MOVIE REVIEW OF

THE BATTLESHIP ISLAND

Submitted by:

Rhedeline M. Lugod
Darelle Hannah H. Marquez
Christian Jay Q. Mercado

Submitted to:

Mr. John Jezreel G. Jacinto, CPA

PART 1: MOVIE DESCRIPTION/INTRODUCTION

I. Title of the Movie

 The Battleship Island

II. Film Genre

 Foreign

III. Main Character

 Hwang Jung-min as Lee Kang-ok, a bandmaster at a hotel in Gyeongseong,
who chooses to take his only daughter to Japan in order to keep her safe. But
they get sent to the Hashima labor camp instead, and there he’ll do anything
that’s asked of him, as long as he can protect his daughter Lee So-hee.
 So Ji-sub as Choi Chil-sung, the best street fighter in Gyeongseong, a coarse
man who constantly stirs up troubles in the labor camp. Under his harsh and
rough exterior, he has a good heart.
 Song Joong-ki as Park Moo-young, a member of the Korean independence
movement who infiltrates the island in order to rescue a fellow independence
fighter being held captive there.
 Lee Jung-hyun as Oh Mal-nyeon, a comfort woman who gets moved to
Hashima after going through endless troubles under the Japanese colonization,
but never loosens her strong grip on hope.

IV. Setting
 Hashima Island during World War II
V. Director / Producer / Screenwriters / Director of Photography
 The movie was directed by Ryoo Seung-wan, produced by Cho Sung-min,
screenplay by Ryoo Seung-wan and Shin Kyoung-III and cinematography
by Lee Mo-gae.
PART 2: SUMMARY OF THE MOVIE

The Battleship Island is a 2017 South Korean period action film set in 1945 during
Japan’s colonial era that depicts the hardship of Korean laborers who had to mine for
coal 1,000 m below sea level at Hashima Island during World War II. It is about a group
of 400 Korean workers who risk their lives to attempt an escape from Hashima, and the
story of forced labor on the island. Hashima is an abandoned island about 15 km off the
coast of Nagasaki and the site of Japan’s first major undersea coal exploitation.
The movie centers on smooth-talking band leader Lee Gang-ok, who is sent to the
island with his daughter and band members after being duped by corrupt officials and
Park Moo-young, an elite soldier with Korean Liberation Army and a US Office of
Strategic Services agent, who infiltrates the island to rescue a key independence
movement figure.
As World War II begins to wane, tens of thousands of Koreans were effectively
enslaved by Japan’s occupation. Like everyone else with any viable connections to the
Japanese colonial administration in Korea, Lee Gang-ok is looking for a way up or a way
out, so when the band gets offered a gig in Nagasaki, he jumps at the chance. It’s all an
elaborate ruse however, which Lee Gang-ok realizes too late when he and his daughter
Lee So-hee end up as prisoners at a coal-mining labor camp on Hashima Island, along
with 400 other Koreans.
Japanese people deceived innocent Korean people. The people received a direct
mail stating that they are invited to Shimura San. But Lee Kang-ok noticed that they
received the same mail and they were forced to transfer to Hashima Island. Men were
forced to do labor works to search for precious gems from the said island. The Japanese
men said that when they find gems, they will be free, but the truth is, they will not let that
happen.
All women from the ship of Korea were grouped and made to be comfort women.
They were harassed by Japanese men and Japanese authority. Most of them commit
suicide instead of being tortured to death when they refused to do what Japanese men
want them to do.
Due to the cruel treatment by the Japanese people to the Korean, they planned to
escape from these colonies through the help of a Korean soldier, Park Moo-young. They
were united to fight for their rights against the colony. An old man, Park Geung-young,
who was a respected senior by the Korean people, tried to fool the Koreans to trust his
plan to escape, but the truth is, he is one of the subordinates of the Japanese men. He is
one of the people who planned everything. But a lot of people believed to the soldier’s
plan to escape. Even though they came through a long way before trusting the soldier’s
plan, they still joined hands to fight against them.
Lee Geung-young was killed by the soldier because of his false statements that
mislead the people and because of his betrayal to his people. The Japanese men were
 turned down and left dead as a result of the successful escape of the Korean people. Their
plan to bomb the island was successfully made together with the dead bodies of cruel
Japanese people.

In the end, their portrayal of determined perseverance ultimately represents an entire

nation’s resilient endurance of deplorable injustice.

PART 3: STATING THE UNETHICAL ISSUES

I. Central Ethical Conflicts

 Sexual Harassment
All women from the ship of Korea were grouped and made to be comfort
women. They were harassed by Japanese men and Japanese authority. They
were forced to do whatever these Japanese men wants. When they refuse,
surely they will torture to death. That’s why most of them commit suicide to
escape from this tragedy.

 Human Right Deprivation

Japanese people deceived the innocent Korean people of their human rights.
The people received a direct mail stating that they are invited to Shimura San.
But Lee Kang-ok noticed that they received the same mail and they were
forced to transfer to Hashima Island. Men were forced to do labor works to
search for precious gems from the said island. The Japanese men said that
when they find gems, they will be free, but the truth is, they will not let that
happen. They will still continue their mission.

II. Impact by Conflicts to Characters’ Decisions

Due to the cruel treatment by the Japanese people to the Korean, they
planned to escape from these colonies through the help of a Korean Soldier (Park
Moo-young). They were united to fight for their rights against the colony. An old
man (Park Geung-young) tried to fool the Koreans to trust his plan to escape, but
the truth is, he is one of the subordinates of the Japanese men. He is one of the
people who planned everything. But a lot of people believed to the soldier’s plan
to escape. Even though they came through a long way before trusting the soldier’s
plan, they still joined hands to fight against them.
 III. Characters’ Loss / Gain from Unethical Decisions

The old man (Park Geung-young) was a respected senior by the Korean
people. He was trusted by the people that he could help them to escape. But it
turns out that he was one of the subordinates of the Japanese colony. The soldier
(Park Moo-young) discovered that he is one of the corrupt people and is involved
in collusion with the Japanese people. As a result, the old man was neglected and
killed by the soldier because of the false statements that mislead the people.
Instead, the people relied to the soldier’s plan to escape. The old man did not gain
anything good from his unethical actions. Despite of being a Korean, he still
continued to be a part of the Japanese men who destroyed the lives of a lot of
innocent people.

IV. Consequences of Unethical Decisions and Actions

Lee Geung-young resorted to support the Japanese men; as a result, he

was killed by the soldier because of his false statements that mislead the people
and because of his betrayal to his people.

The Japanese men were turned down and left dead as a result of the
successful escape of the Korean people. Their plan to bomb the island was
successfully made together with the dead bodies of cruel Japanese people.

PART 4: REFLECTION / CONCLUSION

I. Importance of Choosing Ethical Decisions / Integrity and Fairness

In our daily lives, it is very important to stay in the ethical side, not solely
because of its results, but because it is always the right thing to do. It is necessary
to implement integrity and fairness in our lives because it is not only for our own
good, but also for the betterment of everyone. Based on the movie, deceiving
innocent people will not bring any good. It may cause harm that you will regret
for the rest of your life. Give the people what they deserve. Treat them well. Do
not harm them because we are all the same.
II. Relation of Characters’ Actions to Our Own Behavior

On the part of the Japanese people, we can relate to them by their

unethical actions. There are situations that we are not treating others fairly. We
tend to be self-centered disregarding other people. Sometimes, we refuse to be
ethical because of the wrong mindset brought by the unethical environment which
is a great factor that influences our decisions.

On the part of the Korean people who fought for their rights, we can relate
to them in being able to persevere to achieve their aims. In their situation, it may
seem that it is impossible to escape from those cruel people. But in the end, they
survived. Just like being a BSA student, tragedies may come. But as long as you
believe in your capabilities, you can achieve your aims. Sometimes, we may feel
that surviving is impossible because of our wrong mindset. But as we continue to
strive harder, everything will be possible.

III. Relation of the Film back to Our Own Incident

In our own incident, we did unethical doings that lead us to the wrong
destination. A good example is cheating. We cheated because we are self-centered.
We did not regard the possible consequences that may happen. We might not
notice its negative effects at first, but as it goes, it already devoured us. So as time
goes by, we realized that cheating will never be good and will always bring
negative effects in our lives.

In ethical actions, we relate to the movie or the part that we strive to

survive in a circus-like like in accountancy. We may be going through a bitter
road which seems to be impossible to go through but we will be strong to fight for
it. We deserve to become CPAs someday. It requires a lot of bravery in order to
survive. But we will do everything and the best that we can to prove that we
deserve to have what we are aiming for.

IV. Lessons learned from this movie from a critical perspective and how this
critical reflection inspired us to make changes in our own life

What we learned from the movie is to avoid being self-centered. It will not
bring any good. It would just make you prone to negative ideas that will lead you
to wrong decisions in life. The world is not just getting what you want; we live in
the world with other people. We are ought to give what others observe. Let’s stop
doing things that will harm other people. We may not notice its negative effects in
 our self, but as time goes by we will realize that these also harm our self. Don’t let
that happen. As early as possible, let us remain ethical in every aspect of our lives.

Another important lesson is not to give up in the challenges of life. There

are many battles out there waiting for us to be killed. But, we have to stand still.
In order for us to achieve our goals, we have to be courageous and persevere to
reach all of those. We need to be tough and wise and have a soft heart that will
understand every people around us. We have to incline our self to the positive
side of life. We can use negative things as our motivators but not as a hindrance to
succeed. As long as we remain to be ethical and we surrender everything to God,
impossible is nothing.

V. Favorite Movie Lines

“We are free … free … Everything is dead … and this is all because of
us!” – Park Moo-young (Soldier)

This is the most remarkable line because this signifies that when you can
conquer all the tragedies that you face, everything will be possible. Just like our
fears, doubts and failures, as long as we help each other to kill it, everything will
be fine. We will be free from the worries brought by the enemies along our way.
We may be facing a lot of battles along our journey, but always remember that
there will always be a way to overcome. Together, we will rise up to face another
chapter as a wiser and braver person than before.