South’s new heroes? Spies from North

Love thy enemy: A slew of recent South Korean films portraying spies from the rival North — including this year's hit movie 'Secretly, Greatly,' starring Lee Hyun-woo — have been embraced by young South Koreans, who have no memory of the Korean War. | AFP-JIJI.

 

SEOUL – They are handsome, daring, patriotic and multilingual elite fighters who dodge bullets while remaining loyal to their women and families. Meet the new heroes of South Korean cinema — North Korean spies.

Portrayed by Hollywood as merciless terrorists in films such as “White House Down,” South Korean film is increasingly depicting North Korean agents as conflicted action heroes whose personal struggles embody a divided Korean Peninsula.

Such films, unimaginable a few decades ago, have been embraced by young South Koreans who have no memory of the horrors of the Korean War and harbor less hostility toward their communist neighbor than older generations.

 
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