Director Park Chan-wook's “Joint Security Area,” released in 2000, is a film that hardly feels like it was premiered 25 years ago. The film, which depicts the friendship and tragedy of North and South Korean sentries at the Joint Security Area (JSA), was praised for its unique approach to inter-Korean relations, its dense narrative, and its cinematography. It was also a box office success, drawing 5.8 million viewers, a record number at the time.

On February 4, a screening and GV event of “Joint Security Area” was held at CGV Yongsan I-Park Mall. Park Chan-wook Center in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. The event commemorated the film’s selection as CJ ENM's 30th anniversary “Visionary.” The GV was attended by director Park Chan-wook and actors Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun, Lee Young-ae, and Kim Tae-woo. In the film, Song Kang-ho plays a North Korean soldier, Lee Byung-heon and Kim Tae-woo play South Korean soldiers, and Lee Young-ae plays a Korean-Swiss military intelligence major.

The director and actors, who were reunited for the first time in 25 years, reminisced about the past with a bit of excitement throughout the event.

The director calls “Joint Security Area“ the film that saved his life. It was a turning point in his career because he made it thinking as a “last chance” after a series of box office failures of “The Moon Is... the Sun's Dream” and “Trio.” “I had a desperate feeling that this film would become a ‘posthumous work’ if I missed the third chance,” he said. ”It's hard for a filmmaker to get a second chance if he or she fails once, and it's very rare to get a third chance, but this film saved my life because I got the full support of a production company and met good actors in such a good film.”

The film is also deeply meaningful to the four actors, who have now become top stars and are rarely seen together. Song Kang-ho, who once turned down the role, recalled, "The scenario sought perfection. I refused it because I couldn't believe that such a scenario could be realized at the level of Korean cinema, but I met the director and accepted it because I was overwhelmed by his dignity." Lee Byung-hun said, “I sneaked into the theater when it was released and watched the film about 40 times. It gave me the title of the ‘top box office actor' for the first time.” Lee Young-ae explained, “I met this work in my late 20s and had a sunny time in my 30s, doing a lot of good works.” Kim Tae-woo said, “When I ran out of words to describe myself, I would bring up the story of ‘Joint Security Area,’ which the whole country knows.”

If he were to make the film again, what would he change? Park cited computer graphics. “With the current computer graphic technology, I think things like the burning scene could be made more spectacular,” he said.

The film ends with all the main characters killed or committing suicide except Oh Kyung-pil (played by Song Kang-ho). There was an alternate ending in the first draft. The director said he considered an ending where Lee Soo-hyuk (played by Lee Byung-hun), who becomes a civilian over the years, says, "I'm going to Africa to meet my friend (Oh Kyung-pil) on a plane from Paris, France, and Sophie (played by Lee Young-ae) meets her father in a nursing home and cuts his nails. Hearing Park's story, Song Kang-ho said, "It would have gotten into trouble (if it had ended like that)," causing the audience to laugh.

One of the reasons “Joint Security Area” feels so relevant even after 25 years since its release is not only because of its artistry, but also because the situation between North and South Korea described in the film still continues in 2025. Park said, “It's kind of sad that this film inspires the younger generation now. I hope that by the 50th anniversary of the film, it will be a world where we can talk about this kind of thing like a story of the past.”