Pulgasari
Entry updated 8 September 2025. Tagged: Film.
North Korean film (1985). Korean Film Studio, Shin Film Productions. Directed by Shin Sang-ok (with some input from Chong Gon-jo). Written by Kim Seryun and Ri Chun-gu. Cast includes Ri Chongguk, Masao Fukazawa, Ri Ingwŏn, Ham Kisŏp, Pak Pongik, Ri Ryongun, Kenpachiro Satsuma, Chang Sŏnhŭi and Pak Yŏnghak. 95 minutes. Colour.
In 1978 cinephile and future North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il (the son of Kim Il Sung, who held the post until 1994), wished to improve his country's film industry, do had South Korean actress Choi Eun-hee abducted whilst she was in Hong Kong; her ex-husband, director Shin Sang-ok, went to investigate and was also kidnapped. Shin Sang-ok was imprisoned after trying to escape, but on release (1983) he and Choi Eun-hee made several films before the pair managed to flee their bodyguards during a 1986 promotional trip to Vienna: Pulgasari was the last film made during their captivity. Following the success of The Return of Godzilla (1984) it was decided North Korea should make its own Kaiju movie. Pulgasari is sometimes said to be a remake of the lost South Korean movie Bulgasari (1962, vt Bulgasari at the End of Songdo) but though both feature an iron-eating monster, the plots do not seem similar.
A regional Governor (Pongik) in feudal Korea (likely during the 14th century) orders village blacksmith Takse (Ingwŏn) to make weapons for his troops to use against bandits – bad harvests and starvation having swelled their numbers. Iron for the weapons is obtained by confiscating farming tools from local villages, but they are retrieved and Takse, despite Torture, refuses to name those responsible and instead blames the Pulgasari, a metal eating creature from Korean folklore (see Mythology) – so he is imprisoned and starved. His children, Ami (Sŏnhŭi) and Ana (Chongguk), manage to sneak some rice to him, but instead of eating Takse shapes it into a figurine of Pulgasari and, with his dying breath, prays to the gods of heaven and earth (see Religion) to save his people.
Later at home, Ami pricks herself whilst sowing and a drop of her blood falls on the figurine, bringing it to life: eating metal, it quickly grows – so much so that when Ami's beloved, Inde (Kisŏp), is about to be executed for fighting the Governor's forces, Pulgasari (when small played by Fukazawa; larger, by Satsuma) eats the sword intended to behead him, then – impervious to attacks by the governor' troops – walks into the armoury to feast. Inde now leads the bandits, killing the Governor and routing his forces, causing the King (Yŏnghak) to send General Hwang (Ryongun) to quell the rebellion. Because he is bonded to Ami, Pulgasari defends the bandits – so General Hwang captures her, forcing the now giant (see Great and Small) monster to enter a cage, then setting it alight: Pulgasari merely turns red with the heat, breaks free and goes into a lake to cool down, boiling the water, unfortunately for the troops who had fled into the lake. The bandits, accompanied by Pulgasari, now march on the King's palace: but when it approaches a newly dug pit, the General has a priestess exorcize the blacksmith's spirit from Pulgasari, who – disorientated – topples into the hole, to be buried under a mass of rubble. Inde is captured and executed.
Ami sneaks to the filled-in pit and cuts her arm, the blood seeping down to Pulgasari who revives and leaps out, to march on the capital with the bandit army. The king despairs, but the General reports a worker is building "the greatest Weapon in all history ... a giant iron cylinder filled with explosives" which can destroy mountains: a little anti-climatically perhaps, it turns out to be a fairly straightforward cannon (nonetheless, its firepower – though the mountain-destroying claim seems hyperbole – presumably makes it advanced Technology for the time). Several are built and fire at Pulgasari: the cannon balls have no effect until one is swallowed – the defenders cheer, but after a pause he spits it back out towards the battlements, which it proceeds to tear down, then stomps on the cowardly king. The farmers and bandits celebrate – but there is a problem, how to feed Pulgasari? The farmers feel obliged to help their saviour, yet they need their tools to live. Ami also realizes that when their country's iron runs out, Pulgasari will have to lead an army to invade other nations for their metal – eventually the whole world will be at War. So she rings a giant iron bell then hides within: Pulgasari crushes and eats it, Ami's death shattering the monster into pieces. From the rubble a small Pulgasari emerges and climbs towards Ami's corpse, to merge with her, and the film ends.
Pulgasari's diet means he becomes mainly metal (thus glowing red from heat) and might be considered the magical equivalent of a Robot. Pulgasari has an old fashioned feel – the kaiju is a man in a monster suit (see Tokusatsu) – but with reasonable special effects by Japan's Toho company and good battle scenes. Initially Inde appears to be the main human character, but is killed off well before the end, with Ami proving to be the lead (see Women in SF). The acting is competent, though hindered by some dubious hairpieces. Save for the fairly strong torture scenes and the aforementioned action sequences, this often has the feel of a television film but, taken as a whole, is an entertaining Monster Movie. [SP]
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