South Korean filmmakers really like to portrait the era of Joseon (Chosun) Dinasty, the final ruling dynasty of Korea that lasting from 1392 until 1910, into both big screen feature and television series. Perhaps because the history of this dynasty is relatively better documented than those of older kingdoms, and Joseon is especially important in Korean history since it is the period when the Korean alphabet - Hangeul - was created. Joseon was also excellent in the field of architecture and constructing ships. But historical aspect that usually depicted in movies is of course the wars, either caused by the Japanese or Manchu invasions. Manchu invasion in Korea occurred twice during the 17th century, in 1627 and 1636. The first invasion was happened when Huang Taiji led the Manchu army against the Korean Joseon dynasty for revenge of Korea's support of the China’s Ming Dynasty Forces. The Manchu won several wars against Ming-allied Koreans, but fell short of conquest by signing tributary treaties with the country. Why spare a smaller country like Korea when the Manchu probably had the power to annex the Korean peninsula which was a backdoor to the Manchurian homeland? Manchu conquered China, Tibet and Mongolia, but left Korea which is the closest and perhaps most intimate country geographically. But in some movies especially “The Divine Weapon” (2008), it also portrayed the battle between Joseon and Ming Dinasty. In the history itself, it wasn’t until the third Joseon monarch, did China's Ming rulers give recognition to Joseon rule, and China's Ming emperors continued to see Korea as subservient to China, the Ming assuming suzerainty over Korea.

This summer, one new South Korean epic historical entitled “Arrow, The Ultimate Weapon” will be released to the market. Though a fictional one, but it will again depict the movie’s favorite dynasty and set in the Manchu War of 1636, about a chase between Qing Dynasty’s elite troops and a Joseon warrior who infiltrates into the enemy camp in order to save his only family. But, why an arrow is the ultimate weapon now? For one thing, archery was a national Korean sport. The Korean were the best archer of the 3 sides by a good bit by this time. Pretty much every military or even civil service people were good archers trained from a young age and they can really shoot with the best of them. "Arrow" made headlines in May, when it was featured at the Cannes Festival film market and ended up selling to distributors from six countries, also become one of the most anticipated summer movies in South Korea. Directed by Kim Han-min, who has previous made a couple of critically acclaimed short films, "Arrow" stars Park Hae-il (The Host, Moss), Ryoo Seung-yong (Children..., Blades of Blood), Moon Chae-won (Our School E.T), Kim Moo-yeol (Finding Mr. Destiny), Park Ki-woong (Someone Behind You) and Japanese model-turned-actor Otani Ryohei.Synopsis: 13 years after the King Injo Revolt, the Chosun Dynasty is attacked by the Qing Dynasty. A young man named Na-mi leaves his demolished village to find his young sister, Ja-in, and her finance Su-koon, who were to wed on the very day of the attack. While on his mission to rescue her, he is being traced by Jushinta, a fierce Qing Warrior, and his band of malicious men who are out to stop him. Na-mi has but a day to rescue his sister before she is taken away to be a slave. When Na-mi finally finds his sister, Jushinta comes between them and a fierce battle between two of the finest warriors unfolds. The filmmakers stressed the importance of sound design to produce the chilling effects of the high-speed weapon and hope the audience would be able to tell the difference. # Park Hae-il, the actor who mostly appear in modern drama and thriller with one of his most memorable movie is creature flick “The Host”, was said to be nervous about his first attempt at a period piece.