North VS South

My grandma still tells me stories about how my grandfather was a soldier and medic during the Korean War. And because we were Chinese, in her stories she’s always defensive and bias towards North Korea and China. So I was never surprised when I saw that war movies produced by the South showed obvious condemnation towards only the North Koreans and the Chinese, while the South Koreans are described as faithful nationalists trying to defend their own country. When we only listen to one side of the story, it’s hard not to form an opinion. However, what is different about Brotherhood of War is that it “strives toward a more balanced approach than earlier anticommunist films, and condemns both sides for committing atrocities—including right-wing extremists” (Korea Beyond Armistice: 303). One particular scene from this movie caught my attention: the scene where Chingtae (played by Jang Dong-gun) witnessed the “burning” of his younger brother Chingsok (played by Won Bin), an order given by a South Korean military leader. The “death” of Chinsok led Chingtae to realize how much he hated fighting for a country that killed his younger brother and he then decided to fight for the North Koreans instead. Yes, there are scenes where the North Koreans are seen as the ultimate enemy, killing innocent civilians as they retreat from the frontier, but the movie also shows us that the North and the South, although different, it is still quite similar. South Korean right wing activists shot all suspected civilians, regardless of whether or not they were guilty, including Chingtae’s fiancée Yongsin. As Chingtae and Chingsok see Yongsin dying in Chingtae’s arms, they “became unwitting witnesses to the violence meted out by the Republic’s army on its own people” (Korea Beyond Armistice: 304). So really, the North Koreans may be helf responsible for starting a war between the North and South and killing innocent civilians, but there are always casualties in a war, but with the Right wing extremists piling up body count, it seemed to make things worse. The point I'm trying to make is that in order to judge a situation, one must have all sides of a story, and Brotherhood of War as a South Korean film, did a pretty good john at it.