By Following the Korean War there was a large number of orphans left in the war’s aftermath due to the devastation and accompanying loss of life that came with it. I have written here on the ROK Drop before about these orphans, but now there is a Korean movie that takes a look at the life of these orphans as well. The movie, Once Upon a Time in Seoul 
The movie’s original title was Boys Do Not Cry, which I thought was better than the overused “Once Upon A Time” title that conjures up images of a fast paced action film, which this movie is not. The movie tells the story of how two teenage orphans Tae-ho and Jong-du scratch out a living stealing and selling blackmarket goods in a Seoul market. Much of what they steal is from the US Army under the auspices of local gangsters many who were discharged ROK Army soldiers. The boys run afoul of the gangsters when they recruit other orphans to help them steal and horde rice in order to sell it at a higher price in the market. The movie concludes with the orphans trying to escape Seoul with their profits after the local gangster finds out about their side dealings.
Overall the movie I thought was slightly above average, but not something I would call a must see. The two main actors Lee Wan & Song Chang-ee do a good job with the two main characters and the other kids aren’t bad either. I just think the movie came up far short on depicting the lives of orphans in Seoul and instead focused too much on the gangster angle. Gangster films are a dime a dozen in Korea and this movie started out well with trying to create a setting in post-war Seoul and showing the lives of the orphans before becoming just another run of the mill gangster flick. I just think considering the subject matter material much more could have come out of this movie than what we got.
Overall the movie is worth renting, but I recommend not going out of your way to see it:
You can see a trailer for the movie below:
