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NORTHEAST ASIAN HISTORY FOUNDATION 05/2022

NORTHEAST ASIAN HISTORY FOUNDATION 05/2022

NAHF Focus

China, Unlatched, Producing So-Called 'Anti-American Aid' Films

Lee Yoo-pyo, Researcher, Korea-China Relations History Research Institute

In 2020, China planned to produce many films to commemorate the so-called the '70^th Anniversary of Anti-American Aid.' Still, they could not be made as much due to the unexpected outbreak of COVID-19. The National Radio and Television Administration, which supervises Chinese media, began to encourage the production of “anti-American aid” content. The production of films, which had not shown much progress, resumed. The ones that drew attention among them include films such as , , and , and the drama . was released on China's so-called 'Anti-American Aid Commemoration Day (October 25)' two months after filming began and was assigned almost half of all screens nationwide. However, it came fourth in the box office chart, throwing the enormous support in the shade. However, the drama was a semi-success. It recorded the highest viewing rate among its competitors that were aired simultaneously. However, its viewing rate was around 1-2% when it first started airing.

A New Era in the History of Chinese Box Office,

However, the most anticipated were and . is a film directed by Zhang Yimou, who gained fame with and , and her daughter, Zhang Mo. It had already been completed, but the post-production took a long time. The release was eventually postponed to February 1, 2022.

is a film jointly produced by Chen Kaige of China and Tsui Hark and Dante Lam of Hong Kong. It attracted global attention just for the fact that it was directed by world-famous masters such as Chen Kaige, who is famous for , Tsui Hark, who is renowned for , and Dante Lam, who has a knack for war movies. Unlike , they sped up things for the release of , and it was officially released on September 30, 2021. After that, it was formally screened in Hong Kong and Singapore and in the USA, Canada, and Australia. There was also news that it would be released in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Owing to the massive support from the Chinese government, the movie made 100 million yuan (about 18 billion won) just by counting 'reservations' before its release and 3.5 billion yuan (about 630 billion won) ten days after its release. In the end, it recorded 5.76 billion yuan (about 1.36 trillion won) at the box office, breaking the previous record of 5.68 billion yuan (about 1.22 trillion won) set by (2017).

<The Battle at Lake Changjin> and How China Remembers 'Anti-America Aid'

The movie is about the Battle at Jangjinho Lake between the UN Forces, mainly composed of the US First Marine Division and three corps belonging to the Chinese 9^th Corps, waged in Jangjin-gun, Hamgyongnam-do, Korea, from November 27 to December 11, 1950. The UN Forces, which advanced up to the Jangjinho Lake area of the Gaema Plateau to attack Ganggye, the temporary capital of North Korea's Kim Il-sung regime at the time, were surrounded by 120,000 Communist Chinese Army soldiers and fought fiercely, then withdrew to Heungnam. According to the official damage report, China suffered much greater casualties, but since the UN Forces withdrew to the south after this battle, China remembers the battle as a victory for the Communist Chinese Army. In particular, it is referred to as a representative example of the Chinese spirit of ‘anti-American aid’ in the sense that it is a victory achieved under ‘unfavorable circumstances.’

장진호 전투 중 중공군 저지선을 뚫고 이동하는 미 해병대(위키백과)

압록강을 건너는 중공군(출처 해방군화보 1977년 8월호 107쪽)

Deaths during the Battle at Lake Changjin (Unit: People)

Deaths

Deaths by Non-combative

Factors

Total

UN Forces

10,505

7,338

17,843

Communist Chinese Army

19,202

28,954

48,156

However, here's something to think about here. The ‘death caused by non-combative factors’ occurred during the ‘Battle at Jangjinho Lake.’ Of course, this was mainly due to the unusually cold winter, which was below minus 30°C at the time. In this way, it can be said that this was a ‘natural disaster.’ However, the comparison of the casualties of the UN Forces to that of the Communist Chinese Army shows that the number of 'deaths caused by non-combative factors' of the Communist Chinese Army is significantly higher. Can this be simply taken as deaths caused by a natural disaster? It makes it impossible to ignore the elements of 'man-made disasters' that stemmed from the difference in the supply lines from the rear between the two sides.

The movie also clearly shows this difference in power. However, the film's highlight was the so-called 'spirit of anti-American aid,' which implies that they achieved victory under these unfavorable circumstances. Also, as if it wanted to emphasize that this is a global spirit, it went so far as to insert the scene where Smith, the US First Marine Division commander, finds dead Chinese soldiers in a fighting posture and salutes them in the last part of the movie. However, there is something to be cleared up here; numerous sacrifices are needed for the so-called ‘spirit of anti-American aid.’ In other words, it is necessary to see why these sacrifices were made. Emphasizing only the ‘spirit’ without investigating the cause would be merely concealing the responsibility by ignoring the elements of ‘man-made disasters’ hidden behind the sacrifice.

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NORTHEAST ASIAN HISTORY FOUNDATION 05/2022