A Korean man begs to die for the empire that erased his name.
A young man is anguished that Koreans cannot volunteer to join to Japanese Imperial Army.
Acting
Choi Woon-bong's trembling desperation hits like a gut punch.
Direction
Ahn crafts colonial Korea as suffocating visual prison.
Director
Seok-yeong Ahn
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Japanese colonial propaganda disguised as Korean cinema, commissioned to show Koreans 'eager' to serve—making every frame politically weaponized.
Director Ahn later defected to North Korea, possibly haunted by making this. The real volunteers were often coerced through food rations and threats.
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