Taekoesu Yonggary (1967)

Director:

Ki-duk Kim

Writers:

Ki-duk Kim (screenplay)
Yun-sung Seo (writer)

Release Date:

13 August 1967 (South Korea)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Horror

Plot:

Earthquakes in central Korea turn out to be the work of Yongary, a prehistoric gasoline-eating reptile that soon goes on a rampage through Seoul.

Plot Keywords:

Korea | Earthquake | Reptile | Little Boy | Exploding Airplane

Cast

Yeong-il Oh
Jeong-im Nam
Sun-jae Lee
Moon Kang
Kwang Ho Lee
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Cho Kyoung-min	...	Yongary
Ted Rusoff	...	Protagonist (voice)

Directed by
Ki-duk Kim

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ki-duk Kim		screenplay
Yun-sung Seo		writer

Original Music by
Jeong-geun Jeon

Cinematography by
In-jib Byeon

Art Direction by
In-taek No

Special Effects by
Kenichi Nakagawa	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Kenichi Nakagawa	....	visual effects

Production Companies

• Kuk Dong
• Toei Company

Distributors

• American International Pictures (AIP) (1970) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Astro Distribution (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• CMV Laservision (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Orion Home Video (USA) (video)

Also Known As:

Dai koesu Yongkari (Japan) (alternative transliteration)
Great Monster Yongary (International: English title) (informal literal title)
Great Monster Yongkari (International: English title) (alternative transliteration)
Monster Yongkari (International: English title) (informal alternative title)
Yongary, Monster from the Deep (USA) (TV title)
Yongkari, Monster of the Deep (International: English title) (informal alternative title)

Runtime:

Germany:64 min | South Korea:100 min | USA:79 min | Japan:74 min

Country:

South Korea | Japan

Language:

Korean

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG (video rating) | West Germany:12

Company:

Kuk Dong

Trivia:

The original Korean print of the film was destroyed making the film partially lost, because U.S. prints for the T.V. version still exist.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: During the starting credits, the 'starry sky' has a rather obvious textile square pattern.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Son of Svengoolie: Yongary, Monster from the Deep (1967) (#1.65)" (1980)

The Host it ain't

Yongary – Monster From the Deep, Korea's first grab for a slice of the 60's Godzilla market is no Host. It's very much an example of optimism over experience, but it does at least provide several opportunities to laugh at it rather than laugh with it. The plot is the usual one – atomic testing causes earthquakes that awaken Yongary, an ancient and almost anorexically slim monster whose existence is accepted by the authorities sight unseen without a moment's doubt. Can our workaholic scientist hero save the day? Can the special effects get any worse? Unlike the Godzilla films, there's no subtext here: this is just a man in a joyfully unconvincing monster suit crushing toy tanks and knocking down balsa wood buildings. While it will make even the most casual viewer reassess the credibility of the Toho films, but it's not just a matter of bad special effects. This is pretty inept all round – in one scene a guard repeats his lines twice as if two takes had been used instead of one while in one memorable effects shot people fleeing Yongary are shot so wildly out-of-scale against the model city that they look like they're30 feet tall themselves. Still, in a brain-off, possibly-had-too-much-to-drink way it does offer some entertainment value, and the sight of Yongary bopping away to rock'n'roll on a kid's transistor radio is almost worth the price of admission on its own.