Joint Security Area

Released Sep 9, 2000

1 hr. 47 min.

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

Action

List

88%

24 Reviews

Tomatometer

89%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Two North Korean soldiers are killed in the border area between North and South Korea, prompting an investigation by a neutral body. Sgt. Lee Soo-hyeok (Lee Byung-hun) is the shooter, but lead investigator Maj. Sophie E. Jean (Lee Young-ae), a Swiss-Korean woman, receives differing accounts from the two sides. Lee claims he fired in self-defense after getting wounded, while a North Korean survivor says it was a premeditated attack -- leaving Jean with her work cut out for her.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Jan 03

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Rent Joint Security Area on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Dick C

It's a well planned scripts with everlasting conflicts...

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/01/24

Full Review

Steve C

The movie posters make the film appear more serious than it actually is. Something is missing or off about the film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/29/24

Full Review

Online A

Sensationally powerful without being sappy. Nearly a masterpiece. One of the most important movies I've seen. A promotion of humanity.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/31/24

Full Review

John S

A thrilling, gut punch of a movie. Showing the true senselessness of war, the strength of friendship, sacrifice in the face of evil, the true enormity of loss. The moral: though we have our differences, there is more that we share in common.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/04/23

Full Review

Ellie B

Really great parts but the ending was slightly underwhelming

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/23/23

Full Review

Joey c

As eastern Asian my self, some pain like that could only be resonated between eastern Asians. I really admire Korean people could tell a story about North Korea but not smear them. That's is a good thing for not having censorship. I'm Chinese, that's why I know China could never make this kind of great movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/25/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Park Chan-wook

Director

Lee Young-ae

Maj. Sophie E. Jean

Song Kang-ho

Sgt. Oh Kyeong-pil

Kim Tae-woo

Nam Sung-shik

Shin Ha-kyun

Jeong Woo-jin

Lee Byung-hun

Actor

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

95%

92%

Memories of Murder

TRAILER

for Memories of Murder

86%

66%

Courage Under Fire

43%

58%

The Berlin File

20%

60%

Death Sentence

52%

76%

The Kingdom

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

a DMZ-set Rashomon, as vying narratives conceal a truth that nobody wants either to tell or to hear.

Jan 18, 2021

Full Review

V.A. Musetto

New York Post

I can't be as enthusiastic.

Rated: 2/4

Jun 15, 2005

Full Review

A.O. Scott

New York Times

Park Chan-Wook's Joint Security Area is a fairly straightforward whodunit with a pointedly political theme and an unapologetically humanist message.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jun 15, 2005

Full Review

Michelle Kisner

The Movie Sleuth

Joint Security Area gets less attention than Park's other more bombastic films, but its quiet contemplative core cements it as one of his most emotional works.

Mar 25, 2021

Full Review

Douglas Davidson

Elements of Madness

Though JSA is before the Vengeance trilogy or The Handmaiden (2016), it bears all the hallmarks of a Park picture: mystery, deception, and a glimpse at the complex nature of relationships.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 25, 2021

Full Review

James Clay

Fresh Fiction

Part action and part legal thriller and buddy comedy, Park's film ushers in an esteemed style that aims to entertain and subtly educate his audience on the senselessness of war. JSA bolsters a strong message of unity and turning the other cheek.

Rated: A-

Feb 8, 2021

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Two North Korean soldiers are killed in the border area between North and South Korea, prompting an investigation by a neutral body. Sgt. Lee Soo-hyeok (Lee Byung-hun) is the shooter, but lead investigator Maj. Sophie E. Jean (Lee Young-ae), a Swiss-Korean woman, receives differing accounts from the two sides. Lee claims he fired in self-defense after getting wounded, while a North Korean survivor says it was a premeditated attack -- leaving Jean with her work cut out for her.

Director: Park Chan-wook
Screenwriter: Park Chan-wook, Sung-san Jung, Hyun-seok Kim, Mu-yeong Lee
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Myung Films, KTB Network, Stone Comics Entertainment, Intz.com, TMS Comics, CJ Entertainment, Myung Film Company Ltd., CJ E&M Film Financing & Investment Entertainment & Comics
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller, Action
Original Language: Korean
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 9, 2000, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 15, 2014

Most Popular at Home Now