Mega blockbuster: The Battle at Lake Changjin (NC16) and the Korean War

By Chin Foo Chun

THIS MOVIE is now the second-highest grossing movie (over 5 billion yuan or about US$800 million) of all time in China — after Wolf Warrior 2. In comparison, James Bond’s No Time to Die has grossed over US$700 million so far.

The film boasts three celebrated directors — Tsui Hark, Chen Kaige and Dante Lam — a run time of almost three hours as well as the most intense and bloody battle scenes one can watch that do not involve Mel Gibson, according to John Lui, in his movie review in the Straits Times.

There are three acts to this story, as summarised by John Lui:

The first act is the prelude to the war, showing humble People’s Liberation Army commander Wu Qianli (Wu Jing) returning to his village after the Chinese Civil War with dreams of giving a plot of land to his peasant parents. His break is short-lived, as trouble brews in North Korea.

Actors portray historical figures such as Chairman Mao Zedong and revolutionary leader Zhou Enlai, giving voice to worries about the foreign forces acting with impunity on Chinese soil. Lookalikes also portray the opposing side — for example, General Douglas MacArthur, the American heading the United Nations forces.

The middle portion deals with the infiltration by Chinese troops into North Korea, with the final third chapter showing the battle, known in the West as the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.

John Lui expresses this view:

This expressly patriotic work puts a heavy shine on Chinese military success, while either ignoring or excusing its blunders. In other words, it is no different from most Hollywood war movies celebrating American military triumphs.

Rushing troops to the front without enough food and warm clothing — the cold, reaching 40 deg C below zero, would prove to be as deadly for the Chinese side as enemy weapons — is referenced. It is not shown as an example of poor decision-making, but an act of heroic self-sacrifice.

The patriotic sloganeering will likely leave many viewers cold, but this Chinese movie can be enjoyed as a work of bonkers battle action. It does serve as a welcome antidote to Hollywood war films that have demonised the opposing side as mindless, freedom-hating hordes.

Having watched Wolf Warrior 2 (also starring Wu Jing as the hero) a few years ago, I can appreciate the kind of Chinese patriotic nationalism on display.

In another news commentary, Danson Cheong of the Straits Times has this to say:

The Battle of Lake Changjin — a nationalist shot across the bow.

The Korean War epic is whipping up nationalist sentiments while serving as a warning to the US and its allies that China is not to be trifled with.

This is an example of how China’s propaganda twists history to nurture nationalism and enhance credibility of Mao and CPC [Communist Party of China] — so that people will not question the supremacy of the CPC leadership which has reunified the country and led them to glory.

In reality and fact, the Korean War was a dubious bit of history which led to unnecessary loss of Chinese lives, and undoubtedly was of dubious benefit to China.

Kim Il Sung poster: Signature depiction
during that era. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Let’s examine Danson Cheong’s comment about this dubious bit of history. I will try to distill the history of the Korean War as a sequence of events:

1. In 1945, at the end of WWII, Russia/Soviet Union and the US came to a standoff at the 38th Parallel in Korea, following the defeat of Japan (similar to the standoff in Germany with East and West Germany and division of Berlin; here Seoul was firmly in South Korea but vulnerable as it is near the 38th Parallel).
2. In 1948, both sides agreed to withdraw leaving behind a North Korea heavily armed by the Soviet Union, and a South Korea — ROK (Republic of Korea) — supported by the US. 
3. By 1950, Kim Il Sung had approached Stalin for support to attack South Korea and reunite Korea.
4. Stalin agreed to arm, fund and support Kim Il Sung, provided he could convince Mao to support him in this war. Stalin would not contribute Russian/Soviet forces to a war.
5. At that time, China led and governed by the CPC, was absolutely poor and short of resources to support a war adventure. But in the end, Mao agreed (and overrode dissension and doubts within the People’s Liberation Army [PLA] about engaging in a war, even if China was not funding it), perhaps fearing that if Kim did not win, China would be vulnerable to a US invasion (bear in mind that at that time, McCarthyism and the vendetta against communism/socialism was on the rise in the US — earlier days of Cold War).
6. On June 25, 1950, Kim Il Sung launched his attack on South Korea — crossing the 38th Parallel, and overwhelmed the forces there (who were caught by surprise) quickly. The South Korean and US forces were pushed to the south-eastern corner at Busan — where they made their stand.

7. 

   MacArthur, in dark jacket, observing the invasion
   of Incheon. Source: Wikimedia Commons

   Bruised by this surprise attack and with his reputation in tatters, MacArthur was desperate to counterattack and regain the initiative. Against the concerns expressed by his generals, McArthur took the bold decision to launch a dangerous high risk invasion at Incheon (location of the current international airport) — a craggy rocky coastline (and not smooth sands like Normandy). This surprise counterattack succeeded and Kim Il Sung’s forces were encircled. They quickly retreated back above the 38th Parallel. MacArthur turned from being a disgraced general to a war hero (i.e. from WWII hero to zero and back to hero).
8. Emboldened by this victory, MacArthur’s forces pushed northwards. MacArthur wanted to get rid of Kim Il Sung and push all the way to the Yalu, and create a buffer zone in China for a reunited Korea. He even entertained and promoted the idea of using nuclear bombs to create a “dead zone” in China above the Yalu.
9. On Oct 15, 1950, Truman flew to Wake Island (nearer Guam, west of Hawaii), to meet MacArthur. This was a major concession from a president to fly out to meet his general — a subordinate, who had not been exactly compliant with Truman’s instructions. Yet MacArthur’s stature as war hero and support in Congress, was an obstacle to Truman gaining absolute control over the strategy to contain and keep the war short. MacArthur assured Truman that the war would be over by Christmas, in order to assuage Truman who was worried that China would enter the war, and that it would become a protracted extended conflict — potentially a World War III.

10. 

    PLA troops before the Changjin battle.
    Source: Wikimedia Commons

    On Oct 19, 1950, China entered the war, and on Nov 27, 1950, launched the surprise attack at Chosin Reservoir (or Lake Jangjin in Korean). 120,000 Chinese troops attacked the 30,000 UN troops led by the US (contributing majority of the troops). The Battle of Lake Changjin was a key battle — the turning point, which halted the momentum of the US and UN forces. Both sides lost a lot of men, but the PLA suffered hell of a lot more loss of lives, since they were poorly equipped and practically all they had, was the advantage of numbers and the courage of the PLA soldiers.
11. The US and UN forces retreated to the 38th Parallel. By Dec 1950, Truman had decided to try to end the war, and stop his recalcitrant general from taunting the Chinese and continuing the war. In Apr 1951, Truman finally sacked and recalled him back to the US. McArthur returned home a war hero and there was even a “Thanksgiving Macy-style” parade in New York to welcome him back. MacArthur waved to a cheering and adoring crowd lined along the Manhattan streets. This sacking of MacArthur cost Truman dearly — politically. MacArthur subsequently tried to run for the presidency, but Eisenhower beat him to it and became president, succeeding Truman.
12. In the meantime, the Korean War continued as a war of attrition for two years until July 27, 1953, when Eisenhower finally managed to end the war as Truman had intended earlier. The Korean Armistice Agreement was signed — keeping the 38th Parallel as the dividing line, thus halting the war but there was no peace treaty.

Kim Il Sung did not achieve his objective to become top Korean honcho with his war adventure, but the cruel collateral damage was extensive loss of lives — Korean, Chinese, American and those of UN forces, and economic debilitation. Stalin gave him arms and funding to fight the war, but did not contribute soldiers to the adventure. Instead, Stalin found a sucker — Mao to do the dirty heavy lifting — sacrificing his impoverished PLA forces who had already suffered so much in their civil war against the Kuomintang. To me, it is a sad and tragic part of PLA history — something to commemorate and reflect on the mistakes and loss of lives. It is not some event to be celebrated or glorified.

Imagine this parallel universe scenario. Let’s say Kim Il Sung had lost the war after the Incheon offensive, Mao had not entered the war, the recalcitrant MacArthur was restrained by Truman and the US/UN forces had stopped before or at the Yalu. The 38th Parallel dividing line would have shifted to the Yalu. Today, we may have a united democratic Korea with a thriving free market capitalist society, trading freely with a Deng-reformed China, living in peace. Would that not be a better outcome than the current situation of an impoverished North Korea ruled by the Kim family dictators, with people malnourished, suffering and living out of fear?

M*A*S*H season premiere, 1974: Different cultural
approach to the Korean War. Source: Wikimedia Commons

As a film/TV buff and a M*A*S*H fan, I find it interesting to note that the Americans (or rather Hollywood) fictionalised a book by Richard Hornberger (portrayed as Hawkeye Pierce by Alan Alda in the series) about his Korean War experience as a medical surgeon, to make a comedy series with the backdrop of the trials and tribulations of war. In comparison, the Chinese (through three top notch directors guided by Beijing’s wishes) chose to use a Korean war film to inspire and arouse Chinese nationalism and patriotism. It says something too about the different cultural approaches of these two superpower countries with different socio-political systems. Danson Cheong quoted Shanghai-based military analyst Ni Lexiong in relation to the film in the context of current Taiwan tensions:    

When it comes to preparing for war, there are two things to do: first is preparing materials and hardware, the second is psychological and mental preparation... These movies tell people that if a conflict does happen, they don’t have to be afraid.

Let’s hope these preparations are unnecessary and this week’s Xi-Biden virtual summit has helped to tone down the rhetoric of conflict. (In Hokkien “pai kiah” angry rhetoric lingo, it is time to ease off on the “dare or not” taunts…)

• The Battle at Lake Changjin (NC16), 176 minutes, opened in Singapore on Nov 11, 2021
• Chin Foo Chun is a former investment banker working for three global banks (JPMorgan Chase, BNP Paribas and CIBC) with regional responsibilities in the Asia-Pacific. Read more about him here.