‘Pulgasari’: the communist ‘Godzilla’ ripoff made by a kidnapped filmmaker

Posted On November 8, 2024November 8, 2024

We’ve all heard of Godzilla – an infamous monster that has plagued our screens since its inception in 1954 and a tale that has gone on to spawn many sequels and reboots over the years. However, there was one iteration of the character in 1985 that is far less known: a monster that was born in a prison cell from rice and blood and written by none other than the communist leader Kim Jong Il himself, named Pulgasari. And despite the inherent silliness of the film, the politician went so far as to kidnap and torture the filmmakers involved, desperate to bring his bizarre passion project to life.

You’d never guess it, but the former leader of North Korea was a massive cinephile, with an extensive personal library of films spanning from James Bond to Rambo, with over 15,000 DVDs in his personal collection. Despite the fact that the film industry in North Korea is heavily censored, Kim was unimpressed by the films being made and wanted to make something that would match the creative output of other countries. And so, he set out on a personal quest to revitalise the film industry with one project to outdo them all – a communist retelling of Godzilla.

Kim was star-struck by one director in particular, Sin Sang Ok, who he wanted to direct his film but was living in South Korea. But this was no obstacle to the power-crazed politician, and so to overcome this slight hurdle, he simply kidnapped the directors wife Choi Eun Hee (a South Korean actor) in order to manipulate him into working on the project.

Kim initially lured the actor to China under false pretences, with her husband soon following after discovering that she had gone missing. However, the couple were then imprisoned by Kim and told that they would only be released by helping the leader create Pulgasari and pledging their allegiance to North Korea. But this was just the tip of the iceberg, and the pair were held hostage for many years and forced to make seven films, with Pulgasari being the final movie that earned them their freedom.

The film was loosely inspired by The Return of Godzilla, with Kim wanting to make a monster movie that would match those created in the Western world. Despite the criminal lengths that Kim went to in order to realise his ‘masterpiece’, the film was entirely contradictory to these methods, ending up as a cheesy B-movie that felt unserious, camp and silly. Kim described it as a metaphor for ‘the people’s struggle against greed and oppression’, not that you could tell that it was concerning itself with these themes given the ridiculous storyline and practical effects.

However, despite the film being mocked by many for its gimmicky production design and goofy core, the film was loved by many in North Korea, and Kim wholeheartedly believed that it was a masterpiece. Despite how much he loved it, he later banned the film, and it became nearly impossible to find a hissy fit in response to Shin and Hee’s escape to the United States. It took many years before it was re-discovered by cinephiles, and now has a small but surprisingly enthusiastic fanbase, largely due to the insane circumstances of the production and how easy it is to mock (perhaps akin to something like The Room today).

While many people grow disillusioned by the quality of their creative pursuits, perhaps there is no better cautionary tale than Kim Jong Il’s crazed obsession with a bafflingly mediocre and unserious adaptation of Godzilla and that sometimes, the best thing you can do is learn when to quit.

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