Set during the Goryeo dynasty, Pulgasari follows a blacksmith's daughter who brings to life a metal-eating monster her late father created to defeat the monarchy.

Shin and his wife, Choi Eun-hee, were kidnapped in 1978 by agents of Kim Jong Il, and held captive in North Korea.

Pulgasari was put forward in February 1985 to capitalize on the success of The Return of Godzilla (1984), and became Shin's last film made under Kim Jong Il's orders.

Some sources suggest that North Korean filmmaker Chong Gon-jo, who was given sole director credit, completed filming on behalf of Shin.

In feudal Korea, toward the end of the Goryeo dynasty, a king strictly controls the land, subjecting the peasantry to misery and starvation.

After defeating the king, Pulgasari starts eating the rebels' weapons and farmers' tools, given to the creature without objection because the peasants still believe it is a benign savior.

The monster yells in anguish as Ami's presence in its body causes it to turn to stone and crumble into pieces, killing both of them but saving the people.

[10] In 1978, Kim arranged the kidnapping of Shin and his wife, famed actress Choi Eun-hee, intending for them to make propaganda films to gain North Korean cinema external recognition.

[iv] Shin was imprisoned for attempting to flee North Korea; he was released from jail in 1983 but forced to work in the country's film industry until he and Choi escaped in 1986.

[41][42][43][c] The script of Pulgasari was written by Kim Seryun (김세륜) in collaboration with Ri Chun-gu (이춘구); the duo were regarded as the best screenwriters in North Korea at the time.

[1] The suit actor Kenpachiro Satsuma stated that Pulgasari was put forward in mid-February 1985, and location scouting started in Pyongyang and Beijing that April.

[49] He reportedly loved the reboot and sought to capitalize on its significant commercial success in Japan by hiring employees from Toho's tokusatsu (Japanese special effects) department to work on North Korea's own monster movie.

[1] Satsuma noted that the Chinese team based the set on the Forbidden City complex in Beijing, and the two special effects crews referred to it as the Hall of Supreme Harmony during production.

Conflict between the two crews soon arose; the Chinese believed the Japanese team "just walked in and started damaging the [Hall of Supreme Harmony] set that we put our heart and soul into building for three months".

[1] After spending two weeks shooting in Beijing, the Toho team traveled to Pyongyang to complete the two months of overseas special effects photography.

[42] He and the other Japanese were kept for one-and-a-half months as guests at Kim Jong Il's villa, where each of them had a large, well-ventilated room with a bed, a television, a bookshelf, and a radio.

"[51] On-site filming in North Korea became challenging for the special effects team, due in part to electrical constraints, a power outage, and equipment theft.

[1][28] Miyanishi continued working on the film in North Korea for over a month after the rest of the Toho crew returned to Japan.

[10] Satsuma said Shin agreed with a Japanese company representing North Korea and an Osaka-based distributor to release the film in Japan on home video and in theaters.

[63] However, some suggest that the film has never been shown theatrically there,[10][14][38] and Fischer contends that it was released in North Korea a few weeks after Shin's escape and achieved financial success.

[57] Michihiro Amano of the Japanese website Tocana writes the film was prepared for release to celebrate Kim Il Sung's birthday (occurring on April 15).

[35]: 1  American home video distributor ADV Films claimed that Pulgasari was "banned by the North Korean government for its anti-communism leanings".

"[65] Satsuma attributed the film's eventual Japanese release to Kim Jong Il assuming the role of North Korea's Supreme Leader in 1994.

[11][35]: 2  The film's official debut[3][11][17] took place in Tokyo at the Kineca Ōmori theater on July 4, 1998; it remained playing there until September due to high demand.

[46][70] In 2018, Ju Seong-cheol of Cine21 stated Pulgasari outperformed TriStar's Godzilla (1998) in Japan and held the record for the highest-grossing North Korean film of all time.

[72] Johannes Schönherr cited reasonings by contemporaneous publications on its failure in South Korea, including the unpopularity of Japanese kaiju films there and the lack of interest from adolescents in low-budget special effects.

[68][77] Jun Edoki [ja], one of the film's main advocates, referred to it as "one of the greatest monster movie masterpieces in history, something that neither Hollywood nor Japan can ever replicate".

[5] He told Choson Sinbo in 1998 his favorite scene in the film was the one in which the titular monster is caged and set ablaze, and that he wanted to return to North Korea to work on a sequel.

[13][20][81] Galgameth (released in 1996), which was directed by Sean McNamara and written by Michael Angeli,[81] tells the story of a young prince who is aided by a benevolent monster, reclaiming his deceased father's medieval kingdom.

[88] Simon Fowler of The Guardian ranked it the third-best North Korean film ever made but noted: "it's [easy] to get lost in the ridiculousness of it all".