Kang Je-gyu made a name for himself directing Shiri and was able to attract top talent and capital to his new project, eventually spending 12.8 million USD on production.

Jin-tae is told by a superior that if he can earn the highest award for a South Korean soldier, the Taeguk Cordon of the Order of Military Merit, his brother can be sent home.

Jin-tae volunteers for many dangerous missions and performs suicidal acts of bravery to earn the medal, and is quickly promoted to sergeant.

His heroism during the urban Battle of Pyongyang finally results in Jin-tae's nomination for the medal, but his combat experiences have made him into an emotionless killer, which horrifies his younger brother.

As the wounded Jin-seok limps to safety, Jin-tae mans a machine gun and provides cover fire for his younger brother and the other South Koreans before being killed.

He examines Jin-tae's few excavated belongings, including their long-lost silver pen, and begs his brother's skeletal remains to speak to him, quoting his promises as his granddaughter looks on with sympathy.

Back in the 1950s, in the aftermath of the Korean War, Jin-seok returns to his mother, who also survived, discovers the shoes to which his brother had dedicated himself to perfecting, and heads off with Young-shin's younger siblings in a now-peaceful, but ruined, Seoul as the nation begins rebuilding.

Prior to Kim Jae-joong's debut as a singer, he worked as extra, one is a Corpse hazardous excavation site unit[2][3] and the other is a Chinese soldier (uncredited).

The music was composed by Lee Dong-june, and released on February 23, 2004 as a single CD, produced by Yejeon Media in South Korea and Avex Trax in Japan.

[9] The "haunting" main theme's lyricism,[10] present throughout several of the tracks, was compared favorably to music of film score composers Ennio Morricone and John Williams.

[14] Most positive reviews cite its unflinching portrayal of war and praise it for showing the brutality of both the North and South Korean armies.