Hong Kil-dong (1986 film)

Hong Kil-dong
Hong Kil-dong
	DVD cover
Chosŏn'gŭl	홍길동
Hancha	洪吉童
McCune–Reischauer	Hong Kil-tong
Revised Romanization	Hong Gildong
Directed by	Kim Kil In
Screenplay by	Kim Se Ryun
Based on	Hong Gildong jeon
Starring	Ri Yong Ho; Pak Chun Hui; Choe Sun Bok;
Cinematography	Jon Hong Sok
Edited by	Om So Yong
Music by	Jon Chang Il; Hwang Jin Yong
Production; companies	Hong-Jong Corporation; Korea February 8 Film Studio
Distributed by	Korea Film Export and Import Corporation; Mokép; Shochiku Home Video
Release date	1986
Running time	108 minutes
Country	North Korea
Language	Korean

Hong Kil-dong is a 1986 North Korean historical drama film directed by Kim Kil In.^[1]^[2]

The film was based on the Hong Gildong jeon, an anonymous Korean novel about a Robin Hood-like bandit.^[3]

Plot[]

In Joseon-era Korea, Hong Kil-dong is born in Hanseong (modern Seoul) as the illegitimate son of a nobleman. His stepmother tries to have him killed by bandits, but he is rescued by monk who uses magic and martial arts. Hong goes on to train with the monk and defend the oppressed villagers, later fighting an invasion by Japanese ninjas.

Release[]

Hong Kil-dong was released in 1986. It received a wide release in the Soviet Union and the Eastern bloc, and was very popular in Poland and Bulgaria.^[4]^{[better source needed]}

Reception[]

Hong Kil-dong is often listed as among the best North Korean films; authors have noted the influence of Shin Sang-ok, a South Korean director kidnapped by the North Korean regime in 1978 and forced to make films. In 2002, North Korean defectors in South Korea were surveyed by The Chosun Ilbo, and declared it the best North Korean film.^[4]^[5] Simon Fowler of The Guardian wrote that "With heaped spoonfuls of Shaw Brothers-inspired kung fu, the film is unlike the entire pantheon of North Korean cinema that had gone before it. This is a film that needs no historical context to be watched and most unusually for North Korean film, can quite easily be enjoyed."^[6]