"Operation Chromite," a Korean film that depicts the battle of Incheon in 1950, premiered Friday last week in 114 movie theaters. Within two days, the film has grossed $189,945 and reach the 27th position in the United States box-office.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the said detail was obtained from Rentrak box office data firm. Since Aug. 5 until Friday, the film was only shown at CGV LA theaters before being shown to theaters all across America. The film distributor CJ Entertainment America promised that the film will be shown at 24 more theaters.
North Ireland actor Liam Neeson is portraying general McArthur, accompanied by two top Korean actors Lee Jung-Jae and Lee Bum-So. The movie started with a disclaimer “inspired by true events” and listing the photos of soldiers to whom the film was dedicated.
South Korean Navy's lieutenant, played by Jung-Jae, was instructed to carry a secret operation behind enemy line with his eight members. The operation was carried out as a precursor to a bigger operation devised by general McArthur, codenamed Operation Chromite. The endeavour of the liutenant and his crews were a major plot in the movie, including their encounter with the North Korean spy played by Bum-So.
"The Battle of Incheon and the landing operation cut the supply chain of the North Korean military and soldiers, and that contributed a lot to turning the tide of the war. That lead to building democracy in South Korea and contributed to the economic growth that we're seeing to this day," Bum Soo said in an interview with NBC News.
Jung-Jae, on the other hand, said that the film has opened more opportunity for bigger collaboration between Korean film maker and its Hollywood counterparts.
Meanwhile, New York Times reported that the movie “Operation Chromite” placed a strategic masterstroke by MacArthur to remember, as it was a surprise amphibious landing attack in Incheon. The operation involved 75,000 troops and 261 naval vessels had turned the tide of war and changed the political landscape in Asia nowadays.
