The historical genre known in Korean as Sageuk has long been popular among local audiences both in television and cinema. One of Korea’s most famous folktales The Story of Chun-Hyang set in the Joseon Dynasty has been adapted into numerous films including one of the first Korean films in 1923, the first sound film in Korea in 1935, and a 1955 adaptation by Lee Gyu-wan was immensely popular revitalizing a post-war film industry sparking off other period films.

The historical genre has taken many forms over the years. The Story of Chun-Hyang is a romantic drama but it has encompassed comedies, dramas, and action films often with a war setting.

Indeed, Korea’s turbulent history has been the subject of many war films in contemporary Korean cinema as directors have sought to lure in local audiences using the blockbuster template with a focus on spectacle; from the invasion of a Japanese fleet in The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014) to the siege of Ansi fortress in The Great Battle (2018).

The historical war film in many respects includes many of the necessary ingredients needed to attract a wide demographic at the box office: audacious set-pieces, A-list stars, a compelling story, and a historical backdrop.

This has been evident in the films centering on Yi Sun-sin including the final instalment of the series Noryang: The Sea of Death that was released in December 2023, while the genre has also resonated on television and streaming platforms with the success of the ongoing KBS series Korea-Khitan War.

This week we profile a range of historical war films; from Lee Joon-ik’s war comedy Once Upon a Time in a Battlefield (2003) to Kim Han-min’s Yi Sun-sin war trilogy.

Once Upon a Time in a Battlefield

Released in 2003, a golden year for Korean cinema (Oldboy, Memories of Murder), Once Upon a Time in a Battlefield also proved formidable at the box office selling 2.8 million tickets.

Set in the year 660, the kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla are at war at each other. The latest conflict centers on King of Silla and his general (Jung Jin-young) and their attempt to launch an assault on Baekje’s main fortress of Hwangsanbeol but is thwarted by the fortress’ tenacious commander (Park Joong-hoon).

The backdrop of war within the Korean peninsula combined with pressure from China’s Tang empire is a compelling one but it’s the film’s tone that makes this film striking. Richly comical, one of the film’s key weapons is dialogue and humor as soldiers of Silla and Baekje hurl insults at each other.

Directed by Lee Joon-ik in what was his feature debut, this was the first of several period films he helmed including his subsequent film The King and Clown that would sell 12 million tickets in 2005. While Lee Joon-ik doesn’t usually write his films making him a rare case in Korean cinema, he is deft at bringing the scripts to life.

The Divine Weapon

Directed by Kim Yu-jin (Wild Card), it’s set during the 30^th year of King Sejong’s rule in 1448 and centers on development of a weapon called Singijeon (the Korean title) that translates as a ghost-like machine arrow. Ming’s China, fearing the creation of such a weapon send spies to Korea in search of the creator’s daughter (Han Da-gam) who has the designs for this powerful weapon after the father commits suicide to protect his secret project.  She teams up with a merchant (Jung Jae-young) to get this weapon off the ground as the Ming Dynasty attempt to prevent them from doing so.

With production costs hitting close to 80 billion won, it’s an example of directors and the studios becoming more ambitious as the blockbuster would become increasingly integral in the growth of the domestic film industry. The historical film was an effective genre to localize the blockbuster formula that’s illustrated here with the story of a development of weapon that provides the spectacle, not least in the film’s enthralling finale as we see the arrows getting fired.

War of the Arrows

Not unlike Lee Joon-ik, Kim Han-min has also taken an interest in period films, but Han has focused primarily on action films, which began with his sophomore feature War of the Arrows that hones in on an archer (Park Hae-il) who uses his skills to free his sister (Moon Cha-won) from slavery when the country is attacked by the Qing Dynasty of China in the 17^th century.

Compared to many Korean historical films that can focus on palace intrigue or complex plot lines involving various characters, War of the Arrows is a refreshingly simple narrative that is extremely well executed that was a factor in its success drawing more than 8 million viewers in the summer of 2011.

War of the Arrows is hardly the first Korean film to feature an archer (The Host is another), which is not surprising given the appetite for archery in Korea, but it’s the pulsating sequences of an archer coming up against a Qing Warrior (Ryoo Seung-ryong) and his men as he seeks to rescue his sister that make it resonate.

Akin to some of the gripping Korean films like The Chaser, Memories of Murder where movement is so crucial, these scenes are not necessarily big sweeping set-pieces, but they are kinetic and innovative.

The Fortress

Overseas Hwang Dong-hyuk is known for Squid Game but long before the success of the show he was an established and well-respected director having helmed Silenced (2011) Miss Granny (2014) and The Fortress (2017).

Owing to a lack of familiarity in Korea’s history, historical epics can be less accessible than other genres internationally, which is true of The Fortress. But upon release in 2017 it earned significant praise from local critics. Based on the novel Namhansanseong by Kim Hoon it’s set during the Qing invasion of Korea (like War of the Arrows) when King Injo and his guards hide in a fortress located 25km southeast of Seoul.

One of the reasons it was embraced by audiences and critics alike wasn’t so much for its expensive set-pieces - though Kim Jee-yong’s cinematography is extraordinary as is Ryuichi Sakamoto’s score - but rather for how the film felt relevant to Korea’s more contemporary history.

Led by the absorbing performances of Lee Byung-hun, Kim Yoon-seok and Park Hae-il, the narrative tells a story of pacifism vs. conflict as the King is faced with accepting defeat or fighting to the end. With fewer combat sequences, the tension is in the cleverly written dialogue and while it is a harder sell for audiences seeking genre thrills it remains one of the best examples of the Sageuk genre of the 2010s. 

It also marked the first collaboration between the film’s producer Kim Ji-yeon (Kim Hoon’s daughter) and Hwang Dog-hyuk. Kim would be instrumental in making the long-gestated Squid Game a reality.

The Great Battle

Not lacking in scope is Kim Kwang-sik’s The Great Battle that has an abundance of battle scenes that pulled in more than 5 million viewers in 2018.  Starring Zo In-sung, Nam Joo-hyuk and Park Sung-woong, it centers on the siege of Ansi Fortress in the late 7^th century against soldiers of the Tang Empire that spanned 88 days.

Although slow motion isn’t new, it does exploit this to enthralling effect in some scenes with the protagonist played by Zo In-sung firing an arrow that hits his enemy in the eye towards the end of the film.

While a film like The Fortress is heavily dependent on its layered dialogue and imagery, this is fueled by the set-pieces that are undoubtedly impressive as Korea’s film industry has continuously demonstrated in a range of genres that it can compete against Hollywood and all its visual spectacle. 

Yi Sun-sin trilogy

The Korean admiral Yi Sun-sin who is credited as leading victories against the Japanese navy during the Imjin War (1592-1598) remains widely admired in Korea – he’s viewed as a hero by both young and old and evidence of this is the hugely successful film The Admiral: Roaring Currents.

It wasn’t just popular, its success was extraordinary – the film sold 17.7 million tickets in 2014 to become the highest grossing Korean film in history. The speed at which it hit 10 million admissions was unprecedented, taking just 12 days to do so.

This is indeed attributable to the film’s subject matter focusing on a character and a battle audiences were familiar with – the battle of Myeongryang in which Yi led just 13 battleships against a Japanese armada of 300 ships. Yet, directed by Kim Han-min (War of the Arrows), execution was crucial with the film’s second half devoted to the battle that sees Yi defeating a formidable naval force with intellect and leadership.

Also important was casting with Choi Min-sik playing the admiral and Ryoo Seung-ryong (also worked with Kim on War of the Arrows) as the Japanese general, Kurushima Michifusa.

With the first film proving so popular, it was inevitable more films would follow. Kim would direct Hansan: Rising Dragon that was released in 2022. This feature focused on the Battle of Hansan that happened five years before the events in The Admiral in 1592.The admiral played by Park Hae-il has developed a strategy along with his naval subordinates to penetrate the Japanese armada by using turtle ships that are unknown to the enemy.

Although with the same director at the helm, it feels somewhat different with the film’s pacing tighter than The Admiral. Park Hae-il as the lead provides a nuanced performance as Admiral Yi.

The final instalment, Noryang: Deadly Sea was again directed by Kim Han-min and Kim Yoon-seok now playing the leading role as Yi. This feature depicts the battle of Noyang that took place in 1598 with the admiral once again fighting against the odds.  Praised by local critics for Kim Yoon-suk’s performance and Kim Han-min’s bold set-pieces, which further cemented Kim’s place in the industry as one of the most successful directors when it comes to historical epics.