Hong Kil-dong

HONG KIL DONG is one of the few martial arts movies to come out of North Korea, and might well be the only one for all I know. It's certainly a colourful romp that brings to life a Korean storybook hero who comes across as something of a Korean Robin Hood. Hong Kil Dong is born a bastard, the illegitimate son of a high-ranking official, and he must overcome his humble origins by battling evil foreign ninjas that threaten to invade Korea.

This is a film that has much in common with the Hong Kong martial arts flicks of the 1970s. It's a period piece in which the forest landscape settings all look great. There are the requisite scenes of intrigue at the court, the training with the old master, and even some cool wirework. The martial arts scenes are fewer than I'd like, but those that do occur are efficient rather than breathtaking. The director doesn't skimp on the bloodshed, either, with this a surprisingly bloody film in places.

The acting is of a strong standard and the period setting of the film means that it's virtually indistinguishable from, say, a South Korean production exploring the same storyline; propaganda is kept to a minimum, except in the protagonist's heroic efforts to keep foreigners out of his country. HONG KIL DONG as a whole feels like PULGASARI except with a martial artist instead of a monster. It's just a shame that this film, like most North Korean movies, had very limited to no distribution in the West.

There are two comments on IMDB about this film which are interesting. One is from a Bulgarian user who says that this film was among the most popular movies in Bulgaria during the 1980s, and that it had more psychological depth than other martial arts movies being shown at the time.

Another is from a user from the ex-USSR who says that it was also very popular there, and recalls the blood spraying everywhere and so on. These comments are interesting because they show that there were many young people in socialist countries in the 1980s who found this sort of thing captivating, much as young people did in the West. The latter comment is particularly so because it might hint at part of what was called the 'cult of sex and violence' in the late 1980s in the USSR, i.e.

The uptake among youth of images of sex and violence that were increasingly available with glasnost. Yet in this case, this is a film with a clearly Communist message, even if it is delivered with more gratuitous blood and violence than one would normally see in a socialist film.

It was one of the most famous martial art movies in Bulgaria in the late 1980's. And it definitely deserves its place! When I was about to see the movie for the very first time, I didn't know exactly what to expect - I hadn't had seen other North Korean movies by that time, it was time, when the Chinese cinema dominated overwhelmingly with "The Shao Lin Monastery", "The Martial Arts of Shao Lin" and many more. But "Hong Kil Dong", which follows the life of the famous \and legendary\ Korean hero, proved to be something different... The film opens with a dynamic fight between Hong Kil Dong and Japanese ninjas during which the credits are shown. One of the first things to be noted is the monumental music score - I must admit that to me it is the best score for a martial arts movie, together with John Barry's OST of Bruce Lee's "Game of Death"! The sequence ends almost abruptly, then we move forward to the birth of Hong Kil dong - son of the Royal Councillor Hon and his young concubine. The Councillor's wife, not surprisingly, dislikes Hong Kil Dong's mother and hires assassins to kill her and her little boy while on a trip in the province. But an old man, who happens to be master of the Tao arts, saves them from the assassins and then takes little Hong as his apprentice... Hong becomes an invincible fighter, fights corrupt noblemen and thugs, helps the poor and, at the end, fights Japanese ninja brigands, who had become the scourge of his homeland. Of course, it is typical story for a movie like that. The thing that makes "Hong Kil Dong" different from the other movies of that period is the psychological depth in which the main characters are revealed. There are numerous fighting sequences, but there are also many lyrical digressions, full with romance and emotion. I must also stress on the acting abilities of Ri Yong Ho and the other actors - they do their job just fine. There are many interesting details depicting life in Korea in the 17-th century, in which the movie action takes place. "Hong Kil Dong" attracted hundreds of thousands people to the cinemas across Bulgaria, it was almost impossible to get tickets for it, unless you book them 2 or 3 days earlier! I've never seen such thing in my life and I'm pretty sure I never will, but nonetheless the distant childhood memories remain. If you ever find this movie just see it! I'm sure at least you won't be disappointed.

After the story of Shin Sang Ok I got fascinated of the North Korean industry and been watching their movies since Unsung Heroes from 1978, but one movie catch me and that was Hong Kil Dong from 1987.

As child birth, Hong Kil Dong and his servant mother has been poorly treated due to Hongs father is the greatest noble man in the country, his wife order them to exile, but when they do they get attacked by bandits but rescued by an old man with amazing martial art, Hong Kil Dong beg him to train him, the old man agrees. 20 years Hong has become a man, he is well trained and strong and wear a purple mask to protect his people. Specially when his country is attacked by foreign ninjas.

Yes for an 80s movie it looks very Stone Age and hasn't aged well, but that's because the North Korean industry didn't develop till 1970s and Shin Sang Ok who directed the movie taught them how to film with color cameras, but since he hasn't done anything in the 70s his camera feels like a 60s movies, but the charm is there, it's brilliant story. If anyone can look away from the age and technology then this movie is epic and great, it really put DPRK on the map together with Pulgasari.