The most powerful man in Korean Cinema, manages to catch two rabbits with Public Enemy in 2002.

Since his debut film Sweet Brides (1988), Kang Woo-suk helmed many films proven to be popular with the Korean viewers, including Happiness Has Nothing to do with Class Rank, Mr. Mamma, Two Cops, How to Top My Wife, Two Cops 2. He then moved on to establish Cinema Service and help it grow into the most successful production-distribution company in Korea. In 2002, he returned to the director's chair with Public Enemy, which helped further solidify his No. 1 status in the world of Korean cinema, receiving much praise from both critics and the audience.

Thorough and painstaking pre-production work, an unprecedented overseas location for just one scene: the super-project Silmido, fashioned with equal parts ambition and charisma.

Now, Kang Woo-suk proceeds with the biggest winning hand of his cinematic career, Silmido. It is the project that many filmmakers wanted to tackle since 1971, only to run into numerous obstacles. Finally, the project came into the hands of director Kang Woo-suk, who had always felt that "only I could get this movie done." Silmido showcases his ability to rationally supervise film production: even though the project cost more than 100 million won, the length of film amounted to a mere 110,000 feet, surprising the crew members during the editing process. Other indications that director Kang Woo-suk treated this "veiled project" with utmost sincerity and commitment abound: extensive revisions of the screenplay, leading to even more thorough drafting of continuities, as well as the respect for authenticity and technical accomplishment displayed in the record-breaking footage of explosions and undersea cinematography, attained through overseas locations. The trust and expectation that people have for director Kang Woo-suk are naturally being transferred to the extraordinary interest and sense of awe they have for his latest film, Silmido.

Filmography: 2003: Silmido 2002: Public Enemy 1998: Bedroom and Courtroom 1996: Two Cops 2 1994: How to Top My Wife 1993: Two Cops 1992: Who Saw the Dragon's Toenails? (1991)/ Mr. Mamma 1990: I Stand Up Every Day 1988: Sweet Brides

Awards 2002: "Director's Cut" This Year's Producer Award 2001: The Grand Prize, Cinema, the 15th FACOK Arts and Culture Awards 1996: The Most Commercially Successful Director, Blue Dragon Award For the Efforts to Open Korean Films, the Los Angeles City Honorable Artist Award Today's Young Artist, Cinema, Selected by the Ministry of Culture and Athletics 1991: Best Director, Baeksang Art Prize 1989: Best New Director, the Korean Film Critics Association

"No way!" from those who were not: that secret story is finally being told. The Silmido project, based on the most dramatic event in Korean history, has been for close to ten years a "hot potato" among film projects. The truth suppressed for 32 years, the top secret story of the 31 members of the 684 troops and the three last years of their condemned lives, is about to be revealed, in the film Silmido. In December 2003, you will at long last encounter the dramatic fates of the unforgettable 31 in the theater near you.

Korea's most successful director Kang Woo-suk and Korea's most skilled actor Sol Kyung-ku lock their steps once more, for the first time since their fantastic partnership in Public Enemy. The Midas of Korean cinema Kang Woo-suk and Sol Kyung-ku, whose range of acting skills is acknowledged by everyone, this mighty twosome are joined by Director of Cinematography Kim Seong-bok, the best Korean cinematographer, responsible for lensing The Contact, Joint Security Area and Public Enemy, Director of Lighting Sin Hak-seong, who had collaborated with Director Kang since Two Cops, and other well-known top talents. They are fit to be called another "super-elite special fighter corps." Under the command of Director Kang, they have completed the top secret project Silmido.

The most talked-about film of 2003, Silmido was filmed partly through the seven-month location shooting that traveled the greatest distance in Korean cinematic history, from Kangwon Province, Busan, Incheon, Silmido, to Malta, New Zealand, to Jeju Island, Buan and Paju. 7 hundred million won were spent for the underwater shooting done in the Malta MFS Studio on the Mediterranean coast. Another 5 hundred million won were spent on the New Zealand locations standing in for the snowbound training grounds in Silmido. A total of 30 hundred million won budget were set aside, along with thorough historical research for authenticity, for the Pusan courtroom set, the Daebangdong set actually built in Buan, North Cholla Province, the Silmido training camp set and other sets. This scale of production testifies to the resolve of the filmmakers to perfectly reconstruct the very moment in time, when the 31 warriors were forever interred into the graveyard of history.

The production equipment had to be transported from the docks to the top of the mountains in Silmido. The CH-47D "Chinook," the world's largest transportation chopper, also known as "Lighttail," was mobilized at the amazing price of 70 million won per flight, for the first time in Korean cinema history. The Chinook was able to safely transport filming equipment, including a power generator and two cranes for the camera. Moreover, in order to film the battle that took place in Daebangdong, two specially equipped buses identical to the ones used in filming the movie Speed, that allow the crew to shoot the interior of the bus while running at a considerable speed, were built, each one costing 2 hundred million won.

Sol Kyung-ku, Ahn Sung-ki and the staff members all agree: there are 31 starring roles in Silmido. Most of them are newcomers selected through the extremely competitive process of audition. More than 5,000 actors applied for these roles. The 31 selected, regardless of the size of their roles, received special training so that they could realistically capture in their performances the gestures and gazes of true-life special agents, who could have been sent to North Korea in utter secrecy and strong enough to make it back after accomplishing their mission. Thus, Silmido leaves another landmark in Korean cinema history: the largest number of starring roles! The official cast roster of Silmido lists 70 members, and combined with more than 1,000 extras, they were able to revive on screen all the pertinent historical figures involving the secret mission.