Remembering Park Chan Wook's JSA on the 60th Anniversary of the Korean War

Park Chan Wook's 2000 movie, Joint Security Area, was the first film I saw,  that drove home the tragedy of a divided country. The video clip here features the last scene of the movie and its significance will be lost on those who haven't seen the film. But the combination of the camera work, and the director's great choice of music for the soundtrack ( a Russian folk melody, named "The Rush Light" or "Those Who Are Forgotten" was used for this scene) create a memorable movie moment.

A few years later,  I was able to visit one of the spots near the DMZ on a group tour. The image of  a barbed wire fence with hand-written messages tied to it remains a poignant memory.  I'm assuming the messages expressed wishes to meet long-parted relatives or the desire for reunification. The possibility of a united Korea seems even more remote these days and I'm indulging in a little despondency and wistfulness by replaying my favourite moments from Park's film.

sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Security_Area_(film)
http://www.koreanfilm.org/kfilm00.html#jsa