Ancient Korea, 17th century. The powerful Khan of the Jurchen tribe of Manchuria, who fights the Ming dinasty to gain China, becomes the first ruler of the Qing dinasty and demands from King In-jo of Joseon to bow before him; but he refuses, being loyal to the Mings. On December 14th, 1636, the Qing horde invades Joseon, so King In-jo and his court shelter in the mountain fortress of Namhan and prepare to defend the kingdom.
Acting
Lee Byung-hun and Kim Yun-seok's ideological knife fight.
Direction
Hwang Dong-hyuk makes bureaucracy as tense as battle.
Cinematography
Frozen fortress that mirrors the king's shrinking authority.
Director
Hwang Dong-hyuk
Lee Byung-hun
Choe Myeong-gil
Kim Yun-seok
Kim Sang-heon
Park Hae-il
King In-jo
Go Soo
Seo Nal-soe
Park Hee-soon
Lee Si-baek
Song Young-chang
Kim Ryu
Jo Woo-jin
Jeong Myeong-su
David Lee
Chil-bok
Heo Sung-tae
Yong Gol-dae
Kim Pub-lae
Khan
Jin Sun-kyu
Lee Du-gap
Yoo Soon-woong
Chief Scholar (uncredited)
Park Ji-il
Deputy Chief Scholar (uncredited)
Choi Jong-ryul
Eunuch (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
KR
