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Korea Herald
07-08-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
S. Korea, US to hold key summertime military drills in mid-Aug. amid adjustment talks
South Korea and the United States will conduct a major joint exercise this month to strengthen their combined readiness posture, the allies said Thursday, in the face of evolving North Korean military threats. The annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise is set to take place from Aug. 18-28 and involves drills incorporating "realistic" threats aimed at enhancing the allies' capabilities across all domains, their militaries said. The planned exercise comes amid speculation that the allies may push back some field training tied to the UFS until after September as South Korea seeks to mend frayed ties with North Korea. "The exercise will also support interagency coordination within the ROK government to strengthen national-level crisis management, civil safety response, and cyber defense capabilities, advancing a whole-of-government, joint, intra-agency, and combined approach to wartime readiness and national defense," they said in a statement. ROK refers to the acronym of South Korea's formal name, the Republic of Korea. Alongside South Korean and US troops, personnel from several member states of the UN Command will join the exercise, while the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission will observe the exercise to monitor compliance with the Armistice Agreement. The UNC is an enforcer of the armistice that halted the fighting in the 1950-53 Korean War. This year's exercise comes as North Korea has denounced combined South Korea-US drills and accused the South of "blindly adhering" to its alliance with Washington, amid Seoul's push to ease tensions with Pyongyang. In response, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, South Korea's top point man on North Korea, said he will propose adjusting the combined military exercise to President Lee Jae Myung, raising views the allies may possibly push back some field training for the summertime drills. The North has long denounced the allies' joint exercises as a rehearsal for an invasion against it and has a track record of staging weapons tests in response. In the statement released Thursday, the allies stressed the upcoming drills are "defensive in nature." (Yonhap)
![(book top) [Off the Pages] Why these novels? Park Chan-wook's literary anchors](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwimg.heraldcorp.com%2Fnews%2Fcms%2F2025%2F06%2F26%2Fnews-p.v1.20250625.bda4ad650e6f4a2cab1fb00200fcce61_T1.jpeg&w=3840&q=100)
Korea Herald
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
(book top) [Off the Pages] Why these novels? Park Chan-wook's literary anchors
Celebrated filmmaker Park Chan-wook is widely known to be an avid reader. Many of his acclaimed films were adapted from novels, making his appearance at last week's Seoul International Book Fair all the more fitting. Park shared his 'literary anchors,' offering personal anecdotes and insights into the books that have inspired him. The following are some of the highlights from his talk. 'Joint Security Area' (2000) In a 2023 reissue of Park Sang-yeon's novel "DMZ," Park Chan-wook wrote, 'I don't even want to imagine what my life would look like if I hadn't encountered this novel.' "Joint Security Area" was his first literary adaptation and the breakout hit that changed everything. After two earlier films flopped, "JSA" was a box-office sensation, drawing over 5.8 million viewers and setting a record for Korean cinema. 'I've made many films since then,' Park reflected, 'but none have matched its box-office success. 'JSA' gave me the courage to make more daring films afterward.' Set in Korea's uniquely tense and symbolic space of the Demilitarized Zone, the crime mystery follows a fatal shooting involving North and South Korean soldiers, investigated by the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission. The investigation gradually unravels an unexpected truth. Park credited the novel's humanizing portrayal of North Koreans. 'At the time, it was still shocking to show them not as villains, but as ordinary people,' he said. Among the changes he made, Park said he is particularly proud to gender-swap the investigator into a woman, which he described as "an additional layer." 'The investigation already confronts an ideological wall. By introducing a female officer who faces barrier from the male soldiers she questions, I was able to add another layer. That's an aspect I take great pride in,' he said 'Oldboy' (2003) A man is kidnapped without knowing who took him, or why. He is locked away with no explanation, and the worst part is, he doesn't know if, or when, he'll ever get out. This premise of "Oldboy," the noir thriller that won Park a Grand Prix at Cannes, is loosely based on a Japanese manga. 'To me, it felt like a perfect metaphor for life itself,' Park said. 'We don't know why we were born, how our future will unfold, or when we'll die. We know death is inevitable, but not when or how. We have to live with that uncertainty.' The film follows Oh Dae-su, imprisoned in a small hotel room for 15 years with no idea who his captor is, or why is kept imprisoned. When he's abruptly released, he sets on a brutal quest for revenge. Another element Park found especially compelling was Oh's only contact with the outside world was watching television. 'I found that idea fascinating. He starts off as a reckless, pitiful man — more so than in the original manga. Locked away, watching only TV, he has nothing but time to think," he said. "Over the years, that leads to painful self-reflection. Whether he wants it or not, he becomes more mature — just by watching TV." For "Thirst," another Cannes-winning film, Park drew inspiration from Emile Zola's "Therese Raquin," a novel about a young woman coerced by her overbearing aunt into a loveless marriage. Initially, there were separate plans to adapt the novel and to make a vampire film but the two ideas eventually merged, after co-producer Ahn Soo-hyun read Park's vampire synopsis and Zola's novel, spotting a thematic bridge. 'There are vivid descriptions focused on the neck in the book,' Park noted. 'The neck biting and the wounds worsening over time — the imagery is quite intense.' The original synopsis, just three or four pages long, had a priest as the protagonist and a detailed climactic blood-drinking scene. Park felt that as long as that scene remained, the story and characters could be adapted freely around it. 'If I ever had the ability to be a novelist, I think I would have written exactly like Zola," said Park. 'He has a merciless view of humanity. He's uncompromising and honest. There's no romanticizing, no intention to vilify. It's simply an observation. Because of that honesty, whether making films or anything else, I feel there's much to learn from him.' Literary critic Shin Hyoung-cheol described Park's approach to adaptation through metaphor thus: "Oldboy" replaced the spine of its source; "Thirst" gave it wings. And "The Handmaiden"? 'It's as if he gave it a new pair of legs — like in the scene where the two women run across the open field.' Adapted from Sarah Waters's "Fingersmith," a historical crime novel set in Victorian-era Britain, "The Handmaiden" transposes the setting to colonial-era Korea under Japanese rule. The story follows a young Korean woman hired as a maid to a Japanese heiress. In the original novel, each woman deceives the other, and only in the third part do they discover the full extent of the betrayal. Park's version reimagines this dynamic: The women build trust, form an alliance and ultimately turn the tables to take revenge on the 'Gentleman.' 'As I read the book, I found myself hoping it would turn out that way,' Park said. 'They meet under false pretenses, but what if they open up to each other, become allies, and pull off a clever scheme to punish the count and escape together. Such anticipation became the basis for my adaptation,' Park said. 'The Little Drummer Girl' (2019) Park has often named British espionage master John le Carre as his favorite novelist. He read "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" as a teenager and he considers himself part of a rare minority of fans who 'dare say 'The Little Drummer Girl' is his best." Park reached out to le Carre directly, and the two met in person to discuss adapting the novel into a six-part television series — an "unforgettable memory" for Park. Le Carre made a cameo in the show, appearing as a waiter in the cafe where Charlie walks in. In fact, le Carre was fond of making cameo appearances in screen adaptations of his novels. Set in 1979, "The Little Drummer Girl" follows Charlie, a young English actress recruited to infiltrate a Palestinian group plotting a terrorist attack in Europe. But it was the novel's ending — particularly the protagonist's motivations — that troubled Park. 'Although I call it a masterpiece, I was disappointed at that moment,' he said. 'She risks her life as a spy because she 'fell in love' with one of the male agents, after pretending to be in love as part of her cover. I thought it made Charlie almost foolish,' Park said. Park knew he needed a new line — a moment that would redefine her choices. He learned that the character of Charlie had been inspired by a real person — le Carre's own sister, a theater actress active in the 1970s. Park said the line 'I'm an actress' came directly from a conversation with her. 'That line carries so much,' Park said. 'We had long discussions about it. Even during table reads, it was my favorite. We shot that scene with all of its weight in mind. I'd rather leave its meaning open to interpretation,' Park said. 'No Other Choice' (2025) and Park's reading list Park is currently in post-production on his upcoming film "No Other Choice," starring Lee Byung-hun and Son Ye-jin. Set for release in October, the film is adapted from Donald E. Westlake's horror thriller "The Ax." It follows Man-soo, who, after being laid off from a job, begins a desperate and dark hunt for new employment. Park has hinted that the film will veer into black comedy. Before the talk came to an end, the director offered a list of book recommendations. His recent favorites included Geoff Dyer's "The Ongoing Moment," a meditation on photography, and "But Beautiful," a philosophical exploration of beauty in jazz. Of Vladimir Nabokov's works, Park singled out "Pnin" as a personal favorite: 'It's filled with absurd humor, and the protagonist might come off as unlikeable at first -- but he becomes utterly lovable.' Park also expressed his recent admiration for W.G. Sebald, after reading "Austerlitz."
Korea Herald
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
S. Korea, US launch Freedom Shield drill, first under Trump's 2nd term
South Korea and the United States militaries on Monday kicked off their annual Freedom Shield exercise, a large-scale combined drill aimed at strengthening the allies' readiness capabilities. This year, the drill focuses on command post exercises based on computer simulations, assuming an all-out war against North Korea, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. "This year's scenario incorporates evolving North Korean tactics observed in its military activities, including the deployment of drones, GPS jamming and cyberattacks, particularly in relation to North Korea's military support for Russia," the JCS said. The exercise includes field training exercises across South Korea, with the number of outdoor maneuvers increasing to 16 from 10 last year. Approximately 19,000 South Korean troops will participate. The JCS also underscored the exercise's defensive nature, noting that member states of the United Nations Command are set to participate, while the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission will monitor the drill to ensure compliance with the 1953 Korean War Armistice Agreement. The exercise drew strong criticism from North Korea, which claimed it legitimizes Pyongyang's "strongest response measures" against the US. In a statement released on Sunday, North Korea's Foreign Ministry condemned the drills as a continuation of Washington's "military hysteria," further asserting, "The US' reckless actions and irrational choices will ultimately undermine its own security." Earlier this month, Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said North Korea is seriously considering 'escalating strategic-level deterrence measures' when the USS Carl Vinson, a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, arrived at a port in Busan participate in the exercise. South Korea's military stated that it is closely monitoring North Korea for potential provocations, including intercontinental ballistic missile launches or a seventh nuclear test, in cooperation with the US. As of Monday, no unusual North Korean military activity had been detected, South Korea's Defense Ministry spokesperson Jeon Ha-kyu said during a press briefing in Seoul. The Freedom Shield exercise will run through March 20. Meanwhile, live-fire drills scheduled as part of the field training exercises have been canceled following an accident last Thursday, when two South Korean KF-16 fighter jets mistakenly dropped eight bombs on a civilian area, injuring 29 people.
