Pulgasari

StarringCinematographyEdited byKim Ryon SunMusic bySo Jong GonDistributed byRaging Thunder (Japan)95 minutes^[2]CountriesLanguageKorean

Pulgasari^[b] is a 1985 epic kaiju film directed and produced by Shin Sang-ok, with special effects by Teruyoshi Nakano.^[3] A multinational co-production between North Korea, Japan, and China,^[6] it is a remake of the 1962 South Korean film also depicting the eponymous creature from Korean folklore. The film stars Chang Son Hui, Ham Gi Sop, Jong-uk Ri, Gwon Ri, and Yong-hok Pak, with Kenpachiro Satsuma in the title role as the monster. Set during the late Goryeo Dynasty, it tells the story of a blacksmith's daughter whose blood brings to life a metal-eating monster envisioned by her father to defeat the monarchy.

Pulgasari was the last film made by Shin under the orders of Kim Jong Il (then-heir apparent) during the abduction of him and his wife, Choi Eun-hee, by North Korean intelligence. The film was initially put forward in February 1985. Principal photography took place in Pyongyang from June to August 1985, and several Japanese employees from Toho handled special effects photography from September to December.

Upon Shin and his wife escaping authorities in March 1986, the North Korean release of Pulgasari was canceled, and exporting the film was prohibited. A decade later, pirated copies of the film were distributed in Japan. Pulgasari officially debuted at Kineca Ōmori in Tokyo on July 4, 1998, and received additional licensed Japanese releases later that year. It was a critical and commercial success in Japan, with critics comparing it positively to Godzilla (1998). In July 2000, it became the first North Korean film to be released theatrically in South Korea, but was a box-office disappointment. In the subsequent years, the film has been screened throughout the Western world and gained a cult following.

In feudal Korea, towards the end of the Goryeo Dynasty, a king controls the land with an iron fist, subjecting the peasantry to misery and starvation. The finest blacksmith in the land, Takse, is imprisoned for defending his people. Shortly before his death, he makes a tiny rice figurine of a monster and asks the gods to make his creation a living creature that protects the rebels and the oppressed. The blacksmith's daughter, Ami, soon receives the figurine and it springs to life upon contact with her blood after she accidentally wounds herself while sewing.^[3] It becomes a giant metal-eating monster dubbed "Pulgasari" by Ami, which is the name of the mythical monster her father used to mention as an eater of iron and steel.^[9] Pulgasari now shares a special bond with Ami and evolves into a giant and powerful figure after eating some of the farmer's tools.

After much suffering, the peasants form an army, storm the palace of the region's Governor, and kill him. Soon after the evil king becomes aware that there is a rebellion being planned in the country and he intends to crush it, but he runs into Pulgasari, who fights with the peasant army to overthrow the corrupt monarchy.^[9] Pulgasari wins many battles because of his unending hunger for all kinds of metal, readily provided by its enemies. Nevertheless, after capturing and executing the leader of the rebellion (who is betrothed to Ami), the king's army threatens to kill Ami if Pulgasari does not surrender. Pulgasari lets itself be trapped to save the woman, and the royal army seemingly kills the creature by burying it under the ground. After escaping, Ami revives Pulgasari by again pouring some of her blood on the burial site. Pulgasari grows strong once more and attacks the king's palace, destroying it and simultaneously killing the king.

After the king's defeat, Pulgasari becomes a new problem, since he starts eating the rebels' weapons and farmers' tools given to the creature without objection since the peasants still believe Pulgasari is a benign savior. Ami realizes that Pulgasari's hunger will never stop and that the monster is inadvertently oppressing the people he fought for. She decides to sacrifice herself by hiding inside a big bell that Pulgasari finds and quickly eats. Pulgasari yells in anguish as Ami's presence in its system causes it to turn to stone and crumble into pieces, tragically killing both of them, but saving the people once and for all.

Kim Jong Il was a lifelong admirer of South Korean filmmaker Shin Sang-ok, as well as cinema in general. A collection of around 15,000^[5][17] to 20,000^[3][18] titles was reported to be in his possession, with new releases from around the globe being added shortly after opening in theaters.^[3] In 1978, Kim arranged the kidnapping of Shin and his wife, famed actress Choi Eun-hee, with the specific purpose of making propaganda films for the North Korean government.^[19][20] Kim also produced all of Shin's films during the abduction period, with Pulgasari being their fifth film of 1985 (following Love, Love, My Love, Salt, The Tale of Shim Chong, and Breakwater),^[20][21] and last collaboration overall.^[19]

Pulgasari was a remake of Kim Myeong-je's 1962 South Korean film, Bulgasari, with the story itself based around the legendary creature Pulgasari (or "Bulgasari") from Korean folklore.^[22][23] The 1962 film, which is now considered lost, was the first ever Korean kaiju film, predating Yongary, Monster from the Deep and Space Monster Wangmagwi by five years.^[10][24] The filmmakers reportedly took inspiration from the 1984 Japanese kaiju film The Return of Godzilla, which is believed to have been the reason that Kim and Shin sought Toho employees to create the special effects for Pulgasari.^[5]

According to suit actor Kenpachiro Satsuma, Pulgasari was pitched in mid-February 1985, and soon became a co-production between North Korea, Japan, and China. In early April, location scouting commenced in Pyongyang and Beijing and Satsuma accepted an invite to work on the film, having been deceived into believing it would be filmed in Hollywood. On April 20, art director Yoshio Suzuki flew to North Korea and attended the first meeting between the film's Japanese and North Korean crews, with the help of an interpreter. The meeting was held at a studio near the Taedong River that produced films about Kim Il Sung and his family, which had been set up as a temporary office for Shin's production team while a larger studio was under construction for the film. Later that month, on April 28, the Japanese crew began developing the Pulgasari suit in Japan and completed it in late May.^[25][26]

In April, Shin told Suzuki his plans to set the film in China during the Three Kingdoms period if the historical research and costumes make it "match up well". He also said that if this turned out to be successful, he would start filming on August 15 and "ask the Chinese side to adjust it accordingly".^[27] Although the film itself would ultimately take place in Goryeo, the King's palace was based on the Forbidden City complex in Beijing, and the special effects crew specifically referred to it as the Hall of Supreme Harmony during production.^[28]

While waiting for a flight at Pyongyang International Airport, Shin met 21-year-old trainee flight attendant Chang Son Hui and immediately asked her to play the lead in Love, Love, My Love.^[29] Chang became a full-time employee at Shin Films and continued to work with Shin throughout 1985, also playing the lead in Pulgasari, which was their final collaboration.^[20]

Pulgasari was reportedly produced on a limitless budget with the support of the North Korean military;^[16][30] Shin also recalled that Kim was "very supportive" of Pulgasari's production despite never being present during filming.^[16] Principal photography took place in Pyongyang from June to August 1985 while special effects photography followed from September to December.^[3][26] For Shin to create the film, Kim ordered the construction of Munsu Studio, an immense complex described by Satsuma as a "state-of-the-art film studio", which covered approximately 20,000 pyeong (66,000 square meters). The facility featured four studios (the largest two each covered 400 pyeong while the other two were 200 pyeong), as well as six screening rooms, six recording studios, and around 300 waiting rooms and other spaces to store art equipment.^[31] Munsu Studio was still in development when used for special effects photography.^[31][3]

In mid-September, before departing their home country, the Japanese special effects crew filmed the Pulgasari suit wandering around a miniature village in Studio 9 at Toho Studios, but this was omitted from the film's final cut.^[26] Satsuma and an assistant director flew from Tokyo to Beijing via Shanghai, on China Airlines Flight 930 on September 11, 1985. On September 14, they began working at Beijing Film Studio to prepare the miniature palace and set for the film's climax, which the Chinese crew had already been creating.^[4] Conflict soon arose between the two crews, with the Chinese believing that the Japanese team "just walked in and started damaging the [Hall of Supreme Harmony] set that we put our heart and soul into building for three months."^[28] Regarding destroying the palace in the Pulgasari suit for the film, Satsuma reflected that he was "impressed that the Chinese government could allow such an ambitious filming, even if it was just a movie".^[32]

Later, when arriving in North Korea, Satsuma recalled that his passport was confiscated. He and the other Japanese were kept as guests at Kim Jong-il's villa for one-and-a-half months to shoot the film, where each of them had a large, well-ventilate, room featuring a bed, TV, bookshelf, and radio.^[1] Kim often visited the villa, but refused to meet the Japanese guests and avoided them.^[31] Satsuma also said that they were working at Shin's studio around October 1985 and it "felt like mid-winter" because the windows in the building featured no glass.^[1]

Post-production on the film reportedly took place in Japan,^[3] with the film being completed in December 1985.^[12][26]

Pulgasari was first screened at Toho Studios in January 1986.^[26] Kim initially wanted Pulgasari to be released worldwide later that year.^[5][13] However, he ordered plans to screen the film in North Korea to be canceled and banned all exports in the wake of Shin and Choi's escape in March of that year.^[13][33] According to Vanity Fair, the film was ultimately never released in North Korean theaters.^[5]

Eventually, Pulgasari was released to the public for the first time in any format on January 21, 1995, via VHS in Japan.^[34] Although this and other releases of the film that occurred around the same time were allegedly pirated.^[13] In 1996, film critic Takashi Monma [ja] reported that several Japanese film festivals had attempted to screen the film but all were turned down.^[35] The film's first authorized screening took place at the Kineca Ōmori in Tokyo on July 4, 1998, where it remained until September due to high demand.^[36] The film was also released in several other Japanese cinemas and on home video later that same year;^{[12][13][6][36]} in both Japanese subtitled and dubbed versions.

On July 22, 2000, Pulgasari became the first North Korean film distributed in South Korean theaters,^[37][38] reportedly because of the June 15th North–South Joint Declaration.^[10] Shortly before its South Korean release, Sisa Journal reported that Pulgasari was attracting controversy on whether films from North Korea should be handled as foreign or domestic releases, and thus was being considered to acquire "screen quota benefits".^[37]

In 2001, ADV Films distributed Pulgasari on VHS in the United States.^[5] Thereafter, it received several screenings in the US, United Kingdom, and Canada.^[5] In 2006, Pulgasari made its New York debut at the end of Columbia University Japanese culture center's year-long "Godzilla festival."^[16]

During its limited theatrical run in Japan, Pulgasari achieved several box office records,^[36][39] with more than 17,000 attendees.^[37] In South Korea, the film opened in 50 theaters^[37] and was a massive box-office bomb, attracting under 1,000 theatergoers.^[12][40]

Pulgasari attained critical acclaim in Japan.^[41] Jun Edoki [ja]—one of the film's main advocates—referred to it as "one of the greatest monster movie masterpieces in history, something that neither Hollywood nor Japan can ever replicate".^[36] The film was positively compared to TriStar's Godzilla (1998) by Japanese reviewers at the time, who believed that Pulgasari was not "sophisticated" like that film and "reminds the viewers of Japanese monster movies of their good old days".^[42]

Western critics have been more critical of the film. Film Threat felt that the film should have been parodied in an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.^[43] In August 2014, Simon Fowler of The Guardian ranked it the third best North Korean film ever made, but noted that "it's [easy] to get lost in the ridiculousness of it all".^[44] In March 2024, Collider ranked the film No. 10 on their "10 Best So-Bad-They're-Good Monster Movies" list, and Vulture called it "quite bad as a film"; both agreed that its behind-the-scenes story is more fascinating than the film itself.^[45][46]

Satsuma later spoke of how he adored Pulgasari and remembered performing in it fondly,^[36][39][42] deeming it to be the "most memorable work in my long acting career".^[47] In October 1988, Bungeishunjū published a book written by him, titled Godzilla's View of North Korea, which detailed his experiences working on the film.^[48][49] Satsuma told the Choson Sinbo in 1998 that his favorite scene in the film was when the titular monster was caged and set ablaze, and that he wanted to return to North Korea to work on a sequel.^[36]

In 2005, Shin articulated to The New Yorker that he believed the film's special effects were outdated.^[16] According to The Guardian, Kim Jong Il considered the film to be a masterpiece.^[50]

Pulgasari is now considered a "cult classic" and has become Shin's best-known film and the most widely seen North Korean film internationally, partly due to its involvement in his abduction by North Korea.^[17][50][51]

According to Jonathan Ross, the film was intended by the North Korean government to be a propaganda metaphor for the effects of unchecked capitalism and the power of the collective.^[16][52]

There has been some speculation that the director Shin Sang-ok included a hidden message of his own in the film. The film's titular monster is often interpreted as a metaphor for Kim Il Sung betraying a revolution for his own purposes and as a plea to the North Korean people to rise against the Kim regime. This is represented by Pulgasari demanding his subjects feed him more iron even after the former regime has been defeated, leading to the workers turning against and ultimately defeating their former savior.^[9][53] Shin disputed interpretations that the film has commentary on North Korea's contemporary class conflict,^[12] and said that it is instead a plea for pacifism because "there are limits to what weapons can do".^[16]

A decade after escaping North Korean supervision, Shin (under the pseudonym "Simon Sheen") worked on a second, looser, adaptation of the Pulgasari legend.^[16] Directed by Sean McNamara and produced by Sheen Communications, Galgameth (1996) told the story of a young prince, aided by a warm-hearted monster, reclaiming his deceased father's medieval kingdom. Shin said that Galgameth, along with The Gardener (1998), "caused me a big financial loss".^[21]

• Culture of North Korea
• List of North Korean films
• Propaganda in North Korea

• Pulgasari at IMDb
• Pulgasari at AllMovie
• Pulgasari at Box Office Mojo
• Pulgasari at Rotten Tomatoes