Message from ccarter

[Anonymous]

Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War
R for strong graphic sequences of war violence

Getting around the ‘R’ rating is the tricky part. My district allows the rating w/ parental permission. The movie itself is highly informative, showing the impact of this civil war on the Korean population. Too often US movies tend to focus exclusively upon the American

The story is built around the plight of two brothers who are forcibly drafted into the South Korean army in the early days of the Korean War. Their experience then becomes the vehicle that carries the movie along.

Given that the movie was filmed in South Korea, Communism gets short shrift. Refreshingly, the U.S.-friendly dictatorship of Sing Man Rhee’s South Korea also gets honest, rough handling. The lack of freedom, red-scares and general injustice are all represented. So is the strong sense of family typical of Korean culture.

In the end, students will understand that the Korean War was essentially a civil war, being vastly destructive to the Korean society.

Other ideas that can be discussed with your students:
- limiting freedoms during crises/war
- desire for unification amongst Koreans
- seeming impossibility of reunification given the current Communist regime in the north
- US involvement in the form of material & financial support during the war as opposed to simply portraying US soldiers (the South Korean uniforms are all 100% GI issue)
- greater Cold War conflict within which the Korean War occurred