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{{short description|North Korean film series}}
{{About|the North Korean film series}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Unsung Heroes
| image = JenkinsUnsungHeroes.jpg
| caption = [[Charles Robert Jenkins]] as Dr. Kelton, the fictional mastermind behind the [[Korean War]]
| director = People's Artiste [[Ryu Ho-son]], [[Ko Hak-lim]]
| producer =
| writer = [[Lee Jin-woo (writer)|Lee Jin-woo]]
| starring = [[Charles Robert Jenkins]] {{ill|Kim Ryong-lin|ko|김룡린}} [[Kim Jung-hwa (North Korean actress)|Kim Jung-hwa]] [[Jung Woon-mo]] [[James Joseph Dresnok]]
| music = People's Artiste Kim Rin Ok Merited Artiste Kim Kil Hak
| cinematography = People's Artiste Jong Gyu Wan
| editing = Merited Artiste Pak Su Ryo
| studio = Korean Film Studio
| distributor = {{ill|Mokran Video|pt}} Korean Film Export & Import Corporation
| released =
| runtime = 1315 minutes
| country = North Korea
| language = Korean
| budget =
| native_name = {{Infobox Korean film name/auto| hangul=^이름 없는 영웅들
| hanja=이름 없는 英雄들
}}
}}
'''''Unsung Heroes''''', also known as '''''Unknown Heroes''''' or more literally as '''''Nameless Heroes''''', is a [[Cinema of North Korea|North Korean war drama]] mini-series about a spy in [[Seoul]] during the [[Korean War]]. Over twenty hours long, it was filmed and released in multiple parts between 1978 and 1981.<ref name="Kimsoft">{{citation|url=http://www.kimsoft.com/2004/UnsungHeroes.htm|year=2004|access-date=18 June 2007|last=Lee|first=Wha-rang|periodical=Korea Web Weekly|title=Film Review: The Unsung Heroes|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070325152845/http://www.kimsoft.com/2004/UnsungHeroes.htm|archive-date=25 March 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was the recipient of the Kim Il Sung Medal.<ref name="KKB">{{citation|url=http://www.artonline.jp/gwangju.html|title=Unsung Heroes: Episode 19 of 20|publisher=Kitakyushu Bienniale|access-date=18 June 2007|year=2007}}</ref>

==Production and reaction==
The production of ''Unsung Heroes'' began in or around 1978 on the initiative of [[Kim Jong Il]] when he took charge of the country's propaganda affairs.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bärtås|first1=Magnus|last2=Ekman|first2=Fredrik|title=Hirviöidenkin on kuoltava: Ryhmämatka Pohjois-Koreaan|year=2014|publisher=Tammi|location=Helsinki|language=fi|isbn=978-951-31-7727-0|trans-title=All Monsters Must Die: An Excursion to North Korea|translator-last=Eskelinen|translator-first=Heikki|page=173}}</ref>

''Unsung Heroes'' received a widespread favourable reception in the domestic market, according to North Korean [[Korean Central News Agency|public media]]. Lead actor {{ill|Kim Ryong-lin|ko|김룡린}}, who played the hero Yu Rim, stated that it was one of his favourite roles in over 20 years of acting; in a 1981 interview, he remarked that people had begun calling him Yu Rim instead of his real name after the series began, which he actually enjoyed because of his admiration for the character. Actress [[Kim Jung-hwa (North Korean actress)|Kim Jung-hwa]], who played female lead Kim Soon-hee, initially felt that she was unsuited for the role, as she had no prior military experience, or even experience playing a spy on-screen; her only preparation consisted of reading several books and interviewing real spies. The director [[Ryu Ho-son]] stated that his favourite scene was the one from the "Madonna Teahouse" in Part 5, in which former lovers Yu Rim and Kim Soon-hee each learn that the other is a North Korean agent.<ref name="DPRKCN">{{citation|url=http://www.dprk.gq/history/pictorial/198106hero.htm|title=在故事片《無名英雄》攝製完畢之後 (After the completion of "Unsung Heroes")|journal=Chaoxian Huabao|year=1981|issue=6|access-date=12 March 2018}}</ref>

''Unsung Heroes'' was also responsible for propelling American defectors [[James Joseph Dresnok]] and [[Charles Robert Jenkins]] to minor celebrity status in North Korea. However, it did not receive public attention in the [[United States]] until 1996, when the [[United States Department of Defense|U.S. Department of Defense]] obtained a copy of the movie; a report issued by five of their analysts identified Jenkins and one other unnamed American (later discovered to be Dresnok) as actors in the movie, providing the first evidence in three decades that Jenkins was still alive.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.aiipowmia.com/inter22/in10200265.html|title=What happened to GI patrolling DMZ in '65?|periodical=Stars and Stripes|last=Specht|first=Wayne|date=22 October 2002|access-date=18 June 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071007104935/http://www.aiipowmia.com/inter22/in10200265.html  |archive-date = 7 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{citation|date=23 January 2007|access-date=22 June 2007|title=Last US defector in North Korea|periodical=BBC News|last=Spiller|first=Penny|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6267645.stm}}</ref> Dresnok's popularity in his role was such that people in North Korea routinely referred to him as "Arthur," the name of the character he played in the film.<ref name="CTL">{{citation|last1=Gordon|first1=Daniel|author-link=Daniel Gordon (film director)|last2=Bonner|first2=Nicholas|year=2006|title=[[Crossing the Line (2006 film)|Crossing the Line]]|publisher=First aired in 2007 by the BBC}}.</ref>

''Unsung Heroes'' was broadcast on television in [[China]] in 1982, and released on [[DVD]] in 2003 by Dalian Audiovisual Publishing House. It was also screened in Japan during the Kitakyushu Biennial 2007.<ref name="KKB"/><ref>{{citation|publisher=SinoKorea Net|url=http://www.dprk.gq/av/1979hero.htm|title=中朝音像店《無名英雄》|access-date=12 March 2018}}</ref> Its theme song "Embrace the Song of Happiness" ({{Korean/auto|hangul=기쁨의 노래 안고 함께 가리라|mr=yes|labels=no}}), composed by [[Chŏn Tong-u]], remains widely known in North Korea; [[Grand National Party]] member [[Yu Hong-jun]], head of South Korea's [[Cultural Heritage Administration]], became the center of controversy in 2005 when he sang the song at an official dinner while visiting North Korea.<ref name="Hankyoreh">{{citation|url=http://www.hani.co.kr/section-003000000/2005/06/003000000200506161046444.html|periodical=The Hankyoreh|date=16 June 2005|access-date=18 April 2008|last=Im|first=Jong-jin|script-title=ko:유홍준 '북한 노래' 정치권 논란 (Yu Hong-jun's "North Korean song" political controversy)}}</ref><ref name="ChosenShinpo">{{citation|script-title=ko:전동우, 1931.4.20~1999.10.9 (Chŏn Tong-u, 20 April 1931 – 9 October 1999)|periodical=Choson Sinbo|url=http://www.korea-np.co.jp/news/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleID=18552|date=25 August 2005|access-date=18 April 2008|last=Son|first=Chi-wŏn}}</ref>

==Plot==
The plot of ''Unsung Heroes'' is partially based on actual historical events during the Korean War, but many names and details were changed. The movie opens with an unidentified spy master giving instructions to protagonist Yu Rim, a [[British Koreans|Korean expatriate in the United Kingdom]] working as a journalist, who is ordered to proceed to [[Seoul]] and gather intelligence on the [[United States Forces Korea]]. Yu Rim arrives in Korea in 1952, and he first contacts South Korean officer Park Mu. Initially, he only has three contacts in [[Seoul]]: Park Mu, the chief press officer for the [[Republic of Korea Army]], Janet O'Neill, the wife of senior American intelligence official Dr. Kelton, and Lee Hong-sik, his handler, through whom Yu also runs into his old lover Kim Soon-hee, who is apparently employed by the United States [[Counter Intelligence Corps]], and is introduced to Colonel Klaus. Yu begins gathering intelligence on a coup plot by rightist South Korean general Sin Jae-sin. Lee helps him pass back this information to North Korea using his unwitting friend Kim Su-gyong as a courier. Lee is suspected by a US counter intelligence agent Martin who found Lee takes care of homeless kids. Soon after, Lee is killed in a shootout with CIC agents, including Kim Soon-hee, leaving Yu unable to pass his crucial intelligence back to his government. Yu calls Lee from a bar, but after realizing the person on the other end of the line is not Lee, hangs up immediately. A waitress in that bar is subsequently arrested and tortured by Colonel Klaus, who learns that a man suspected to be Yu was seen making the phone call.<ref name="Kimsoft"/>

Yu flees to a [[British Hong Kong|Hong Kong]] safe house run by a North Korean singer. He is instructed to return to Seoul and contact an agent code-named White Horse. However, he is suspicious of White Horse and sets a trap for him which reveals that he is working with Colonel Klaus. White Horse is then killed by an unknown person. Yu obtained the information from Janet O'Neill that [[John Foster Dulles]] is visiting Europe to get reinforcements. Yu meets Lewis, an army lieutenant, and converts him to [[Communism]] to relay this information; Lewis stages his own kidnapping so that he can disappear to the North for training, and later returns to Seoul. Two months later, Yu receives a coded message on [[Radio Pyongyang|Voice of Korea]] instructing him to contact an agent named Diamond, who turns out to be his old lover Kim Soon-hee, ostensibly working for the Americans, but really a [[double agent]] for North Korean intelligence. With Dulles's agenda exposed to the media, the US plans a battle to demonstrate their superiority, but Yu obtains this information from Park Mu. The Americans fail to get more reinforcements from their European allies and are defeated by a well prepared [[Korean People's Army]].<ref name="Kimsoft"/>

Yu continues to gather intelligence on General Sin's coup attempt, this time passing messages back to Pyongyang by way of a radio operator disguised as a disabled veteran who begs outside hotels. Yu hides messages in [[cigarette filter]]s, which he then throws on the ground near the beggar. However, he is unaware that he is being followed by the CIC, who are filming his activities. Colonel Klaus hears about a North Korean spy disguised as a veteran, and begins reviewing video tapes to check on Yu's activities. Kim saves the day by cutting the scenes out of the tapes to avoid further suspicion falling on Yu, but the disappearance of the scenes triggers Klaus' suspicion towards Kim herself. Klaus stages a test of loyalty for her, in which she is kidnapped and threatened with execution by American agents in [[Hokkaidō]], [[Japan]] pretending to be Communists; however, Kim correctly senses this is a trap, and escapes by killing the agents.<ref name="Kimsoft"/>

Park Mu realizes that Yu and Kim are spies. Klaus discovers that Yu was the one who leaked out intelligence. Park is pushed by Klaus, and kills Kim who tries to protect Yu. Later, Yu kills Park for revenge.

At the end of the series, the North Korean army starts new attacks, and forces the allies to negotiate for peace. Due to Yu's efforts, Sin Jae-sin's coup is stopped by South Korean president [[Syngman Rhee]]'s agents. Sin and Klaus commit suicide and Yu leaves Korea.

==Characters==
{{cleanup|section|reason=Ad-hoc romanizations should be standardized to [[WP:KOREANNAME]]|date=June 2025}}
*Yu Rim ({{ill|Kim Ryong-lin|ko|김룡린}}): A former guard in an [[Imperial Japanese Army]] [[Prisoner-of-war camp|POW camp]] and later a graduate of [[Cambridge University]], he was recruited by North Korean intelligence while working as a reporter in [[Istanbul]]. He is sent to [[Seoul]] to gather intelligence on the [[United States Forces Korea|United States forces]] there.<ref name="Kimsoft"/><ref name="KKB"/>
*Kim Soon-hee ([[Kim Jung-hwa (North Korean actress)|Kim Jung-hwa]]): Yu's college sweetheart, now in a counter intelligence agent under Colonel Klaus. During the North Korean occupation of Seoul, she saved the life of an American agent who had been left behind, for which she was commissioned a lieutenant in the [[United States Army]] [[Counter Intelligence Corps]] by Klaus.<ref name="Kimsoft"/><ref name="KKB"/>
*Park Mu ([[Jung Woon-mo]]): Chief press officer for the [[Republic of Korea Army]] and a friend of Yu-rim's from Cambridge.<ref name="Kimsoft"/><ref name="KKB"/>
*Colonel Klaus: A member of the United States Army Counter Intelligence Corps, and Yu's main adversary.<ref name="Kimsoft"/><ref name="KKB"/> The actor playing the part is credited as [[Son Dae-won]], but according to [[Charles Robert Jenkins]], he was actually "an [[Italy|Italian]] vice dean of the music college in Pyongyang".<ref>[[Charles Robert Jenkins]], ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=TmcCEKpO1T4C&pg=PA95 The Reluctant Communist: My Desertion, Court-Martial, and Forty-Year Imprisonment in North Korea]'', page 95</ref>
*Captain Martin ([[Yun Chan (actor)|Yun Chan]]): Member of the United States Army Counter Intelligence Corps and an aide to Colonel Klaus.<ref name="Kimsoft"/><ref name="KKB"/>
*Dr. Kelton ([[Charles Robert Jenkins]]): The mastermind behind the [[Korean War]].<ref name="Kimsoft"/><ref name="KKB"/>
*Janet O'Neill ([[Shu Ok-soon]]): The wife of Dr. Kelton, her cousin was an army soldier whose life was saved by Yu when interned in a prisoner-of-war camp.<ref name="Kimsoft"/><ref name="KKB"/> The character, although intended to be Caucasian, was instead played by a Eurasian actress of mixed [[Koreans|Korean]]/[[Russians|Russian]] ancestry, a common practise in North Korean cinema.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.dailynk.com/korean/read.php?num=21618&cataId=nk00700|title=北 혼혈인, 공민권 박탈 …… 후대생산 불가 (Civil rights of mixed-race people in North Korea abrogated; not allowed to have children)|publisher=Daily NK|last=Han|first=Yeong-jin|date=8 April 2006|access-date=18 April 2008}}</ref>
*Shark ([[Kim Duk-sam]]): a corrupt agent in the Counter Intelligence Corps, who sells information to rival South Korean generals jockeying for power.<ref name="Kimsoft"/><ref name="KKB"/>
*Lee Jin-yong ([[Kim Yun-hong]])<ref name="KKB"/>
*Wang Soong ([[Rho Jung-won]]): A reporter from [[Taiwan]], and son of the secretary of [[Chiang Kai-shek]].<ref name="KKB"/>
*Knife ([[Kang Keum-bok]])<ref name="KKB"/>
*Seul-hwa ([[Park Sub]])<ref name="KKB"/>
*Carl ([[Larry Allen Abshier]]): A captain in the US Secret Service.<ref name="StyleWeekly">{{citation|url=http://www.styleweekly.com/article.asp?idarticle=8998|date=8 September 2004|title=The Defector|last=Swift|first=Earl|periodical=Style Weekly|access-date=18 April 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060509034631/http://www.styleweekly.com/article.asp?idarticle=8998|archive-date=9 May 2006}}</ref>
*Lewis ([[Jerry Wayne Parrish]]): An army lieutenant who becomes a communist (and Yu's assistant with some help).<ref name="StyleWeekly"/>
*Arthur ([[James Joseph Dresnok]]): a US Army lieutenant colonel and POW camp commander. Appears only in Episode 14.<ref name="CTL"/><ref name="StyleWeekly"/><ref>[https://koryogroup.com/blog/nameless-heroes-in-colour Classic North Korean film about and starring US defectors has been converted into colour], Koryogroup.com, 06 December 2018</ref>
*Interpreter ([[Paik Kyung-a]])<ref name="KKB"/>

==Episodes==
{|class="wikitable"
!Year<ref name="Kimsoft"/>
!No.
!Korean title
!English translation
![[Hanja]]
![[McCune–Reischauer]]
![[Revised Romanization of Korean|Revised Romanisation]]
|-
|rowspan=2|1978
|1
|《적후에서》
|''Behind Enemy Lines''
|《敵後에서》
|Chŏkhu esŏ
|Jeokhu eseo
|-
|2
|《적후에서 또 적후에로》
|''Behind Enemy Lines Again''
|《敵後에서 또 敵後에로》
|Chŏkhu esŏ tto Chŏkhu ero
|Jeokhu eseo tto Jeokhu ero
|-
|rowspan=5|1979
|3
|《적후에서 홀로》
|''Alone Behind Enemy Lines''
|《敵後에서 홀로》
|Chŏkhu esŏ Hollo
|Jeokhu eseo Hollo
|-
|4
|《옛성터에서》
|''In Ancient Ruins''
|《옛城터에서》
|Yessŏngtŏ esŏ
|Yesseongteo eseo
|-
|5
|《금강석》
|''Diamond''
|《金剛石》
|Kŭmgamsŏk
|Geumgamseok
|-
|6
|《한밤중의 저격사건》
|''Shooting at Midnight''
|《한밤中의 狙擊事件》
|Hanbamjung'ŭi Chŏgyŏksagŏn
|Hanbamjung'eui Jeogyeoksageon
|-
|7
|《정적속에서의 전투》
|''Battle in the Midst of Calm''
|《靜寂속에서의 戰鬪》
|Chŏngjŏksok'ŭi Chŏntu
|Jeongjeoksok'eui Jeontu
|-
|rowspan=11|1980
|8
|《위험한 대결》
|''A Dangerous Confrontation''
|《危險한 對決》
|Uihŏmhan Taegyŏl
|Uiheomhan Daegyeol
|-
|9
|《안개작전》
|''Operation Fog''
|《안개作戰》
|Angaejakjŏn
|Angaejakjeon
|-
|10
|《위기》
|''Peril''
|《危機》
|Uigi
|Uigi
|-
|11
|《일요일에 있은 일》
|''What Happens on Sunday''
|《日曜日에 있은 일》
|Ilyoil e Issŭn Il
|Ilyoil e Isseun Il
|-
|12
|《웃음속에 비낀 그늘》
|''The shade cast by laughter''
|《웃음속에 비낀 그늘》
|Usŭmsok e Pikkin Kŭnŭl
|Useumsok e Bikkin Geuneul
|-
|13
|《판문점》
|''[[Panmunjeom]]''
|《板門店》
|Panmunjŏm
|Banmunjeom
|-
|14
|《죽음의 섬》
|''Island of Death''
|《죽음의 섬》
|Chukŭmŭi Sŏm
|Jugeumui Seom
|-
|15
|《달없는 그밤에》
|''On that Moonless Night''
|《달없는 그밤에》
|Talŏmnŭn Kŭbam e
|Daleomneun Geubam e
|-
|16
|《전투는 계속된다》
|''The Battle Continues''
|《戰鬪는 繼續된다》
|Chŏntunŭn Kyesok Toenda
|Jeontuneun Gyesok Doenda
|-
|17
|《유인》
|''Seduction''
|《誘引》
|Yu'in
|Yu-in
|-
|18
|《운명》
|''Destiny''
|《運命》
|Unmyŏng
|Unmyeong
|-
|rowspan=2|1981
|19
|《붉은 저녁노을》
|''Evening Glow''
|《붉은 저녁노을》
|Polkŭn Chŏnyŏk Noŭl
|Bolgeun Jeonyeok No-eul
|-
|20
|《우리는 잊지 않는다》
|''We do Not Forget''
|《우리는 잊지 않는다》
|Urinŭn Ijji Annŭnda
|Urineun Ijji Anneunda
|-
|}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb title|tt2177819}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Unsung Heroes (Film)}}
[[Category:1978 films]]
[[Category:1979 films]]
[[Category:1980 films]]
[[Category:1981 films]]
[[Category:North Korean drama films]]
[[Category:1970s Korean-language films]]
[[Category:1970s spy films]]
[[Category:North Korean propaganda films]]
[[Category:Film serials]]
[[Category:Anti-American sentiment in Asia]]
[[Category:1978 in North Korea]]
[[Category:1979 in North Korea]]
[[Category:1980 in North Korea]]
[[Category:1981 in North Korea]]
[[Category:Films set in Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Films set in North Korea]]
[[Category:Films shot in North Korea]]
[[Category:Films set in Seoul]]
[[Category:Cold War spy films]]
[[Category:Communist propaganda]]
[[Category:Films set in South Korea]]
[[Category:Films about coups d'état]]
[[Category:Films set in the 1950s]]
[[Category:Films about the United States Armed Forces]]
[[Category:Films about the Republic of Korea Armed Forces]]
[[Category:Films about the Korean People's Army]]

Unsung Heroes - Revision history

imported>Grapesurgeon: /* Characters */ ad-hoc romanizations should be standardized