Pyongyang Nalpharam
Encyclopedia
Pyongyang Nalpharam is a 2006 North Korean film directed by Phyo Kwang and Maeng Cheol-min. It is a martial arts film set during the Japanese colonial rule of Korea
. One of only two North Korean films released in 2006, it received ticket sales of 6 million cinema-goers in that country. Critics describe the film as "routine" and "adequate."
. Jeong Taek is a master of Pyongyang Nalpharam, a form of the ancient Taekkyeon martial art perfected on Mount Taeseong near Pyongyang
. He returns home one day to find his father poisoned by Korean-born Japanese woman Mieko, who claims that the elder was responsible for the death of her own father. At first mistaking the woman for his childhood sweetheart, So Gyeon, Taek is forced into action when Japanese forces lay claim to the sacred texts containing the secrets of Pyongyang Nalpharam.
—and both films were screened at that year's Pyongyang International Film Festival.
described Pyongyang Nalpharam as "a routine period actioner... with flashes of interest for Asiaphile auds", reminiscent of 1970s Hong Kong "chopsocky
" films. He regarded the action choreography as being "adequate", and considered only a single sequence during a "masked entertainment" to have any "real verve".
Korea under Japanese rule
Korea was under Japanese rule as part of Japan's 35-year imperialist expansion . Japanese rule ended in 1945 shortly after the Japanese defeat in World War II....
. One of only two North Korean films released in 2006, it received ticket sales of 6 million cinema-goers in that country. Critics describe the film as "routine" and "adequate."
Plot
The film is set in the early 20th century, during the Japanese colonial rule of KoreaKorea under Japanese rule
Korea was under Japanese rule as part of Japan's 35-year imperialist expansion . Japanese rule ended in 1945 shortly after the Japanese defeat in World War II....
. Jeong Taek is a master of Pyongyang Nalpharam, a form of the ancient Taekkyeon martial art perfected on Mount Taeseong near Pyongyang
Pyongyang
Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...
. He returns home one day to find his father poisoned by Korean-born Japanese woman Mieko, who claims that the elder was responsible for the death of her own father. At first mistaking the woman for his childhood sweetheart, So Gyeon, Taek is forced into action when Japanese forces lay claim to the sacred texts containing the secrets of Pyongyang Nalpharam.
Cast
- Ri Ryeong-hun ... Jeong Taek
- Kim Hye-gyeong ... So Gyeon
- Ri Yun-su
- Yu Hye-gyeong ... Mieko
- Kim Gweong-yeol
- Nam Ryeong-woo
- Kim Cheon-yeol
- Choi Yeong-chun
- Ri Seong-gang
Release
Pyongyang Nalpharam was released in August 2006, and received a reported 6 million admissions at the North Korean box office. It was one of only two North Korean films released in 2006—the other being The Schoolgirl's DiaryThe Schoolgirl's Diary
The Schoolgirl's Diary is a 2006 North Korean film directed by Jang In-hak. It debuted at the 2006 Pyongyang Film Festival as one of two films produced domestically that year, and was released in France at the end of 2007.-External links:*...
—and both films were screened at that year's Pyongyang International Film Festival.
Critical reception
Derek Elley of VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
described Pyongyang Nalpharam as "a routine period actioner... with flashes of interest for Asiaphile auds", reminiscent of 1970s Hong Kong "chopsocky
Chopsocky
Chopsocky is a colloquial term applied to a diffuse group of martial arts movies made primarily in Hong Kong and Taiwan during the 1960s and 1970s. The term was coined by the American motion picture trade magazine Variety...
" films. He regarded the action choreography as being "adequate", and considered only a single sequence during a "masked entertainment" to have any "real verve".