''2009: Lost Memories'' () is a 2002 South Korean

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

directed by Lee Si-myung, adapted from the 1987 novel ''Looking for an Epitaph'' by Bok Geo-il. The film takes place in an alternate 2009, where the

Korean Peninsula Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...

is still part of

Imperial Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

due to a time-travel incident in 1909. It was distributed by CJ Entertainment and was released on February 1, 2002.

Background

The film's opening sequence shows the following timeline, which is an

alternate history Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...

from the events that actually occurred: * 1909: An Jung-geun's assassination attempt against

Itō Hirobumi Kazoku, Prince , born , was a Japanese statesman who served as the first prime minister of Japan from 1885 to 1888, and later from 1892 to 1896, in 1898, and from 1900 to 1901. He was a leading member of the ''genrō'', a group of senior state ...

is thwarted by a man named Inoue. * 1910: The Empire of Japan annexes Korea. * 1919: The March First Movement protests are suppressed with violence. * 1921: Inoue, Itō's savior, becomes Chōsen's (Korea's) second governor-general. * 1932: The assassination of Yoshinori Shirakawa by Yoon Bong-gil is prevented. * 1936: The United States and the Empire of Japan enter

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as allies against

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. * 1943: Japan annexes

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...

. * 1945: Atomic bombs are dropped on

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

instead of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending World War II. * 1960: Japan becomes a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. * 1965: Japan launches its first satellite, ''Sakura 1'' (presumably as part of the

Space Race The Space Race (, ) was a 20th-century competition between the Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between t ...

). * 1988: The

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

are held in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

(in contrast to the city losing to Seoul in the actual timeline) * 2002: The 2002 FIFA World Cup is held in Japan (instead of both South Korea and Japan)

Plot

It will soon be 100 years since Korea was incorporated into Japan. The

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

is the second most powerful country (after the United States) in the world and includes the Japanese Islands, the

Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, p=səxɐˈlʲin) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An islan ...

, the entire east coast of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(including

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

and

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

), the

Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the ...

Primorsky Krai Primorsky Krai, informally known as Primorye, is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krais of Russia, krai) of Russia, part of the Far Eastern Federal District in the Russian Far East. The types of inhabited localities in Russia, ...

, the southern part of

Khabarovsk Krai Khabarovsk Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a krai) of Russia. It is located in the Russian Far East and is administratively part of the Far Eastern Federal District. The administrative centre of the krai is the types of ...

Amur Oblast Amur Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located on the banks of the Amur and Zeya rivers in the Russian Far East. The oblast borders Heilongjiang province of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the south. The administrati ...

, Jewish Autonomous Region,

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and the northern part of the island of

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

East Malaysia East Malaysia (), or the Borneo States, also known as Malaysian Borneo, is the part of Malaysia on and near the island of Borneo, the world's third-largest island. East Malaysia comprises the states of Sabah, Sarawak, and the Federal Territory ...

and

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

. In the capital of Korea, Keijo (on the site of

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

), in front of the palace of the Japanese

governor-general Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

stands a monument to

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

. In 2009, the

(Chosun) is still under Imperial Japanese rule and Japanese Bureau of Investigation (JBI) agents Masayuki Sakamoto and Shojiro Saigo thwart a hostage crisis at a museum in

Keijo Keijo may refer to: *Keijō, a former name of Seoul, South Korea *Keijo (given name) Keijo is a masculine Finnish given name. Notable people with the name include: * Keijo Huusko (born 1980), Finnish footballer * Keijo Kuusela (1921–1984), Finni ...

by a terrorist group known as the Hureisenjin. The exact motivation for the hostage situation is unknown, but during the investigation, Sakamoto discovers a museum artifact, a crescent-shaped rock known as the "Lunar Soul", found by one of the slain terrorists. After discovering that the Hureisenjin has a long history of targeting the Inoue Foundation, a group founded around the artifacts collected by the second

Governor-General of Korea Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

, Sakamoto begins to suspect the Hureisenjin were attempting to steal the Lunar Soul, although both he and Saigo are puzzled as to why a terrorist group would put so much effort into stealing historical artifacts. The Hureisenjin ambush the convoy shipping the foundation's artifacts back to Japan and take the Lunar Soul. The terrorists confront Sakamoto and Saigo in a gunfight, where Sakamoto encounters Oh Hye-rin, the organization's leader. Sakamoto's questioning and accusations against the influential Inoue Foundation lead to him being thrown off the case, with the execution of Sakamoto's father as a traitor for aiding in a thwarted attack by the Hurisenjin on a cargo ship in

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

in 1985 being cited by his suspicious superiors. Sakamoto pursues the investigation, traveling to

Harbin Harbin, ; zh, , s=哈尔滨, t=哈爾濱, p=Hā'ěrbīn; IPA: . is the capital of Heilongjiang, China. It is the largest city of Heilongjiang, as well as being the city with the second-largest urban area, urban population (after Shenyang, Lia ...

to learn more about the Lunar Soul, and is then suspended from the JBI. That night, an unknown assailant murders Sakamoto's mentor, Takahashi, at his apartment and he is arrested for the crime. Sakamoto, however, escapes from the JBI with the help of Saigo, who vows to be his enemy the next time they meet. A wounded Sakamoto stumbles into the Hureisenjin's hideout and Saigo is visited by the head of the Inoue Foundation, with both learning the truth: that they are living in an

alternate timeline Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...

. In 2009, a large stone temple uncovered by a joint Chinese-Korean-Japanese archaeological expedition, is found to facilitate

time travel Time travel is the hypothetical activity of traveling into the past or future. Time travel is a concept in philosophy and fiction, particularly science fiction. In fiction, time travel is typically achieved through the use of a device known a ...

, and through its exploitation by the Japanese right-wing nationalist group

Uyoku dantai are Japanese ultranationalist far-right activists, provocateurs, and internet trolls (as '' netto-uyoku'') often organized in groups. In 1996 and 2013, the National Police Agency estimated that there were over 1,000 right-wing groups in Japa ...

, a man named Inoue travels back in time exactly 100 years and prevents the assassination of Resident-General

on October 26, 1909. Itō's survival and Inoue's knowledge of future events allows for Japan, instead of being defeated with the other Axis Powers in

, to instead ally with the United States against

; The war ends in 1945, following the atomic bombing of Berlin (instead of Hiroshima and Nagasaki). As one of the victorious powers, Japan becomes a military and economic superpower with a permanent seat on the

U.N. Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

, with its

colonial empire A colonial empire is a sovereign state, state engaging in colonization, possibly establishing or maintaining colony, colonies, infused with some form of coloniality and colonialism. Such states can expand contiguous as well as Territory#Overseas ...

intact. Inoue goes on to become the second Governor-General of Korea and his descendants found the Inoue Foundation, which keeps knowledge of the altered timeline limited to only the highest levels of Japan's government. However, a Korean researcher who followed Inoue and attempted to stop him becomes the founder of Hureisenjin and passes along the story of the truth of the altered timeline, with the hope that the original timeline can somehow be restored. Knowing about the altered history, Sakamoto allies with the Hureisenjin, who have located the temple stone and are planning their final attack. However, the JBI raid their hideout and kill almost everyone before being wiped out by an improvised explosive. Carrying the Lunar Soul with them, Sakamoto and Hye-rin escape to a tanker ship where the Inoue Foundation's artifacts are being held. They find the temple stone and place the Lunar Soul in it, which activates in the middle of a gunfight with the JBI. Hye-rin is killed, leaving Sakamoto as the only person left to fix the timeline. Sakamoto sends himself to Harbin in 1909, but is pursued by Saigo, who wants to retain the current timeline (Saigo is warned that if the original timeline is restored, his wife's family will almost certainly die in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima). Sakamoto wounds Saigo before heading to the railway station where the assassination is supposed to occur. He is about to stop Inoue from killing An, but Saigo once again confronts him. Sakamoto kills Inoue, then guns down Saigo to prevent him from shooting An; An then assassinates Itō, as in the original timeline. Later, Sakamoto is seen planting explosives to destroy the temple stone, when Hye-rin walks up to him. It then becomes clear that she was a Korean researcher in the original timeline, who had followed Inoue when he traveled back in time. Although this Hye-rin (as opposed to the Hye-rin in the alternate timeline) and Sakamoto have never met, they immediately form a special bond. Back in 2009, it becomes clear that the original timeline has been restored, and at the

Independence Hall of Korea The Independence Hall of Korea () is a Korean history museum in Cheonan, South Korea. Opened on August 15, 1987, it has the largest exhibition facility in South Korea, with a total floor area of . The museum primarily focuses on the Korean indepe ...

, a young girl Sakamoto had met in the alternate timeline sees numerous pictures of Korean heroes and leaders, including one of Sakamoto and Hye-rin together smiling.

Cast

Jang Dong-gun Jang Dong-gun (born March 7, 1972) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his leading roles in the films ''Friend'' (2001) and '' Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War'' (2004). Jang is one of the highest-paid actors and celebrity endorsers in ...

as Masayuki Sakamoto, a JBI agent of Japanese and Korean descent * Toru Nakamura as Shojiro Saigo, Sakamoto's partner * as Oh Hye-rin, the female leader of the Korean terrorist group Hureisenjin * as Yuriko Saigo, Shojiro's wife *

Shin Goo Shin Soon-ki (; born August 13, 1936), known professionally as Shin Goo (), is a South Korean film, theater, and television actor. Shin began his career on stage in 1962, in the play "Cow", and has appeared in numerous works of Korean theatre, ...

as Takahashi, Sakamoto's mentor *

Ken Mitsuishi is a Japanese actor. He has appeared in films such as ''Chaos (2000 film), Chaos'' and ''Tokyo Playboy Club''. Filmography Film ;1980s *''Tora's Tropical Fever'' (1980) *''Foster Daddy, Tora!'' (1980) *''Sailor Suit and Machine Gun (film), Sai ...

as Hideyo, a JBI employee who wears large eyeglasses *

Shōhei Imamura was a Japanese film director. His main interest as a filmmaker lay in the depiction of the lower strata of Japanese society. A key figure in the Japanese New Wave, who continued working into the 21st century, Imamura is the only director from J ...

as a historian * Kim Min-sun as a kindergarten teacher who appears at the end of the film * *

Nobuyuki Katsube is a Japanese actor and voice actor. Filmography Film * '' Japan's Longest Day'' (1967) ( Michinori Shiraishi) * '' Violent Cop'' (1989) (Deputy Police Chief Higuchi) * '' Spellbound'' (1999) (Ōta) * '' Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter'' (2014) (S ...

Lee Sa-pi Lee may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lee'' (2007 film), Tamil-language sports action film * ''Lee'' (2017 film), Kannada-language action film * ''Lee'' (2023 film), biographical drama about Lee Miller, American photojournalist * ''L ...

* Woo Sang-jeon

Production

''2009: Lost Memories'' was a co-production between Korea and Japan, coinciding with the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

, held jointly in Japan and South Korea. Bok Geo-il, author of the source novel ''Bimyeong-eul Chajaseo'' ("Looking for an Epitaph") (1987), refused to be associated with the finished product, and successfully sued the film-makers to have his name removed from the credits.''2009 Lost Memories''
in

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (''SFE'') is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo Award, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus and BSFA Award, British SF Awards. Two print editions appea ...

Reception

According to Tom Vick, who contributed a chapter on Korea to the book ''Asian Cinema'', the theme of the film represents a desire in Korean cinema to "transcend time and memory" also reflected in other contemporary films such as ''

Flower Island ''Flower Island'' () is a 2001 South Korean film directed by Song Il-gon. This was Song's first feature-length film after directing several award-winning short films. Plot The film is in three parts. The first introduces three women who are sepa ...

'', ''

Il Mare ''Il Mare'' () is a 2000 South Korean romantic fantasy film, starring Lee Jung-jae and Jun Ji-hyun, and directed by Lee Hyun-seung. The title, ''Il Mare'', means "The Sea" in Italian, and is the name of the seaside house which is the setting o ...

'', and ''

Bungee Jumping of Their Own ''Bungee Jumping of Their Own'' () is a 2001 South Korean romantic drama film starring Lee Byung-hun and Lee Eun-ju. The film had 947,000 admissions, making it the 10th most attended film of the year in South Korea. Plot Seo In-woo (Lee Byung-h ...

''.

Jonathan Clements Jonathan Michael Clements (born 9 July 1971) is a British author and scriptwriter. His non-fiction works include biographies of Confucius, Koxinga and Qin Shi Huang, as well as monthly opinion columns for '' Neo'' magazine. He is also the co-au ...

in ''

'' wrote: Jeannette Catsoulis writing for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' welcomed the film, saying that while the film is too long, the plot "leaps unexpectedly from action thriller to science-fiction drama without losing sight of the humanity beneath the nationalism." Derek Elley writing for ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' concluded that the "billed as 'the biggest action flick in the history of Korean cinema,'" the movie is "a noirish action drama than a high-tech

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

. A wannabe Japanese-Korean

buddy movie The buddy film is a subgenre of adventure and comedy film in which two people go on an adventure, mission, or road trip. The two typically are males with contrasting personalities. The contrast is sometimes accentuated by an ethnic difference be ...

wrapped around a hokey, what-if/sci-fi drama, the movie is far too leisurely for the international market.".

Analysis

Duy Lap Nguyen, in an article published in the ''

Science Fiction Studies ''Science Fiction Studies'' (''SFS'') is an academic journal founded in 1973 by R. D. Mullen. The journal is published three times per year at DePauw University. As Science fiction studies, the name implies, the journal publishes articles and ...

'', described the work as "an allegory about the history of Korean national sovereignty" dealing with the topics such as Korean national identity and the Japanese-Korean relations.

References

External links

* * * {{hancinema film, 2009_Lost_Memories *
2009 Lost Memories
', review a
Asian Cinema
2002 films 2002 action thriller films 2002 science fiction action films 2000s dystopian films 2000s political thriller films ADV Films South Korean alternate history films Anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea Films about terrorism in Asia Films set in 2009 Films set in 1909 Films set in the future Films set in Korea 2000s Japanese-language films 2000s Korean-language films South Korean political thriller films South Korean action thriller films South Korean science fiction action films 2000s films about time travel Films about time travel Films about Japan–Korea relations Japan in non-Japanese culture 2000s South Korean films CJ Entertainment films Films set in Korea under Japanese rule