Rivalries.
It's what keeps sports exciting.
In the realm of table tennis back in the 1980s and the 90s.
The fiercest rivalry was between China and Korea.
China usually had the upper hand,
and Team Korea was always stopped by the wall called Team China.

Let me re-phrase that.
The two Koreas were blocked by China.

If you're not familiar with Korea and the most basic Korean history.
After the Korean War,
Korea is divided into the North and South.
And thus, there are two Korean Teams competiting for supremacy
in an array of sporting disciplines.

Today's featured film is Korea.
Yes, that's the title of the movie, KOREA.

BG: 오 필승 코리아 - Crying Nut

Why the title?
It's based on the actual events back in 1991.

Because there was a historic moment in Korean history,
when the two Koreas played as one team,
as quite simply team Korea, without the North or South.

Quite an astonishing turn of events,
considering that the two Koreas are still at a state of armistice.
Simply put, one nation separated by war,
came together for one brief moment, in the name of sports.

It's just the kind of story you want to turn into a dramatic sports movie.

And finally, in the 21st century,
that movie was made and it is currently being screened in Korea.

Before we dig deeper into the actual show,
let us take a quick song break.


SONG BREAK: 비상 - JK 김동욱


The two Korean squads were quite the nuisance
to each other prior to forming the unified team.

Simply the hurdle to overcome before facing the real challenge
of beating China.

But they come up short time and again.
Disappointing the loser in the semi-finals.

The fiercest rivals are the aces of both squads.
The South Korean star is played by Ha Ji-won.
While the Northern counterpart is acted by Bae Doo-na.

Great casting not just for the two leads,
but for a host of colorful and fascinating supporting characters.


The cultural differences, and having been
the nemesis to beat in major games for decades,
make it difficult if not impossible for both sides
to gel together as a team.

Individually they're great,
but in team sports, the whole is greater than the sum of all its parts.

Gradually, after much conflict and drama,
The two bitter rivals learn that they could not be more alike,
especially in terms of wanting to go all the way,
beat China and win gold.

They forge a tandem like no other
and I'm going to leave the rest out in the open
so you can really enjoy the thrills and spills of
all the training, great cinematography and awesome acting with
your own eyes.

A little predictable, but deeply moving.
It's got a time-tested sports-team movie formula,
but all the great ingredients thrown into the mix
keeps one entertained, and on the edge of the seat.

I personally would have preferred
snappier dialogues, faster pace, and less scenes
that try to spoon feed the unnecessary explanations
to the audience.

Can seem a bit draggy.
But outstanding ensemble of performers
do a great job of engaging the audience.

Here's the song that wraps up the movie,


SONG BREAK I Can Fly - 허규