On 31 January 1968, 31 North Korean commandos infiltrated South Korea in a failed mission to assassinate President Park Chung-hee. In revenge, the South Korean military assembled a team of 31 criminals on the island of Silmido to kill Kim Il-sung for a suicide mission to redeem their honor, but was cancelled, leaving them frustrated. It is loosely based on a military uprising in the 1970s.
Acting
Sul Kyung-gu's transformation from scum to shattered soldier.
Direction
Kang Woo-suk's unflinching brutality, zero Hollywood heroism.
Practical Effects
Grueling real-location training sequences, actors suffered for this.
Director
Kang Woo-suk
Sul Kyung-gu
Kang In-chan
Ahn Sung-ki
Jae-hyun
Huh Joon-ho
Sergeant Jo
Jung Jae-young
Sang-pil
Im Won-hee
Won-hee
Kang Shin-il
Geun-jae
Kang Seong-jin
Chan-seok
Lee Jeong-heon
Sergeant Park
Uhm Tae-woong
Won-sang
Lee Jong-mun
Jeong-hun
Kim Kang-woo
Min-ho
Jo Min-jun
Ji-hwan
Lee Seung-cheol
Lee Byeong-ho
Ryoo Je-seung
Je-seung
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The real Silmido unit's records were destroyed; this film forced the South Korean government to finally acknowledge the incident in 2006.
Released during Korea's democratic awakening, it smashed box office records and sparked national debate about authoritarian-era atrocities still buried in classified files.
KR
