ju) works at his mother's noodle shop; their father is deceased. The family is shown to be very close to one another. Jang Dong-gun (born March 7, 1972) is a South Korean actor and musician. ... Seoul   is the capital of South Korea and is located on the Han River in the countrys northwest. ... Won Bin (born September 29, 1977 as Kim Do-jin) is a South Korean actor. ... Lee Eun-ju (이은주, born December 22, 1980; died February 22, 2005) was a Korean actress. ...

When North Korea invades the country, the family attempts to flee south to join their uncle when Jin-seok is forcibly conscripted into the South Korean army. After a failed attempt to save him, Jin-tae is also drafted into the army. With no prior experience and little training, they are both sent to the crumbling front lines where they witness the horrors of war. After a surprise attack during a meal break in which Jin-seok is injured, Jin-tae becomes all the more determined to send his brother home safely. Jin-tae is told by his commanding officer that if he can earn the Taeguk Cordon of the Order of Military Merit (the highest honour for a South Korean soldier), his brother will be honorably discharged from the army. A front line is a line of confrontation in an armed conflict, most often a war. ... The commanding officer (CO) is the officer in command of a military unit. ... Taeguk Cordon of the Order of Military Merit is the highest decoration for military bravery and valour awarded by the government of South Korea. ...

To win this medal, Jin-tae willingly volunteers for missions that seem suicidal, including single-handedly charging a machine gun nest during a desperate South Korean counterattack. This desperation and courage earns him the title of a hero along with a promotion to the rank of sergeant first-class (Chungsa in korean), but Jin-seok observes his brother's increasing descent into cold-bloodedness. During the battle of Pyongyang, Jin-tae captures an important North Korean commander alive and is finally awarded with the medal; the operation, however, cost a good friend's life. Jin-seok, who is still unaware of his brother's intentions to save him, starts to question Jin-tae's morality. As the war continues, both brothers witness the aftermath of massacres perpetrated by the retreating North Koreans. Some of the bodies they find are booby trapped, which especially enrages the soldiers. The unit starts killing captured enemy soldiers, including a brothers' close friend that was drafted into the North Korean Army. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ... Closing the Falais-Argentan Pocket and the Mortain counterattack 6-17 August 1944 A counterattack is a military tactic used by defending forces when under attack by an enemy force. ... Chungsa is a Korean military rank used by the armed forces of South Korea. ... Not to be confused with PyeongChang. ... Commander is a military rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. ... -1... This article is about an antipersonnel trap designed for use against humans. ... Korean Peoples Army refers to the armed personnel of the North Korean military. ...

South Korean Taegukgi poster

During the Communist Chinese offensive, South Korean and U.N. forces are caught off-guard and retreat south in chaos. In a bloody hunt for suspected communists (similar to the real-life events like the Jeju massacre), Jin-tae's fiancée, Young-shin is killed in a mass execution and both brothers are arrested for trying to rescue her. Later, during a Chinese artillery strike, a South Korean security commander who detests Jin-tae orders the place where Jin-seok is imprisoned in to be set on fire. Jin-tae loses consciousness in the artillery strike and mistakenly believes his brother is dead. He bricks the security commander to death and several months later, apparently driven crazy by the loss of his brother, he becomes a commander in the North Korean army with a deep hatred for the South Koreans. ImageMetadata File history File links Brotherhood_poster. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Brotherhood_poster. ... Communist Party of China flag The Communist Party of China (Simplified Chinese: 中国共产党; Traditional Chinese: 中國共産黨; pinyin: Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng) is the ruling party of the Peoples Republic of China. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... The Jeju massacre or the Cheju April 3rd massacre happened as a result of suppression against armed rebellion in Jeju island, South Korea, during the period of April 3, 1948 to September 21, 1954. ...

In truth, Jin-seok is alive recovering from his wounds at a hospital having barely escaped the prison before it was destroyed. He goes back to work in the rear lines and sees communist propaganda showing his brother from a group of intelligence officers, but he dismisses it. He decides to look for his brother anyway at the 38th parallel after discovering a letter he previously wrote to him. Upon reaching the South Korean headquarters that was preparing to attack a hill where Jin-tae was supposedly in command, Jin-seok is refused by the commander who tells him to broadcast a message to the troops instead. But to the commanders surprise, Jin-seok beats up the other broadcasters and runs to North Korean lines in hopes of trying to find Jin-tae himself. The North Koreans nearly kill Jin Seok when they think he is lying and end up sending him to a security area when the attack begins. An elite North Korean unit commanded by Jin-tae counterattacks the contested trenches. 38 parallel can refer to: 38th parallel north, the pre-Korean War boundary between North Korea and South Korea. ...

The two brothers meet again on the battlefield. Not recognizing his own brother, Jin-tae first tries to kill him. As Jin-seok is on the ground begging for his brother to recognize him, Jin-tae continues to kill the South Koreans who attack him while trying to kill Jin-seok. When Jin-tae is wounded by a bayonet thrust, his brother tries to carry him off the battlefield, but is then wounded himself by a submachine gun fire. Jin Seok then tries to convince Jin Tae again but this time by mentioning family issues to get him to his senses. Jin Tae finally comes to his senses but then tells Jin-seok to leave immediately due to the number of North Korean troops closing in on their position. Jin Seok refuses, but then leaves after Jin Tae promises he would meet him again when the war was over with the same pen he gave Jin Seok earlier. As Jin-seok runs away with other retreating soldiers, Jin Tae loads an abandoned Maxim machine gun and starts mowing down the advancing North Koreans, until he is finally mortally wounded and on the brink of dying. He takes on last look at Jin Seok who's limping away before he dies in a foxhole. The US Marine Corps OKC-3S Bayonet A bayonet (from French baïonnette) is a knife- or dagger-shaped weapon designed to fit on or over the muzzle of a rifle barrel or similar weapon. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The Pulemyot Maxima na stanke Sokolova (Пулемёт Максима на станке Соколова) /Maxims machinegun on Sokolovs mount/ (also known as the Pulemyot Maxima PM1910 Maxim machine gun 1910) was a heavy machine gun used by the Russian Army during World War I and the Red Army during World War II. It was adopted in...

The film ends with an emotional transition from the past to the present with the younger brother begging his older brother's remains to speak to him, citing the promises that the two made for after the war.

Critical and popular reception

At the 50th Asia Pacific Film Festival, Taegukgi won the "Best Film", while Kang Je-gyu was awarded the "Best Director". [1] It was one of four Korean movies screened at the 2006 International Fajr Film Festival in Iran. The Asia Pacific Film Festival, first held in 1946, is a major film festival in Asia. ... The Fajr Film Festival or Fajr International Film Festival (Persian: جشنواره بین المللی فیلم فجر or simply جشنواره فیلم فجر) is Irans annual film festival, in Tehran. ...

At the 2004 Grand Bell Awards, the main awards for film in South Korea, Taegukgi won three technical awards, for art direction, cinematography and sound effects.

According to the numbers at Box Office Mojo, Taegukgi earned $1.1 million in the United States playing in limited release. It earned a further $68.7 million worldwide to finish as the 75th highest grossing film in the world in 2004.

In addition to its record-breaking reception in South Korea, the film has also achieved positive responses abroad. It currently hold a fresh rating of 80 percent at Rotten Tomatoes. Most positive reviews cite its unflinching portrayal of war and praise it for showing the brutality of both the North and South Korean armies. Some critics, however, have also critized it for a premise that's not too original and an unexpected plot twist towards the end.

Cast

UK DVD cover

• Jin-tae: Jang Dong-gun (장동건, 張東建)
• Jin-seok: Won Bin (원빈, 元斌)
• Young-shin: Lee Eun-ju (이은주, 李恩宙)

Image File history File links Brotherhood_UK_DVD_cover. ... Image File history File links Brotherhood_UK_DVD_cover. ... Jang Dong-gun (born March 7, 1972) is a South Korean actor and musician. ... Won Bin (born September 29, 1977 as Kim Do-jin) is a South Korean actor. ... Lee Eun-ju (이은주, born December 22, 1980; died February 22, 2005) was a Korean actress. ...

See also

• Cinema of Korea
• List of Korea-related topics
• List of films set in or about North Korea
• Contemporary culture of South Korea
• East Asian cinema

Korean cinema encompasses the motion picture industries of North Korea and South Korea. ... This is a list of Wikipedia articles on Korea-related people, places, things, and concepts. ... This is a list of films that involve North Korea The Manchurian Candidate (1962 film) (1962) MASH (1970) Pulgasari (1985) The Rescue (1988) Spawn (1997) Provocateur (1998) Shiri (1999) Joint Security Area (2000) The Game of Their Lives (2002) Die Another Day (2002) Love Impossible (Namnam buknyeo) (2003) Big Fish... The contemporary culture of South Korea derives from the traditional culture of Korea, but since the 1948 division of Korea, it has developed separately from North Koreas culture. ... East Asian cinema (sometimes called Far Eastern cinema, Eastern cinema, Asian cinema or Oriental cinema) is a term used to refer to the film industry and films produced in, and/or by natives of, East Asia. ...

External links

• Official Korean Taegukgi website
• North American Taegukgi website
• Taegukgi at the Internet Movie Database
• Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War at Rotten Tomatoes