Chapter 7 Gunfire at Panmunjom

Before I came to Korea, I didn't know that Korean movies had reached such a high standard.One night, after eating ice cream, I invited Jin Eun-hye and other two students to watch a movie, so that they could act as my interpreters.The movie is the famous "JSA", that is, "Joint Security Area".This is based on Park Sang-yeon's novel "Demilitarized Zone: DMZ".On both sides of the 38th parallel, there is a "common security zone" under the joint jurisdiction of the United Nations and North Korea. Late one night, gunshots were heard from the North Korean outpost.The film begins with a close-up shot of a bullet hole in the wall of a guard post and tells the story of a complex investigation into the mysterious shooting in Panmunjom.

The main official sent by the United Nations to take charge of the investigation is Sophie, a beautiful Swiss female officer of Korean descent.She conducted a detailed analysis based on the statements and reports of survivors from both the North and the South, and found that the two reports had many doubts.Lee Soo-hyuk, the squad leader of the Han army, said that after he was kidnapped to "North Korea", he shot at the "North Korean" soldiers during the difficult escape process.On the contrary, Sergeant Oh Kyung-pil, a survivor of "North Korea," said that the South first attacked them across the military demarcation line.A missing bullet casing is the key to this murder case, but the two parties have remained silent ever since.What happened at the mysterious "Bridge of No Return"?

The Joint Security Area is a symbol of the North-South Cold War. It is not only the dividing line between the north and the south of the peninsula, but also the dividing line between China and the United States, the dividing line between the East and the West, and the dividing line between two human ideals.The soldiers on both sides stared at each other and stood guard facing each other within a distance of only a few steps.Both the Panmunjom negotiations and the ax conflict case (1976) took place here.After the ax conflict, the United States and South Korea called the Joint Security Area the Bonipas Base in memory of the dead U.S. Captain Bonipas.

South Korean troops guarding the JSA are a special force.They have to serve in the U.S. military first, and then they are selected to be sent here.Although JSA soldiers are Korean nationals, they are nominally members of the United Nations forces. Because the North and the South face each other across the bridge, they are in a state of first-level combat readiness every day.But soldiers are also living people with feelings and conscience.It didn't take long for them to realize that the "North Korean" soldiers they met every day were also compatriots, and they were also living young people with flesh and blood.

Late one night, Squad Leader Li, who was left behind by peeing on patrol, stepped on a landmine.In an extremely critical situation, Sergeant Wu, a "North Korean" soldier who passed by there, rescued him.From then on, he regarded Sergeant Wu as his elder brother, and the two developed a deep friendship.They forgot the reality of the truce, and Squad Leader Li risked crossing the 38th parallel every night.They drank together in the "North Korea" outpost, talked about women, exchanged gifts, and discussed their hometown together.How many happy nights, like a dream.However, tragedy struck. The inspection by the "North Korean" military officers forced them to be involved in an unexpected gun battle.If it is in the city or country behind, such friendship is very ordinary.But they were sentinels on the border, so they had to point their guns at their brothers.

All-round photography was carried out in a narrow space, and the cameras shot back and forth staggeredly to shoot the inside of the outpost.The scene is so tense that it takes your breath away, and at the same time makes the audience sigh deeply at the reality of the division of the peninsula between the north and the south.Both the audience and the beautiful Sophie saw that the commanders of both sides knew the inside story of the gun battle.But they are unwilling to reveal the truth.Squad Leader Li and Sergeant Wu would rather keep the truth in their hearts.But in the end, because of guilt and humanitarian passion that could not be relieved, Squad Leader Li and his subordinates committed suicide.Sophie, the daughter of a prisoner of the Korean People's Army, fell into bottomless sorrow.

The film's director announced: "We not only use the mysterious film structure to create a tense atmosphere, but also evoke forgotten humanitarianism with reminiscence scenes and humorous interludes. Then the film ends tragically." Director Park's adherence to and breakthroughs in the visual language of films all demonstrate the talent of a new generation of Korean directors.The shooting cost of up to 3 billion won did not bring a burden to the film but brought great benefits.After making full use of the entertainment function of the movie, Director Park used a single photo in the ending scene to condense the half-century-long tragedy of the division between the North and the South.The four protagonists look at each other from different angles and stand guard on duty in one frame.On the south side, the hat of a western female tourist was blown to the north side by the wind, and she was suddenly tense.Sergeant Wu of the Korean People's Army stooped to pick it up, and handed it over with a smile.At that moment, the sun was shining all over the world.For that moment, I watched "JSA" again later, without translation.

(It is strongly recommended that the Chinese cultural department introduce this film so that the people can experience the bitterness of division and the sweetness of unity.) Note: Regarding the titles of "South Korea" and "North Korea" - the commonly referred to as "South Korea" and "North Korea" were originally a unified country on the Korean peninsula.After World War II, it was actually divided into two countries under the Cold War system.Both are now recognized by the People's Republic of China.Their official country names are "Republic of Korea" and "Korean People's Democratic Republic", but both sides believe that the territory referred to by their country names includes the entire Korean Peninsula (Korea is called the Korean Peninsula), that is, including the other party.Therefore, when referring to one side alone, it can be referred to as South Korea and North Korea for short; and when referring to both at the same time, it is generally called "South Korea" and "North Korea".Such an informal name is accurate and objective.South Koreans say this, while North Koreans say "South Korea" and "North Korea" for the same reason.This book is written from the standpoint of living in Korea, so "South Korea" and "North Korea" are used.In terms of the South and the North, both of them can accept it, but they do not accept the official name of the country. Although they joined the United Nations at the same time, they generally do not call each other the official name of the country, and only use "North-South Talks" or "South-North Talks" when negotiating. "North-South talks".If we foreigners pretend to be "objective" and call their official country names at the same time, that happens to be what they dislike most, because that is tantamount to supporting the "two-state theory" of the peninsula and is tantamount to opposing their unification forever.It’s as if Westerners give us the same feeling as juxtaposing “China” with “Taiwan” or “Republic of China”.We would rather listen to the formulation of "both sides of the strait" from the perspective of national culture.Therefore, in consideration of these factors, it is appropriate to use "South Korea" and "North Korea" in the context of the two comparisons. .) Only in this way can we highlight the pain of division between the people of the North and the South on the Korean peninsula, and express our sincerity in supporting reunification.Almost all countries in the world such as Europe and the United States use this method.In order to be extra cautious in publishing, this book uses concepts such as "South" and "North" in many places. When they are not juxtaposed, they also use the official name or abbreviation of the country as appropriate, but the author's objective position is consistent. .Hereby explain.