Reptilian

Created by comic-turned-director/producer Shim Hyung-rae, 1999's 2001 Yonggary (Reptilian for the U.S. market) was rumored at the time to be the highest-budgeted film in Korean history, estimated in the $10 million area. It was made with American actors, with an eye toward international distribution after its inevitable local success.

Exact box office figures are tricky to find, but with a bit over half a million tickets sold, Yonggary placed sixth in 1999 out of Korean films; if we include imports, it drops well out of sight. By way of comparison, the leader was the smash hit Shiri, with almost 2.5 million tickets. The Mummy (the American remake) brought in about half that many viewers, with homegrown comedy hit Attack the Gas Station selling about a million tickets.


Timed to capitalize on the 1998 American Godzilla, 2001 Yonggary is true to its roots; as one might surmise from the title, it's a remake. 1967's Taekoesu Yonggary (US title Yongary, Monster from the Deep) was Korea's take on the kaiju phenomenon, the breed of Japanese monster movie kickstarted in 1954 by Gojira. Specifically, Yonggary has much in common with 1965's Gamera, down to the creature's tie to a human kid, though the monster design owes more to Gamera's own precursor. By 1965, Toho had released five successful Godzilla flicks, and rival studio Daiei wanted a piece of the action. Gamera was a success, and had Korea thinking about bringing along its own version. Daiei followed the first Gamera with a flick a year for the next six years. He would return in 1980, again for a trio of flicks in the mid-90s, and again in 2006, along with a proposed Cartoon Network series. Yonggary would meet with less success, disappearing after his initial appearance until Shim Hyung-rae revived him to disappointing results. Can this be the end of Yonggary?