Bang Hak-gi (방학기)

Its Action Lacks Dignity of Life: "The Legend of Chio Bae-dal" is Fading

Source | 2004/08/04 | 0 comments | Permalink |

by Seung-Jae Lee

It probably reminds you of those words: darkness, heaviness, self-destruction, agony, hurt, fright, and endless emptiness, when you hear about a movie based on the superb cartoon "Fighter in the Wind" by Bang Hak-gi.

Unfortunately, however, "Fighter in the Wind", a new release opening on August 12, does not satisfy the heavy words mentioned above. The movie has just sunken between the stereotypical plot patterns of an action film and an extremely petty romance.


Under Japanese colonial rule, a boy, Choi Bae-dal, cherishes his dream of being a fighter learning Taekkyun (Taegwongdo, a traditional martial art in Korea) from his servant, Beom-soo. However, as Beom-soo, who is involved in the independent movement against Japan, disappears, Bae-dal smuggles himself to Japan to become a pilot. In Japan, he suffers a lot due to the discrimination against Josenjin (Korean-Japanese). He happens to meet Beom-soo like a miracle and continues his training. However, a...| More