The kaiju film PULGASARI has a backstory that is vastly more fascinating than the film itself: in 1978, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il had South Korean director Shin Sang-ok and actress (who was also Sang-ok’s ex-wife) Choi Eun-hee kidnapped from South Korea. Kim Jong-il, a movie buff, was frustrated with the lack of quality of North Korean cinema, and intended on having his new prisoners create better films that would give prestige to his country. Shin Sang-ok was given a blank check to do so, and went on to direct six films, the last (and most expensive) of which was PULGASARI.
Sang-ok and Eun-hee ended up escaping during a supervised trip to Vienna, fleeing their handlers and gaining asylum at the US embassy. They ended up remarrying and moving to Los Angeles, where Sang-ok directed and produced the sequels to the THREE NINJAS films.
