During the Korean War, a journalist working for the Korean Central News Agency in North Korean-occupied Jeonju joins a partisan unit as UN forces close in. Moving with the Southern Army deep into the Jiri Mountains, he throws himself into guerrilla activities. Along the way, he shares a tender bond with a nurse he meets while wounded, and a young soldier grows increasingly disillusioned with the brutality of a war fought between the same people. When news of negotiations between the North and South raises hopes of return, the Southern Army dares to dream — only to find themselves abandoned by both sides, driven ever deeper into the mountains under relentless pursuit, with nothing but cold, hunger, and dwindling hope.
Based on the real memoir of Lee Tae, this landmark film was the first in Korean cinema history to portray the partisan fighters as autonomous human beings and victims of history, rather than ideological enemies. Moving beyond the binary of ally and foe, it forces us to look into the human face behind the ideology. The vast landscape of Jiri Mountain and the film's overwhelming scale make this essential viewing on the big screen. Presented in a 4K version restored in 2020.