Directed by:
Park Chan-wook
After a shootout at the common security area at the border of the two Koreas, when two soldiers were murdered, Maj. Sophie E. Jean is assigned by the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission to investigate the incident. The smart Major finds lack of consistency in the statements of the survivors, and in spite of being pressed by her superior, she interviews South Koreans Sgt. Lee Soo-hyeok and private Nam Sung-shik, and the North Korean Sgt. Oh Kyeong-pil, disclosing a tragic story of friendship.
Cast:
- Lee Young-Ae, as Maj. Sophie E. Lean
- Lee Byung-Hun, as Sgt. Lee Soo-Hyuk
- Song Kang-Ho, as Sgt. Oh Kyung-Pil
Reception and Box Office:
The film drew nearly half a million viewers in Seoul alone in its first week. Within 15 days of its release the film reached one million admissions and by early 2001 Joint Security Area had become the highest-grossing film in Korean film history. It was later passed by the films Friend, Silmido, and Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War. Overall, Joint Security Area had 2,499,400 admissions in Seoul over its 20 weeks in the cinemas and an estimated 5.8 million admissions nationwide. The film was also very successful in Japan where it grossed ¥1,160,000,000 becoming one of the top-grossing foreign productions of 2001.
It was the highest-grossing film in Korean film history at the time and won Best Film at the 2000 Blue Dragon Film Awards and the 2001 Grand Bell Awards.
In 2009, director Quentin Tarantino named the film as one of his twenty favorite films since 1992.
