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A peace offering 一件和平獻禮

A scene from South Korea's blockbuster film, Dragon Wars: D-War. 這是南韓賣座電影《魔龍戰役》的一景。 PHOTO: AFP

A South Korean movie director has offered his blockbuster film to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il for free as a gift to mark an impending summit - if children in the Stalinist state can see it too.

Shim Hyung-Rae, director of Dragon Wars: D-War, said he was willing to make the fantasy film one of the gifts to be taken by South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun to Pyongyang next month for a summit with reported cinema buff Kim.

"I will send the film to the North for free but I hope Chairman Kim Jong-Il should not have it to himself but allow North Korean children to see it as well," Shim was quoted as saying in Moneytoday, an Internet news portal.

Dragon Wars has attracted more than eight million viewers in South Korea since its release several weeks ago.

It has also been screened in the United States, sparking criticism of its allegedly poor script, hollow acting and a loose plot.

News reports have said South Korea was mulling a cutting-edge home theatre system and DVDs of South Korean hit movies as summit gifts for the reclusive Kim.

The North Korean leader is known to be a movie fanatic. He is said to have a collection of over 20,000 foreign films in his private library and reportedly produced several films himself, mostly depicting revolutionary heroes.

His obsession with developing North Korea's film industry was so great that in 1978 he reportedly ordered North Korean agents to abduct a famous South Korean movie director, Shin Sang-Ok, and his ex-wife, actress Che Eun Hui.

The couple stayed in the Communist state for eight years while making propaganda films. They escaped in 1986 and wrote a memoir about their saga. (AFP)

一位南韓電影導演同意將他的賣座電影，免費送給北韓領導人金正日，作為即將召開的兩韓高峰會的見面禮。不過前提是此部電影要讓這個史達林式共產國家的孩童也能夠觀賞。

《魔龍戰役》導演沈炯來說，他願意讓下個月將前往平壤參加高峰會的南韓總統盧武鉉，將這部科幻片當成禮物送給據稱愛看電影的金正日。

南韓網路新聞入口網站《Moneytoday》引述沈炯來的話說：「我將把這部電影免費寄給北韓，不過我希望領導人金正日不會占為己有，而是讓北韓孩童也能觀賞。」

《魔龍戰役》數星期前在南韓上映以來，已吸引了八百多萬人次觀賞。

此片也在美國上映，不過其乏善可陳的劇本、空泛的演技與鬆散的劇情引起爭議。

新聞報導指出，南韓正研議要將一套最先進的家庭劇院設備與許多南韓強檔電影光碟，當作高峰會的見面禮送給隱居的金正日。

據報導指出這位北韓領導人十分熱愛電影。報導還說他在其私人圖書館中蒐藏了超過兩萬套外國影片，而且據稱他還自己製作數部電影，大部分是以描寫革命英雄為題材。

他對於發展北韓電影工業十分癡狂，據報導說他在一九七八年曾下令北韓特務綁架南韓知名電影導演申相玉及其明星前妻崔銀姬。

他們兩位留在共產北韓八年，並拍攝宣傳影片。他們在一九八六年逃離北韓，並寫下回憶錄記錄這段傳奇的經歷。

（法新社╱翻譯：艾利斯）

OUT LOUD 對話練習 Courtney: I think I'll go and see that new movie tonight. Amy: Which one? Courtney: The one with Julia Roberts in it. Amy: Oh, I saw that already. To be honest, I didn't think much of it. Courtney: Really? Amy: Yeah, the plot was way obvious. 庫特妮：我想今晚將去看那部新片。 艾美：哪一部呢？ 庫特妮：茱莉亞．羅勃茲演的那部。 艾美：啊，我看過了。老實說，我覺得不怎麼樣。 庫特妮：真的嗎？ 艾美：是啊，劇情很俗套。 I didn't think much of it　我不覺得很好 You can say that you didn't think much of (something) if you found it to be disappointing, boring or simply uninteresting. 你可以用「didn't think much of (something)」來形容某件事讓你感到失望、無聊或無趣。

SAY WHAT? 說說看 propaganda　宣傳活動 Propaganda is information spread in order to further or publicize a cause. Some common forms of propaganda are film, television and radio adverts and print adverts. Propaganda is often prolific during wartime. However propaganda is not limited to extreme times. Political parties, in particular, are fond of using propaganda to spread information to gain support. The information spread may be presented in a way which favors the party or casts their opponents in a bad light. 「propaganda」就是藉由散佈資訊來公佈一件事。最常見的宣傳形式有電影、電視、電台廣告與平面廣告。宣傳活動大量出現在戰爭時期。 然而，宣傳不僅止於非常時期。政黨特別喜愛用宣傳來散播情報獲得支持。散佈的情資可能是有利於某一政黨或讓其對手處於不利情勢的資訊。

TODAY'S WORDS 今日單字 1. impending adj. 即將發生的 (ji2 jiang1 fa1 sheng1 de5) 例: In view of the impending typhoon, it might be wise to stock up on rice and other essentials. (有鑑於即將到來的颱風，最好是儲存米與其他民生必需品為妙。) 2. buff n. 迷 (mi2) 例: Simon is something of a cricket buff. (賽門是個蟋蟀迷。) 3. depict v.t. 描寫 (miao2 xie3) 例: The postcard depicted a lone palm tree on an empty beach. (這明信片描繪著一棵棕櫚樹佇立在無人海灘。) 4. saga n. 傳奇 (chuan2 qi2) 例: We can't wait for the next installment of the Forsyth Saga! (我們已經等不及下一集《佛賽情史》。)

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