A dusty skull is slowly uncovered as a brush carefully exposes the remains of a skeleton. The skull lies next to a bullet riddled soldier’s helmet. We’re at an excavation. A memorial site for the Korean war is under development. Archaeologists are working, trying to identity the scattered remains of the brave men who once fought on these fields, and made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
Elsewhere an old man, Lee Jin-Seok, receives a phone call from the army. They’ve found a body that they suspect is his, and they’re calling to confirm that he is, in fact, still alive. This blast from the past brings about old memories. Jin-Seok picks up an old photo and thinks back...
Seoul 1950.
Jin-Seok (Won Bin) and his older brother Jin-Tae (Jang Dong-gun) run though the streets of their hometown, without a care in the world. They have everything they need. Clothes on their backs, food on the table, and a loving family. The brothers live with their mother, their much younger siblings, and Jin-Tae’s soon-to-be wife Young-Shin (Lee Eun-Joo).
This tranquil existence is shattered when war breaks out. North Korea has invaded, and the family is forced to abandon their home, as it is on the verge of the border.
While the family is making its way to safer grounds, soldiers arrive and take Jin-Seok into custody. All men capable of carrying arms must report for duty, whether they like it or not. Jin-Tae try to free his brother, but he too is captured, and both of the brothers suddenly find themselves on an army train, heading straight to war.
Cut to a brutal battlefield. Scared inexperienced young men move through the crude trenches, with explosions going off everywhere. It rains bullets and everything is soaked in mud. Jin-Seok and Jin-Tae manage to stay alive through the first harrowing battles, and eventually they find themselves in a small tight-knit group of soldiers.
After a long siege, the men are starting to go crazy. There’s no water, no food, and they are slowly dying. As a last resort Jin-Tae suggests that they attack, instead of just defending. An unprecedented move that is sure to surprise the North soldiers. With new-found vigour, the starving men attack the other side.
The attack is a success, earning Jin-Tae the respect of the men and his superiors. Jin-Seok, on the other hand, grows increasingly frustrated with his brother. Jin-Tae volunteers for every mission, the more suicidal the better, in an effort to earn a Medal of Honor. Such a medal will enable him to request that his brother be send home. The pursuit of this medal bec0omes the only thing on his mind. Soon Jin-Seok can’t even recognise his own flesh and blood any more. The war drives a wedge between the brothers. As the world crumbles around them, so does the relationship they used to have.
War changes people, but some more than others. Will these two brothers ever be able move past their differences and reconcile? Will they even make it home in one piece? And will this useless war ever end...?
