Director retraces pre-war Admiral Yi

Director Kim Han-min talks during a press conference introducing his new film “Roaring Currents: The Road of the Admiral” at a theater in Wangsimni, Seoul, April 20. / Courtesy of NEW

By Baek Byung-yeul

As seen on the head of 100 won coin and at the downtown Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square as a landmark statue, Korea’s 16th century naval commander Yi Sun-sin (1545-1598) remains a venerated war hero among Korean for repelling Japanese invaders in the Imjin War (1592-1598) during the Joseon Kingdom period.

On the occasion of admiral Yi’s 470th anniversary of birth, which hits Tuesday, director Kim Han-min, who filmed last year’s smash hit film “Roaring Currents,” will give a documentary prequel of the historical flick to the local theaters next month.

Instead of casting actor Choi Min-sik, who showed stunning detail in the film as the admiral, the documentary entitled “Roaring Currents: The Road of the Admiral” features the director Kim and generals who fight together with the admiral and retraces the 450-kilometer path that the admiral passed through in a preparation for the “Battle of Myeongnyang,” which Yi’s army defeated more than 330 Japanese fleets with only 12 in 1597.

Answering why he made the documentary prequel, Kim said he wanted to shed light more on the admiral’s preparation process before engaging in the battle unlike the “Roaring Current,” which mainly dealt with astonishing victory over Japanese naval forces.

“After the ‘Roaring Currents’ literally hit the jackpot last year, becoming the highest grossing film in Korean cinema history, I began realizing that there should be an another reason for the film’s hit,” Kim said to reporters at a press conference at a theater in Wangsimni Station on April 20.

“In my perspective, the reason why the film could garner such a large numbers of audiences was because the public wished to find a way out from the current stuffy social affairs through this film. Hence, I decided to approach to the battle in a different view,” Kim said adding that he also wanted to give an answer against the backlashes he faced that he exaggerated the historical event too much in the “Roaring Currents.”

“This is kind of an ambitious project because no one in Korean cinema history has never challenged to film a documentary prequel. I wish many people could be buoyed up with this film,” Jung Se-kyu, co-director of the film added.

As Kim and Jung explained, the documentary film sheds light on the Korea-Japan war in a big picture, letting the casts of the film retrace the path the admiral walked, based on the war diary that Yi wrote.

Casts of the documentary film also expressed their satisfaction as they could learn more about the Korea-Japan war.

“Though I felt hard physically, filming the documentary prequel was a meaningful experience to me. I could realize that there are a lot of events that I even didn’t know. I think it will be educational for everyone,” actor Lee Hae-young, who featured as Song Hee-rib, one of the admiral’s flag lieutenant in the “Roaring Currents,” said.

Japanese actor Ryohei Otani, who featured as a Japanese spy working for the admiral in the last year’s film, said he decided to feature in the documentary to know more about the admiral.

“I thought I could learn more about the admiral with director Kim as he is one of the people who has spent a lot of time on studying about the admiral,” he said, adding that he had to shed tears when passing through the Hwaeomsa Temple, a historic temple where was almost destroyed by Japanese military forces during the war.

Director Kim added that filming the documentary prequel meant a lot for him to make a sequel to the “Roaring Currents.”

“After filming the documentary, I was wondered that the admiral induced the Japanese military forces to engage in the battle at a place he chose. It could be possible because the admiral maximized the effectiveness of intelligence capabilities of his troops. I will put more emphasis on this point in my sequel to the ‘Roaring Currents.’” Kim said. Kim will film about the Battle of Hansan Island, another victorious battle the admiral won.

Narrated by actor Kwon Yool, who played as a son of the admiral in the “Roaring Currents,” the 95-minutes documentary film will be screened nationwide from May 7.