Welcome back to Movie Recap. Today I'm gonna show you a 2005 South Korean war film called,
Welcome to Dongmakgol, also known as, Battle Ground 625. Spoiler's ahead. Sit back, relax
and enjoy the video.
The movie begins with an American Navy pilot, Neil Smith, struggling to maneuver his plane
when a massive storm of butterflies interrupts his flying. The plane crashes into a remote
and mountainous part of Korea as it gives Neil a bumpy and dangerous ride.
A platoon of North Korean Soldiers passes through the rocky part of the mountains as
soldiers are carrying their comrades who are bloody and have injuries. As one of the soldiers
asks the Chief Commander, Soo-Hwa, to leave their comrades which hinders them to move
faster, the two argue whether they should continue or not. The tension rises between
the two when suddenly, South Korean troops ambush the unit, showering them with bullets
and almost killing everyone. Running from opposite directions to hide and save their
lives, the soldiers go separate ways.
Moon San Song, a South Korean soldier, halts and tries to rest on the foot of a tree to
eat. While he is eating, he sees a comrade, Hyun-Chul, from a different team pointing
his gun on his chin, as if preparing to shoot himself. Despite his fear to face an, he tries
to stop him from his indecisive decision. Instead, the man points his gun near Moon
San Song's head when he notices that he's from the enemy's troop. Fortunately, the man
spares his life, leaving him immediately.
Meanwhile, four North Korean soldiers survived the ambush. However, they choose to trail
the track along a dangerous mountain cliff to go back alive in Pyongyang. One by one,
the soldier tries to cross the trail but one of them fails to survive. As Soo-Hwa orders
Young-hee and Taek-gi to proceed with their journey, they decide to stop for a while and
rest.
While the three soldiers try to sleep, a dumb girl, Yeo-il, who lives in Dongmakgol sees
them. Yeo-il asks the three soldiers to leave the place as they are currently staying on
Snake rock. When a snake falls on Young-hee's shoulder, they shoot the area to kill what's
coming. However, they ran out of bullets but nothing came out, Soo-Hwa is outrageous with
the impulsive move, and Yeo-il leaves.
Mon San Song chases Hyun-Chul. The two soldiers proceed walking in the mountainous area when
they find a villager, Dal-soo, who is collecting some herbal plants. The villager leads them
towards Dongmakgol, hiking their way to find the remote village. Upon arrival, Mon San
Song and Hyun-Chul could not believe their eyes that a community existed in the mountains.
The villagers see Smith who has a lot of injuries from the plane crash, they bring him to their
village to treat his wounds. As the people observe the stranger's unconscious body, moments
later, Smith wakes up. One of the villagers, Teacher Kim, tries to communicate with him
through the Korean-English primer given by Smith. Unfortunately, due to the language
barrier, Teacher Kim cannot grasp Smith's response when he starts to complain and the
words he uses are not included in the guide.
While Teacher Kim interrogates Smith, a villager interrupts him when a rushing member reports
that Dal-soo brings strangers to their village. The villagers immediately check the situation
as Teacher Kim decides to leave Smith all by himself when he can no longer understand
the primer.
The villagers and the Village Chief welcome Mon San Song and Hyun-Chul. As the Chief invites
them to eat, they lead the two where they left Smith. Hyun-Chul points his gun to Smith
upon seeing him, but when he realizes that he is from the UN, he brings his gun down.
Smith, on the other hand, thinks that these men are sent to find him. The people strangely
look at Smith's outburst as he continuously speaks the alien language.
Soo-Hwa, Young-hee, and Taek-gi capture Yeo-il and a child, Dong-Goo to lead them in the
mountains. When they see Teacher Kim who tries to practice and understand the primer, the
three soldiers hide. Yeo-il walks in Teacher Kim's direction to find out who he is, and
the soldiers get this opportunity to capture him. Yeo-il, Teacher Kim, and the children
assist Soo-Hwa, Young-hee, and Tek-gi towards their village.
Mon San sang and the villagers were happily chit-chatting when Teacher Kim and the North
Korean Soldiers arrived. Upon seeing each other, the two opposing troops point their
guns and threaten the life of each other. The villagers are held as captives as they
are entirely confused with the happenings, unaware of the coming danger and the existence
of the modern technologies used for warfare devices.
Soo-Hwa deceives Mon San song and Hyun-Chul when he tries to drop his gun. With quick
reflexes, he grabs a grenade, Young-hee and Taek-gi follow, to warn the villagers and
the two soldiers from South Korea. As the night passes, the soldiers are just pointing
their guns at each other, the captives in the middle, and no one tries to surrender
from their enemy.
Until the rain starts to pour, the villagers decide to go on their shelter and the soldiers
remain on their stance. Suddenly, Yeo-il intervenes in their little show, he wipes off Taek-gi's
face using her socks and quickly removes the grenade's lock. Thinking that it is a ring,
Yeo-il escapes, enjoying what she retrieved from his hands. The soldiers panic as they
know that an explosion will occur, but the villagers are merely clueless with their reactions.
Till the rain stopped pouring and the scorching sun took over, the soldiers did not leave
their place. Tired of their sleepless night, Taek-gi drops his grenade and it rolls down
on the ground. Upon realization, Soo-Hwa orders them to take cover and secure themselves from
the explosion. Hyun-Chul dives on the grenade and covers it with his body but nothing happens
seconds later.
Hyun-Chul mocks the North Korean soldiers when he thought that the bomb is a dud, he
throws the explosive device in the village storage room. The bomb explodes and transforms
the collected corns into popcorns. The popcorn showers the Dongmakgol village and the villagers
are extremely amazed at the scenario. As the popcorn show continues, one by one, the soldiers
faint due to their exhaustion.
When the soldiers rise, the feud continues. But the Village Chief intervenes and tells
Hyun-Chul and Mon San Song that Soo-Hwa promises to stop their impulsive moves within the vicinity
of the village. As the Chief invites them to eat, they can hear the rants and complaints
of the villagers about the explosion of their food storage room. Guilt is eating their system,
the soldier raises the truce for a while and decides to help the villagers harvest potatoes
in the fields.
The encounters between the soldiers are lighter than before, just an exchange of insulting
and degrading remarks. Hyun-Chul informs Soo-Hwa's group that the Allied Forces have already
landed in Incheon airport. From his speculations, the forces have already conquered Pyongyang.
From their headquarters, the US Navy discusses the missing transport planes after they are
lost in their expedition. However, the geographical information hinders them from further investigation.
That's why they have to secure the parameters first before the search takes over.
Taek-gi sees Yeo-il admiring the grenade's metal ring-like lock, as she gazes her eyes
in his direction, he chooses to walk out as he is mesmerized by her beauty. Going in the
opposite direction, Taek-gi sees Hyun-Chul and Mon San Song and hits them with below-the-belt
hit remarks. Hyun-Chul is angered by Taek-gi's words, as he tries to punch him and teaches
him a lesson.
Soo-Hwa meddles with Hyun-Chul's outburst. He reminds him of the bloodless encounters
in the village, a ceasefire for the sake of the villagers. Clouded by rage, Hyun-Chul
punches Soo-Hwa on his face, the latter fights back. Their comrades try to stop them as the
villagers are now watching the punching session.
Dong-goo sees Smith who tries to communicate in his headquarters. Smith ignores Dong-goo
and proceeds to contact his comrades and informs them about Sparrow A1. One of his comrades
hears the message but the connection is now lost.
Moon San Song complains that it is North Korea's fault why they are stuck in an isolated place.
Taek-gi argues that South Korean soldiers who summoned the presence of the United States
caused this feud between their parties. But Soo-Hwa, answers Taek-gi and confirms that
the North first invaded the South. Suddenly, the presence of a wild boar who is troubling
the village appears. The soldier and villagers end up helping each other to drag the wild
boar down. The bravery to save their enemy and the death of the animal is a room for
celebration.
To their disappointment, the villager buries the wild boar. Moon San Song and Hyun-Chul
sneak out to dig the animal so they could eat it. Flabbergasted by what they have witnessed,
the three North Korean soldiers are already roasting and eating the animal. Hyun-Chul
decides to leave but Moon San Song stops him so they could sit over and eat. Unexpectedly,
Smith also tries to sneak out so he could eat the animal.
The soldiers devour the meat of the wild boar with enthusiasm and the tension between them
starts to drop when they eat together. The unplanned meal gives them a temporary ceasefire
and enjoyment.
The US Navy tries to decode Smith's previous last radio transmission. With a reason to
continue the search, the Allied commander's orders to continue the mission, regardless
of the civilian casualty. From their speculations, Smith is a prisoner in the mountain areas,
and they must prepare a rescue team to recover him.
Smith teaches the soldiers and the villagers to play American Football. While these people
play, Smith sees Dong-goo holding an army recorder. Dong-goo leads Smith to the remnants
of a plane that has crashed.
The game continues but the Chief Villager's mother calls Hyung-Chul's attention. Arriving
at her place, Hyung-Chul receives a small-boat hay-like ride from her. He rides the small
boat and slides down through the grassy slope of the mountain. When he no longer controls
his vessel, Hyung-Chul falls and lies down on the grassland.
Hyung-Chul admires the bluish-white clouds when floods of memories from the war fill
his mind. The trauma scarred his mind as the experiences from the battle still haunt his
memories wherever they go. As he closes his eyes, he savors the tragic memory of the civilian
casualties during the battle. Meanwhile, Yeo-il observes Hyung-Chul who seems to be sleeping
on the grass. Leaving him at peace, she tries to run but falls from the grass.
Several army trucks are arriving, the commander orders his team to rescue Smith and after
24 hours, they must evacuate and stop bombing their location. Wishing a successful mission,
he dismisses the platoon to proceed.
Taek-gi admires Yeo-il who enjoys herself in the pouring rain. Saddened by their departure
once they finished rebuilding the storage room, he asks Soo-Hwa about their plans. When
Yeo-il removes her cloth foot cover, Taek-gi rushes towards her to give her his handkerchief.
The camaraderie between the people and soldiers shows when they help and eat together. The
Dongmakgol village celebrates its harvest festival. Dancing and singing, just purely
enjoying their little party. While the people enjoy their celebration, Hyung-Chul and Soo-Hwa
exchange conversations about their life after this Dongmakgol journey. Hyun-Chul then reveals
that a firing squad is prepared for him once he gets back.
Commander Anselmo leads the team to use aerial transport to invade the area. While the soldiers
ride their parachute, a torrent of butterflies interrupts their mission, as they receive
severe casualties, only 5 soldiers survived. While the villagers are enthusiastic about
their celebration, Dong-goo and the soldiers witness the arrival of the US troops.
The rescue team assumes that they have arrived at the enemy's base. The rescuers gatecrash
the festival and hold the villagers captive. Commander Anselmo hits the villagers with
the base of his gun, blabbering of not joking around in the situation. Yeo-il suddenly intervenes
and tries playing with the soldiers, the latter tries to kill her. Before he could even touch
Yeo-il, Taek-gi stops the soldier, saying that she is crazy. Upon hearing his accent,
the soldier recognizes that he may be from the North.
The villagers try to conceal Taek-gi's identity by claiming that he is their son. The Village
Chief speaks up for his little community but the soldier hits him. This ignites the burning
fire inside Hyung-Chul as he breaks the wooden stick and stabs it to the soldier's neck.
This movement angers the rescue team; they start to become violent, but Soo-Hwa and his
comrades fought back.
One soldier survives and hides from the crowd. When he gets the chance, he grabs his knife
and captures one of the villagers as his hostage. Hyung-Chul prepares to save the villager by
pointing the gun at the enemy's head but Smith arrives and smacks his head. Seconds later,
one of the villagers attends to Yeo-il who is dying on the ground, with one last breath,
she passes away.
The last man from the rescue team is in their custody. As he wakes up, Soo-Hwa interrogates
him when Moon San Song retrieves a plan on his army jacket. The man reveals that the
place will be bombed after some time, making them all die. Later on, he discovers that
Smith is living with the villagers.
Smith, together with the North and South Korean soldiers plans to create a decoy to divert
the attention of the rescuers from bombing Dongmakgol. Despite the hesitations from Young-hee
and Moon San Song, Hyung-Chul and Soo-Hwa encourage them to participate in their plan.
As they retrieve materials from the plane that has crashed nearby, Soo-Hwa entrusts
this mission to Hyung-Chul.
The soldiers, the translator, and Smith bid their goodbye to the villagers of Dongmakgol.
The villagers are saddened by the departure of these strangers who have become their family.
Before they leave, Smith leaves the hay-like ball to Dong-goo, a remembrance from him.
And one of the villagers offers a thick cover in case they need it.
Wearing their thick jackets, the Korean soldier decides to send Smith and the translator back
to their headquarters to control and stop the coming of more bombers. Before they part
ways, Smith hands his watch, to wish the soldiers' luck to be successful on their mission.
The North-South Korean soldiers played like the Allies. Hyung-Chul serves as the commander
and orders his men to position and arranges their set-up. They set their decoy in the
snowy mountains and craft it like a village so the attackers will mistake their base as
the Dongmakgol.
Nighttime arrives and the soldiers hear the arrival of fighter jets within the mountains.
Running to prepare their stunt, they prepared their guns and waited until the bomber is
on their range. Young-hee asks Moon San Song to sing the song he utters during the festival,
seconds later, the American bombers arrive. When it was the right time to attack, they
shot them with bullets to catch their attention. However, bullets are not enough as Soo-Hwa
immediately fires the bazooka upwards.
The American bombers take the hint from the warning shot given by the enemies. The chase
continues between the Americans and Koreans; the war has begun. Bullets after bullets.
Bombs after bombs. The Koreans struggled to survive until they lost Moon San Song and
Young-Hee to the initial encounter.
In no time, the American bombers plan to launch a bunch of bombs to secure the victory in
the area. Taek-gi, Hyung-Chul, and Soo-Hwa look up at the sky and watches the released
bombs falling from above. They knew that they successfully executed their plan, they saved
the villagers and Dongmakgol, smiling, they welcomed the cruelty of the explosions.
The movie ends with a distant bomb explosion from the mountains. Smith breaks down into
tears when he realizes that the Korean soldiers sacrificed their lives to save Dongmakgol.
From the decoy base, butterflies appear and join the fluttering swarms from above.