There have been a number of serious films and TV series about the real-life Military Demarcation Zone between North and South Korea, but the recent comedy film 6/45 is showing the lighter side of the situation, while also proving that both sides have a lot in common – especially when a billion-won lottery ticket is on the line.
The film follows South Korean soldier Park Chun-woo (played by Ko Kyoung-pyo) who discovers a first prize lottery ticket worth 5.7 billion won (RM19 million) while stationed at the demarcation zone.
His dreams about the such a life-changing sum come to an abrupt end when a chance gust of wind blows the ticket towards the North Korean side. The ticket is picked up by North Korean soldier Ri Yong-ho (Lee Yi-kyung) who decides to keep it.
The situation is soon found out by several of their fellow soldiers (and their superior officers), and both sides decide to meet to decide what to do with the ticket – and how to claim the winnings.
The South Korean side includes career soldier Captain Kang (Um Mun-suk), and naive private Man-chul (Kwak Dong-yeon), while the North Korean side consists of political commissar Choi Seung-il (Lee Soon-won) and expert hacker and secret K-pop fan Bang Chul-jin (Kim Min-ho). Adding to the complication is Ri’s sister Yeon-hee (Park Se-wan) who also finds out about the ticket.
Released on Aug 24 in South Korea, 6/45 was a surprise hit, generating US$13.7 million (RM65 million) at the box office, and breaking into the Top 10 highest performing movies of 2022.
In an interview transcript provided by tvN Asia, the film’s two leads Ko and Lee spoke about what drew them to the project.
Lee said: “The script was good and I wanted to deliver pleasant energy to the audience through a fun comedy movie.”
He also enjoyed the filming process, saying that it was his first time seeing “the actors, the director and the staffs all put in their best effort together as one, both physically and mentally, during the rehearsals and the filming in order to produce the best cuts.”
Ko also said that playing a soldier reminded him of his own days in the service. “It reminded me of my days serving in the army and was interesting. I was amazed and felt like ‘Right, during my days in the army, there were also such places and such people around’.”
For Lee, one of his biggest challenges was learning to speak with a North Korean dialect. He said: “It felt like we were learning a foreign language. I actually learnt a lot from teachers speaking North Korean. I kept practicing and recording myself speaking with the accent because I wanted it to sound natural.”
He managed to have fun during one of the film’s iconic scenes, where North Korean soldier Chul-jin kicks off a dance sequence to the tune of Brave Girls’ Rollin’.
He said: “Actor Kim Min-ho ... actually practiced the Rollin’ dance sequence a lot and he danced so well that Kwak Dong-yeon and I were caught by surprise.”
Lee then joked: “But I think I danced better than the Brave Girls because I practiced it well!”
Asked if he had a message for those looking to watch the film, Lee said: “Until the very end, South and North Korean soldiers are fiercely outwitting each other to claim the lottery ticket, to the extent that it is impossible to predict the outcome easily.
“So instead of making guesses ... please be pleasantly surprised at each reversal, and just laugh together, relax and enjoy!”
6/45 is currently available for Pay-Per-View purchase via Astro First and unifi TV On Demand.
