Steel Rain 2: Summit

Steel Rain 2: Summit
Poster
Hangul	강철비2: 정상회담
Hanja	鋼鐵비2: 頂上會談
Revised Romanization	Gangcheolbi 2: Jeongsanghoedam
Directed by	Yang Woo-suk
Screenplay by	Yang Woo-suk
Starring	Jung Woo-sung Kwak Do-won
Music by	Kim Tae-seong
Production company	Studio Genius Woojeung[1]
Distributed by	Lotte Cultureworks
Release date	July 29, 2020 (2020-07-29)
Running time	131 minutes[2][3]
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean

Steel Rain 2: Summit (Korean: 강철비2: 정상회담 RR: Gangcheolbi 2: Jeongsanghoedam) is a 2020 South Korean action thriller film^[4] written and directed by Yang Woo-suk. It is a standalone sequel to the 2017 film Steel Rain. In the film, three leaders each from South Korea, North Korea and USA are kidnapped and held in a North Korean nuclear submarine during a summit between the two Koreas and the United States. It stars Jung Woo-sung as the South Korean president, Kwak Do-won as the North Korean Supreme Guard Command Chief, Yoo Yeon-seok as the North Korean Supreme leader and Angus Macfadyen as the United States president.

The film was theatrically released in South Korea on 29 July 2020.

Plot[]

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The film starts with a secret meeting between the director of the Chinese Ministry of State Security, Song Shikai and Shinzo Mori, the director of the Yamato Foundation, an influential Japanese ultranationalist organization with ties in the Japanese government. Director Mori shows director Song the playbook of a ploy called Operation Kagemusha. The strategic goal of "Kagemusha" is to defeat China politically and militarily through a US-Japanese alliance and expel the Chinese from the Diaoyu Islands. However, Mori also shows director Song an altered version of Operation Kagemusha that involves Dokdo; the disputed isles between South Korea and Japan. As Song asks why Mori is revealing this information to him, Mori gives Song a choice: China will either be crushed under the full might of the US-Japanese military according to the original Kagemusha playbook, or Song can avert war by using his position as the head of the MSS to prevent Beijing from interfering in Dokdo on behalf of North Korea and furthermore assist him and the Yamato Foundation's supporters inside the Japanese government to take Dokdo from the Koreans and wipe out the Republic of Korea military instead, as described in the "alternative" version of Kagemusha. Mori summarizes it to Song: "Kagemusha on Senkaku (Diaoyu Islands) or Kagemusha on Takeshima (Dokdo)"

South Korea is invited by the U.S. to join the Senkaku exercises as a member of the tripartite alliance but the South Korean President Han Kyeong-Jae refuses the invitation. In a briefing for Dokdo, Han learns about a month-old incident wherein a Coast Guard patrol vessel captain turned himself in to the National Security Office (NSO) and explained about his meeting with a Japanese-Korean woman who lured him into a debt as per which he was required to attack a Japanese ship sailing around the Dokdo, without any warning shots. The woman, named Ito Hideko, works for the Yamato Foundation, a fund for right-wing Japanese extremists. The ministers fear the repetition of the 2006 Dokdo War. In Japan, Shinzo Mori riles up the public by showing Japanese citizens a revised version of history through his literary works. Mori lays down the outline for a plot as per which Japan will pretend to engage in a war with China as per America's wishes, but instead will use this opportunity to regain lost territories. Mori's interest goes out especially to Dokdo, as he believes that the expansion of Japanese reign through the region always began in Korea. By fighting a war with Korea, he hopes to "awaken the dormant Japanese spirit", and make Japan the powerful empire again it once was. Han and his ministers learn that the U.S. State Department has indefinitely postponed its summit with the two Korean countries, citing issues with the procedure of nuclear weapon handover. Han asks for a video conference with the U.S. President Willis Chatman Smoot who refuses to do so unless South Korea participates in the Senkaku exercises. Han reluctantly agrees, and learns about Yamato Foundation's apparent funding by the Chinese government.

The next day, the Chinese ambassador meets Han for luncheon in order to thank him for not partaking in the Senkaku exercises. When Han tells him he will, the ambassador warns him not to do so. Han proceeds to fly to Wonsan, the location of the summit where he meets Jo Seon-sa, the North Korean Supreme leader. Later, Smoot arrives and the three go to a hotel where talks between Smoot and Jo seem to fail. On the other hand, the Supreme Guard Command Chief leads a coup in North Korea, believing that handing over weapons to the U.S. would mean getting taken over by South Korea. Soon, he raids the hotel with his army and takes the three leaders hostage in the Paektu, the first North Korean ballistic missile submarine. They're taken to a room by Jang Ki-sok, the former head of submarine command. A female press reporter contacts the White House from Wonsan, explaining the capture of the three leaders. The Vice President assumes command and demands for retaliatory actions against North Korea. Smoot is injected with a serum, making him reveal everything about Operation Kagemusha which intends to destroy China, in front of Han, Jo and Chief. Smoot lays out the false-flag operation in detail involving a US Navy submarine attacking a Japanese flotilla off the Diaoyu islands, after which the Chinese will be blamed for the attack. In the subsequent escalation, the Chinese military will then be annihilated by a joint US-Japanese "counter-attack". Meanwhile, Smoot's national security council is alerted by Chinese troop movements along the Chinese-DPRK border. The U.S. decides to launch an ICBM with a conventional warhead at a bridge in North Korea to prevent the People's Liberation Army from using it to cross the Yalu River into the DPRK, should the situation escalate. In order to avert Russia and China from misinterpreting this attack as an actual nuclear ICBM attack and responding with nuclear ICBMs of their own, Smoot's cabinet informs both the Russian and Chinese governments of the impeding attack, to which both governments give their approval; a security camera monitoring the bridge on the Chinese side records the bridge being blown up during the night. However, during the consultation between Smoot's cabinet and Beijing ahead of the strike, the Chinese government reveals that they have received the audio recording of Smoot explaining Kagemusha, sent from the Paektu submarine. Although denying it as a North Korean ploy, the US is now also forced to stand down in order not to escalate. Moreover, the South Korean government expresses its discontent as well with their US counterpart for not informing them of the strike (which they initially interpreted as an actual nuclear ICBM attack).

The news of the ICBM attack nevertheless causes an emotional uproar among both the hostages in the Paektu and the South Korean government. Learning that the ICBM has hit North Korea, Chief forces Smoot to order the U.S. forces to stand down. Chief forces him to read a written statement in a video message in which he tells his cabinet not to do anything without his explicit orders. This conflicting information, together with already suspicious eyes from Seoul, Beijing and Moscow, forces Smoot's cabinet to suspend any major military action until further notice. Chief further reveals that he is an participant himself in the Kagemusha operation on Dokdo; Japan asked him to torpedo one of Japan's own patrol ships near Dokdo and fire an SLBM at South Korea, for which he got paid $500 million; the war on Dokdo will result in Japan's victory and annihilate South Korea's military forces. Chief has plans of his own however; instead of attacking South Korea, Chief plans to fire the SLBM at Japan, effectively causing a massive regional conflict that will force China to enter this war on the side of its North Korean allies, effectively tipping the balance of the conflict in favour of the DPRK. However, it is overheard via radio by everyone aboard and Jang is revealed to be an anti-coup agent when he sends a message for the leaders telling them not to come out of their room. The officers on board, convinced by Jang to rebel against Chief for their own survival, start a shootout that leaves many dead. Jang escorts the three leaders to a rescue sphere which allows space for only two. Han decides to stay, and helps the other two escape. After both the leaders of the US and DPRK have been rescued however, the Kagemusha plot begins to unravel. Knowing about Chief's revelations about the Japanese, President Smoot orders his cabinet and military not to involve the US in either of the Japanese plots, effectively leaving the Japanese to confront both Koreas and China on their own in a potential conflict, should Kagemusha proceed as planned. Fearing of what the international implications might be for Japan if the Kagemusha operation unravels even further, the Japanese government sends the JMSDF into Dokdo to hunt for the Paektu submarine in order to cover up Japan's ties to Chief and the North Korean coup leaders. Meanwhile at the Paektu submarine, Jang calls for a truce with Chief in exchange for medicine. However, a battle ensues both in and out of the Paektu as the JMSDF has deployed an Oyashio-class and a Sōryū-class submarine to take out the Paektu and its crew, with Han and Jang attempting to foil Chief's plans to fire the submarine's SLBMs regardless, which will expose them to the Japanese subs. Eventually, Chief is shot dead but the Paektu has, despite taking out one of the pursuing vessels, been immobilized by the JMSDF submarines. As one of the enemy vessels fire a final torpedo, Han leaves a final message for his country. However, the torpedo is countered by a torpedo fired by a group of South Korean Navy submarines that forces the remaining JMSDF vessels to retreat from the waters around Dokdo. The Paektu surfaces off the Dokdo isles, and both Han and Jang look onto the rising sunrise as an aerial shot shows that Dokdo still remains firmly in Korean hands. Following the failings of Operation Kagemusha, Shinzo Mori is killed as per orders of the Japanese Prime Minister to cover up the Japanese government's ties to him and Operation Kagemusha (although the Prime Minister's assassin assures him that the government "will continue his legacy"), and Smoot and Jo sign the peace treaty. In the end, Han addresses the public about the unification of the two Korean countries.

Cast[]

• Jung Woo-Sung as Han Kyeong-jae, South Korean President
• Kwak Do-won as North Korean Supreme Guard Command Chief
• Yoo Yeon-seok as Jo Seon-sa, the North Korean Supreme leader
• Angus Macfadyen as Willis Chatman Smoot, the United States President
• Shin Jung-geun as Jang Ki-sok, the former head of North Korean submarine command
• Yum Jung-ah as the South Korean First Lady
• Shin Soo-yeon as Han Young-hee
• Hakuryu as Shinzo Mori, Japanese billionaire and right wing activist
• Ahn Nae-sang as the South Korean Minister of National Defense
• Kim Yong-rim as the South Korean Prime Minister
• Jo Woo-jin as the South Korean submarine captain
• Go Yoon as Chief Han of the Presidential Protocol
• Choi Min-chul as North Korean General Guards officer #2
• Kim Myung-gon as the Chinese Ambassador in Seoul
• Jang Gwang
• Kristen Dalton as the United States Vice President
• Shim Hee-sub as an Wire tapper

Production[]

Development[]

Writer and director Yang Woo-suk wanted to offer a cinematic simulation on the future of the two Koreas. According to him, the previous film showed the outbreak of war between the two Koreas, while this film shows a "more realistic approach to the situation on the Korean Peninsula that involves more than just the two countries." He also wanted to present the reality that the fate and stability of the Korean Peninsula are determined by other countries. He also explained the film's division into three parts: the historical background and international politics behind the conflict, some black comedy elements and the battle sequences between submarine and underwater missile attacks. He was worried that the long dialogues in the beginning could bore viewers, but also found them integral for explaining the complexity of inter-Korean relations.

He further described the power struggle inside the submarine as a metaphor for the inter-Korean conflict, further hinting a future sequel might be about families.^[5]

Casting[]

Yang Woo-suk cast the same actors but changed their roles, especially their sides. A few changes were made in the other cast members for China, Japan and USA. Yang deemed it a symbol of the current regional dynamics remaining the same even though South and North Korea change their approaches, since geopolitics in the region is decided by external factors.

Jung Woo-sung, who portrays the South Korean President, felt the film saw the Korean Peninsula from "a cool-headed point of view". He studied a lot about the history of inter-Korean summits and presidents, and had to imagine what the leaders thought of the future, the Korean Peninsula and how they led the summits. He described the film as an action thriller instead of a moral lecture.^[4] Yoo Yeon-seok, who portrays the North Korean Leader, was initially reluctant to play the role as he couldn't imagine himself playing a North Korean Leader. He said the film featured geopolitical situations in a realistic way, but its being fictional allowed him to create his own character: a leader who felt great pressure to retain the regime against regional superpowers. Scottish actor Angus Macfadyen was chosen to play the United States President.^[6] He thought of his character as a vulgar and narcissistic man who thought of himself as always right and everyone else as wrong.^[7] Kwak Do-won, who plays the Supreme Guard Command, thought his character wasn't merely a villain. Given that North Korea has shown different attitudes towards South Korea in the real world, he tried to depict an aspect of North Korea that contrasts with Yoo's character.

Filming[]

The filming began on 27 August 2019.^[8] While filming on the sets, Yoo Yeon-seok felt "the psychological pressure of being in the dark, deep water." He further added that the restricted location helped in portraying the slightest changes in power relationship and emotions more sensitively.^[9]

Release[]

Steel Rain 2: Summit was released in South Korean cinemas on 29 July 2020. On 9 August 2020, Jung Woo-sung went to Lotte Cinema at Lotte World Tower in Seoul, to greet fans in person at the ticket counter.^[10]

Reception[]

Writing for HanCinema, William Schwartz felt the special effects spectacle overshadowed the film's early summit scenes that showcased real issues preventing peace talks. He also pointed out a number of scenes had no relation to the film's internal continuity.^[11] Choi Ji-won from The Korea Herald felt the character development was weak and found the characters "far too two-dimensional to be relatable."^[12] Davin Arul from The Star gave a 6.5/10 rating and felt the film sacrificed depth of story and characterization, describing it as "entertainment that skims the surface of its complicated topic, issues and players."^[13] Douglas Tseng from Today gave the film 3 stars out of 5, comparing it to an East Asian geopolitics lecture. The reviewer, however, praised Macfadyen's comic relief character and found the overall film "too believable", given the ongoing tensions in the South China Sea.^[14]

Box office[]

The film debuted on the number one spot at the South Korean box office, attracting a million viewers in just five days of its release.^[15][16][17] Trade experts found the collections to be disappointing and lower than the original, but decent given the COVID-19 slowdown.^[18][19]

References[]

External links[]

• Steel Rain 2: Summit at IMDb
• Steel Rain 2: Summit at HanCinema