Megan Fox debuts here as Korean War correspondent

From left, actors Kim In-kwon, Kim Myung-min, directors Kim Tae-hoon, Kwak Kyung-taek, actress Megan Fox, actor Kim Sung-cheol and actress Lee Ho-jung pose for a photo during a media conference held in southern Seoul, Wednesday, for the historical blockbuster “Battle of Jangsari.” Yonhap

By Lee Gyu-lee

A month after "The?Battle: Roar to Victory" brought the first victory of Korean independence fighters against Japan to the silver screen, another historical film “Battle of Jangsari” will shed more light on the historical battle during the 1950-53 Korean War that has remained largely forgotten.

Co-directed by Kwak Kyung-taek and Kim Tae-hoon, the film depicts the guerilla attack organized by 722 students from the South against North Korean forces during the Korean War.

“This is the history that the world should know,” Hollywood star Megan Fox, who starred as war correspondent Maggie in the Korean War flick, said during a press conference in Seoul, Wednesday.

Her appearance in the film drew much attention during its production.

As this is the first historical film in Fox's filmography, she expressed what working on this piece meant to her. “I think a lot of elements were appealing about this movie … it was a challenge that I've never done before, so it was a new adventure to try,” she said.

“I could definitely feel the gravity on the set, of the story that was being told, and the passion that director Kwak had for telling the story. This is obviously something where everyone involved wanted to be very reverent in the way that the story was told because it was such an important part of your history.”

Actress Megan Fox / Yonhap

The Battle of Jangsari was a secret mission to distract North Korean soldiers around Jangsa-ri in North Gyeongsang Province on Sept. 14, 1950, a day before the well-known Incheon Landing that led the South to retake Seoul from the North.

Not many records are left regarding this battle as it was a secret mission and most of the fighters were not military forces but young students with an average age of 17 ― with only two weeks of training. This film intends to bring the untold stories and sacrifices of those young students into the limelight.

When director Kwak was first offered the chance to direct the movie, he said he instantly thought of his father, who came to the South from North Pyongan Province in North Korea at the age of 17.

“I really hope this story could come out to the world,” he said. “I put in appreciation and admiration for those who sacrificed their lives to protect democracy, when working on this.”

Actor Kim Myung-min, who plays the main character Lee Myung-joon ― a soldier who leads the guerilla force ― said, “I wanted to let people know that the Battle of Jangsari was behind the success of the Battle of Inchon. This was a highly classified operation, which led this battle to be lost to history. But I wonder if we could have the lives we have now if it wasn't for this attack.”

Kim further explained about veteran Lee Myung-heum, who his character is based on. “I could not find much information on him, so it was very sad to know that such an honorable sacrifice was forgotten.”

“As those sacrificed in the battle were students, most of them did not have a service number to identify them with, which is the reason most of those names were unknown,” he said. “So Lee put in the effort to provide each victim with a service tag, until the day he died.”

Director Kwak pointed out that “reality” was the key focus when filming this movie.

“As a director, I did have the ambition to use new techniques and directions for a blockbuster war film at first,” he said. “But after thorough consideration, I felt that this needs to show the reality and chose to shoot the scenes in documentary style, as if the cast were put in the real setting.”

“Battle of Jangsari” will hit theaters on Sept. 25.