Thousands Crowd Preview of Cross-Border Skirmish Flick

Sailors shed tears at a pre-screening of the film "Northern Limit Line" in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province on Monday.

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Thousands of people flocked to pre-screenings Monday of a movie about a bloody naval skirmish with North Korea 13 years ago.

One preview of "Northern Limit Line" based on the second naval clash in the border island of Yeonpyeong in the West Sea in 2002 was held at the 2nd Fleet base in Pyeongtaek south of Seoul, where some 2,000 military staff gathered.

The film resonated particularly with sailors stationed at the 2nd Fleet.

On June 29, 2002, two North Korean patrol boats crossed the Northern Limit Line in the West Sea and attacked two South Korean patrol boats that warned them to turn back. Six South Koreans and 13 North Koreans were killed.

The other screening in a movie theater in Seoul was attended by several luminaries including 2002 national football squad members Ahn Jung-hwan and Lee Woon-jae and the owner of shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries, Chung Mong-joon, who was head of the Korean Football Association.

They said they felt indebted to the fallen sailors who were killed when Korea was co-hosting the World Cup.

Ahn said, "Those sailors were the ones who protected the lives of Koreans who cheered and supported us during the World Cup. It broke my heart to learn about their sacrifices and this is the first time Ive cried while watching a movie".

Chung, who donated W100 million to the production, said, "I think the sacrifice of the six fallen sailors was depicted well in the movie (US$1=W1,101)".

The end credits featured the names of the 23 members of the 2002 Korean national football squad who helped produce the film.