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Please excuse bad English, I am still learning :) This is excellent film but I think many Americans will dislike it because it shows American soldiers as "bad guys". In true war there is no "good guys". There is no John Wayne who is always right. This movie shows ugliness of war on all sides. But it is still very pleasant and happy movie to watch sometimes. It is not history lesson, it is fantasy. but still it tells truth about war which Hollywood has never done because Hollywood always shows good guys vs bad guys. Even though this is fantasy it is more real than any war movie I saw. I urge you see this movie regardless of what country you from. Pretend you take no sides. You will enjoy this movie.

I just cant believe how much I became fond of the characters and hows visually beautiful this film is. The score is gently leading you along as this touching tale unfolds.

The different layers of the story adds much deserved humanity to the characters - which were well cast. Especially the crazy girl of the village (Hye-jeong Kang from the film Old Boy).

The film brings together the South Korean/American Allies and the Communist North so that they saw eye to eye as human beings, due to the example of innocence radiating from the village. I'm looking forward to the director of Welcome to Dongmakgol's future work.

Basically a really really good film! Korean cinema is really finding its way.

Many Thanks, Ricky Thind

The only thing that stinks about this movie is... what am I going to follow it with? Dongmakgol is such a memorable, powerful experience that I'm afraid to watch another movie lest the next one be a dud.

The only reason I watched this film was that I heard Joe Hisaishi did the musical score. He of course did a brilliant job as always, but that's not even the tip of the iceberg. For one thing, it's the first *colourful* war film I've ever seen. What is it with war movies and drab, bleached sepia tones anyway? Hasn't that been done to death? Well, the gorgeous opening scene of an angelic girl standing in a meadow and watching a fighter plane crash ought to be enough to tell you that this is no cookie-cutter war movie. I'm about to cry just thinking of it.

*sob* give me a minute, willya

OK... moving along...

I won't pretend to say I know anything about the Korean War. I'll leave the political bickering to other IMDb posters. For me, this told a very timeless, human story which could have been set in any war. It is the story of two violent enemies who find something more important than their conflict.

I didn't care who was wearing which uniform, nor did I care who the "bad guys" were, nor did I even flinch when I, a red-blooded American, found myself occasionally hoping for an American soldier to be shot (a truly bizarre experience). I ignored all that stuff; it's all purely incidental. At any time, you could swap flags, and the story would be the same. Magical, humbling, emotional, funny and profoundly affecting.

I strongly recommend that ALL Americans SHOULD SEE THIS FILM. NOW. It's not a history lesson; it's a human lesson. And the message is extremely timely with what is going on in the world today. Leave your personal political views at the door, and allow yourself to be swept away by the poetry of this wonderful tale.

This movie won the 2006 Udine Far East Festival a big festival about Asian cinematography. At the end of the screening the audience applauded the director Kwang-Hyun Park and the movie for 5 minutes and gave him the audience award with a clear margin above the other festival movies (and many movies where very good!) This is a great film. The story is a great mix of dramatic and comical moments, with some interesting characters as the crazy girl of Dongmakgol (Hye-jeong Kang) and the northern and southern soldiers. Technically the movie is beautiful. Great visuals, simple but effective and good editing that keeps a good pace though all the film. The musics are good but there is no score that you are going to remember. The acting is very good and all the main actors can keep up well all the changes in the mood of the movie and they can do both good comical scenes and dramatic ones. I have no great experience in Korean movies, but this one is surely the best one i've ever seen and I suggest to try and see it, i'm sure that you will have no regrets in doing that.

(Sorry for my "stumbling" English, i'm Italian and i'm not so good in learning foreign languages :P )

The tragedy of this film is that it's not playing in every theatre in the U.S. so it can be seen by the people who most need to see it. Thank you, Korean American friend of a friend who shared it with us.

See this film if you or someone care about is thinking about signing up to go into the military. See it if have been, or if you've ever known anyone who was, in a war. See it if you have ever seen a peace march - live or on television - and asked,"What's it all about?" See it if you love life.

Don't worry; it's not propaganda or any kind. It just takes us to the scene of the action, sets us down, then lets us get to know some very real people and watch what happens.

Carolfrances

Charming feel good story set during the Korean War. Hard to believe but true! The characters are easy to identify with, and draw you into the story. They are fairly believable, with the slight exception of the North Korean commander who seems perhaps too heroic. It verges on being trite or cheesy at times, idolizing the "quaint" village, but for the most part stays away from that. The film is even handed in its treatment of all sides in this war, other than perhaps the military command, as it is quite anti-war. There is a bit of violence and gore, so it isn't for young children. I would recommend this to anyone; go in expecting a fairly romanticized comedy and you shouldn't be disappointed.

Whenever we think about war, the things that come instantly in our mind is ''Violence,Conflict,Tension,''. But this movie isn't about all these things, though this is a war movie. It about friendship and brotherhood despite having different nationality,culture,caste. This movie revolves with three nationality soldiers who have been staying in a village named Dongmakgol. Their warm relationship with villagers while staying in there and helping their out in their cultivation is so heartwarming. Except this, the comedy moments are unbelievable and cheerful.

What can I say about ending? Bittersweet is the perfect word it's ending. I'm sad and at the same time overwhelmed. I loved this movie though I haven't much expectations about this as I'm not a war movie genre fan. But,however, I must say,this is WORTH WATCHING.

The story is set in Korea during the Korean War in 1950. Soldiers from the North and South, as well as an American pilot, find themselves in a secluded village, its residents largely unaware of the outside world, including the war.

The movie has its own quintessence of the characters; every character is so lovable that you will find it tangible. The screenplay is immaculate; every frame of the movie is eloquent and displays diverse emotions of the characters.

The best part of the movie is the humor; the subtlety of comic scenes is fantastically portrayed. The cinematography is dazzling, every scene is crafted perfectly. The slow-motion scenes looked well-paced; the lush and green outskirts of Korea are shown with elegance, the rains are amazing.

The patriotism of North and South Korean soldiers is ardently poignant, and their measured character development towards the harmonious grounds, is simply overwhelming.

I mean having watched a lot of Korean Movies; I think every movie is better than the other one.

Recommended for everyone.

Way more than just another war story, WELCOME TO DONGMAKGOL is an exploration of the human condition and a hard-hitting anti-war film to boot. In many ways it's a kind of fable that reminded me of the famous Christmas truce during WW1 where British and German troops stopped hostilities for a day to stage a football match. Other South Korean war films I've watched are usually patriotic adventures with heroes kicking the hell out of their North Korean oppressors but this is something else entirely.

It's a hard film to criticise, because everything works well. The cast all give very good performances, particularly Shin Ha-kyn (SYMPATHY FOR MR VENGEANCE) and Jae-yeong Jeong as the bitterly opposed soldiers. The storyline gradually draws you in, remains unpredictable throughout, and closes with a big finish that works really well in contrast with what's come before. I don't want to say too much more, because it's one of those films that works best when you go in knowing barely anything about it; that way it will surprise and reward you in equal measure.

"Welcome to Dongmakgol" is a quirky and fantasy like tale about a bunch of soldiers who happen on a remote village during Korean war. A village where nobody knows anything about the war and nobody has even seen a gun. The basic premise is a little ridiculous and over the top. But if you are willing to believe it, then the movie is very rewarding.

It has some excellent cinematography. A few scenes are exaggerated but that is for the comic effect. The village and the villagers maybe silly but other characters are still believable which is necessary for the film to maintain its grip on reality.

Many reviewers have complained about the politics of the film. But the movie is not about politics. Just like that village it exists in its own world and is not aware of the reasons of war. It just know instinctively that violence is bad.

Upon approaching this flick i was a tad sceptical - i knew with the cast, director and musical score covered nicely - there was no reason for it to be a let down, but i always find myself slightly dubious of war films. JSA was fantastic though so i gritted my teeth, held my breath and hoped for the best. Absolutely F'in glad i did, its such a well shot beautiful tale, the cinematography is highly original for the premise of a war film, the colours and dialogue were spot on and the actors all came correct. I found myself wishing that i could just F it all and go live in that cool village with that crazy girl for the rest of my days, ha ha. Thats not to say this film is completely void of any gritty (and sometimes gory) realism on the 'war' front but it just doesn't focus so much on the agony, more so on the individual and the reasons behind such atrocities. Its not a short film, but i found myself not wanting it to end. Some scenes in particular bring light relief and patch the whole thing up into a marvellous little epic. I highly highly recommend it to fans of beautiful cinema.

A charming Korean drama/comedy set during the civil war. Dongmakgol is a strange Korean village, that is able to unite the two warring factions, as the soldiers become seduced by the ambient vibe (of simple farmers) and fall for the innocent charms of the young woman who resides there.

"Welcome to Dongmakgol" (aka "Welkkeom tu Dongmakgol") was a surprisingly nice movie and it had a really good story to tell. A story that I enjoyed a lot, right up to the final scene in the movie. I can't claim to find any solace or fulfillment in the ending that director Park Kwang-Hyun went with, though, but that is of course a matter of personal preference.

The storyline told in "Welcome to Dongmakgol" is really interesting and quite captivating. And the story is so passionate and well-driven by some really strong performances all throughout the movie. There is just something very majestic and profoundly beautiful about this movie, just a shame that it went fast downhill with the ending.

The acting in the movie was outstanding and everyone in the movie were doing great jobs with their given roles and characters.

This beautiful movie is a definite must watch if you enjoy South Korean cinema. So you might ask why I am only rating this majestic movie a mere six out of ten stars. Well, because of the ending of the movie. It was just abysmal and it ruined so much that was previously built up throughout the course of the movie.

During the Korean war, soldiers on both sides find themselves in a mountain town where the villagers didn't even know that a conflict was being fought. The battle scenes are chaotic, brutal and intense, in the vein of Saving Private Ryan, with strong emotional impact following the humanity seen from everyone. We aren't led to believe that anyone is "evil", there is good and bad in everyone(yes, that goes for the American troops seen, as well). You really find yourself responding to the characters, recognizing traits and such. Do we like everyone? No, just like in real life. The FX are great with occasional exceptions(especially the CGI, I'm afraid... though it really isn't that big a part of this). This is well-acted, and I implore you to accept the subtitles. The realism is impeccable, and you can practically feel the pain and impact when a bullet hits. This is filmed and edited rather well. It keeps to a good pace, so the 133 minutes pass pretty smoothly. There is a moderate amount of bloody, violent and disturbing content in this. I recommend this to any fan of dramas. 8/10

Korean War. An American pilot, a couple of North Korean and South Korean soldiers take respite in a peaceful valley with villagers who know nothing of unnatural strife. An epic sized almost-a-fairy-tale with a touch of 'Shangri-La', a touch of magic, a touch of 'that ain't likely' and a touch of brutal warfare. The Americans are aggressive. Excellent production values, beautiful photography, great actors and two impressive battle sequences. The humor is gentle and there is some corn but also great charm. It will be too long for some, but that's the way it is.

If we give up the realism on the movie, this title shines. Three North Korean soldiers and two South Korean soldiers join the care-free villagers whose life is totally out of concern about the war and politics. The message of this movie, in my opinion, seems to be the recovery of humanity via companionship based on the naturalism.

Some scenes are very brilliant and mesmerizing in the middle of the cruelty of war. However, what lacks in this meticulously carved anti-war flick is the actualities of war, and the director purposefully neglected it in sole order to provide the third opinion on the war- companionship between enemies against the dichotomy of winner/sinner and/or victory/defeat.

But why on earth should we seek for the companionship that is hard to imagine between enemies during the war? The movie adumbrate a cynic message that the Korean War is not declared by Korean folks, but by any other external races, represented by UN troops in the movie. Too naive perspective on the "enemy turns friend" issue spoils its own value as a report on the actualities of the Korean War, and it is really hard to dispute that the image of war and peace in this movie is totally based on the populism toward the North Korea which gains currency in South Korea now.