South Korean Comedy to Film at Mt. Kumgang

By Park Chung-a
Staff Reporter

A movie that takes a comic look at the two Koreas will become the first South Korean film to be partially shot in the North.

"Brave Family (Kankun Kajok)", a comedy about a family pretending that the Koreas have been reunified to please their dying father, is set to shoot part of its story in the North, according to Doosaboo Film, the production company behind the movie.

"We will film parts of the movie at tourist areas near North Korea's Mt. Kumgang for three days from Feb. 21", company official said. "The film crew and 50 others will visit North Korea and film the sequence, which is near the end of the movie, showing the family taking a trip to the communist state".

The company has already spoken to the authorities in North Korea and Hyundai Asan, which operates an inter-Korean tourism project on the scenic mountain near the eastern coast of the Korean peninsula.

Although shooting locations on the mountain will be restricted to the Hyundai-operated resort, which is open to the general public, it is significant because it is the first time for domestic filmmakers to shoot in North Korea, the official said.

"North Korea permitted the shooting because it were interested in the film's message", he added.

Kam Woo-seong and Kim Soo-ro play the role of the two sons and veteran actor Shin Gu portrays the father, who is in the terminal stages of liver cancer.

A preview of the movie "Thomas Ahn Jung-geun" was held in Mt. Kumgang last August, but no Korean film had been shot in the North since the division of the two Koreas.

The film, which has a budget of 3 billion won, is scheduled to open nationwide in May.