Casting for GOJIJEON fixed – Ko Soo & Shin Ha-kyun begin filming

From : newsen translated by : ELSIE caps by :Petra

Director Jang Hun has started work on GOJIJEON, his next project after “Sworn Brother”, this past September after casting has been confirmed.

Filming started in Jeonju with the capturing of the two male leads as prisoners of the North Korean army even though the two Koreas were in the midst of negotiating a truce. Soldiers of North and South Korea opened battle and put their lives at stake to recapture the highlands where the cease-fire negotiations took place.

The casting of Ko Soo and and Shin Ha-kyun as the male leads for GOJIJEON has caused quite a stir. Ko Soo, having solidified his movie star status in WHITE NIGHT and PSYCHIC, plays Kim Soo-hyuk, an officer of the ‘Alligator’ Squadron which opposes the North Korean army.

Shin Ha-kyun plays Lieutenant Kang who was sent to the highlands to track down a betrayer of the ‘Alligator’ Squadron. He is a friend of Kim Soo-hyuk.

Ryu Seung-soo’s role is that of a leader of the North Korean army which is an opponent of the ‘Alligator’ Squadron. Kim Ok-bin who rose to the ranks of a heroine in Chungmuro plays a mysterious character in the movie.

It can be said that the actors and the highlands are the backdrop for the battle of GOJIJEON. Director Jang Hun has put his heart and soul into GOJIJEON to make it a truly bona fide Korean war movie which is different from a Hollywood war movie. Extensive historical research has been carried out to ensure that the entire mountain setting is perfect.

Meanwhile, Jang Hun has emerged a promising new-generation director in Chungmuro with his success in ‘A Movie is a Movie’ and ‘Sworn Brother’ which did well both in terms of popularity and box-office triumph.

The appointment of Park Sang-yeon (Queen Seon Deok) as script writer for GOJIJEON has also stirred up a buzz.

With the production power of Director Jang Hun, impassioned performances by Ko Soo and Shin Ha-kyun and large-scale spectacular battlefield scenes, GOJIJEON will set a new standard for Korean war films. This much awaited blockbuster is scheduled for release in the summer of 2011.