The Battleship Island

THE BATTLESHIP ISLAND (2017)
Style: direct, objective, tense and urgent tone.

SCENE 1 – EXT. BUSAN DOCKS – EARLY MORNING

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Visual: Lee Kang-ok (Hwang Jung-min), weary and bruised, stands among a crowd of Korean civilians being herded onto ships. Japanese soldiers shout orders with rifles drawn.

• NARRATION (OFF): August 1945, Busan. Under the guise of labor recruitment, Koreans are sent to Hashima Island—nicknamed Battleship Island—forced into coal mining.

• Sounds: shouts in Japanese and Korean, footsteps on wooden planks.

Lee Kang-ok clenches his fists but steps forward in line, eyes fixed on the battleship-like silhouette of the island in the distance. 

SCENE 2 – EXT. HASHIMA ISLAND DOCK – MIDDAY

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Visual: Exhausted Koreans disembark onto a concrete dock surrounded by steel walls. Park Moo-young (So Ji-sub) navigates through the crowd, carrying a small sack over his shoulder. Children cling to parents.

• GUARD (in Japanese, subtitled): Move! Keep walking!

   

• Park Moo-young scans the area, expression tense but resolute.

• NARRATION (OFF): Once a thriving coal facility, now a fortress imprisoning hundreds under brutal conditions.

Park Moo-young exchanges a brief, knowing nod with Lee Kang-ok as they pass each other, both understanding the severity of their fate.

SCENE 3 – INT. SHACK BARRACKS – EVENING

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Visual: Dimly lit wooden barracks stacked with bunks. Dozens of miners, covered in coal dust, lie on thin mats. Kim Shin-il (Song Joong-ki) sits awake, head wrapped in a blood-stained cloth, staring at a flickering lamp.

• LEE KANG-OK (quietly): Shin-il… you awake?

• KIM SHIN-IL (voice hoarse): Can’t sleep. They took Soo-Yeon to the mine today.

• LEE KANG-OK: We need a plan. We can’t stay here forever.

The camera pans over weary faces; a young girl, Nam-Ae, clutches a makeshift toy, tears in her eyes.

SCENE 4 – INT. MAIN SHAFT ENTRANCE – NIGHT

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Visual: A heavy iron door cracks open. Guards shine flashlights at prisoners filing down narrow staircases. Coal dust hangs thick in the air.

• GUARD (in Japanese): Faster! Work doesn’t wait!

• Park Moo-young grips a pickaxe as he descends, lantern swinging, revealing hollowed-out faces and dim mining tunnels.

• NARRATION (OFF): Under constant surveillance, men and women toil for days, barely surviving.

Kim Shin-il, helped by Lee Kang-ok, limps along. Park Moo-young’s eyes catch a faint, secret symbol etched into a wall—a remnant of a previous escape attempt.

SCENE 5 – EXT. ROOFTOP TRENCHES – DAWN

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Visual: Rooftops of Hashima Island, labyrinth of concrete, abandoned breathing apparatus scattered. Lee Kang-ok and Park Moo-young crouch behind a low wall, looking toward patrolling guards.

• LEE KANG-OK (whisper): The tide rises in two hours. We have that window.

• PARK MOO-YOUNG: Shin-il is ready?

• LEE KANG-OK: He’s up. We meet at the west stairwell.

Seagulls circle overhead; the ocean’s roar faint beneath the clang of metal doors opening below.

SCENE 6 – INT. BARRACKS CORRIDOR – EARLY MORNING

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Visual: Barracks corridor made of concrete. Guards pass along steel-plated doors. Kim Shin-il moves a hidden latch on his bunk.

• KIM SHIN-IL (softly): (to himself) For freedom…

• He closes the secret panel, revealing a hidden map of the island’s ventilation tunnels.

A guard approaches; Shin-il freezes, breathes slowly as the guard inspects the corridor, then moves on.

SCENE 7 – EXT. WEST STAIRWELL – MORNING

Visual: Rusted metal stairwell connects lower docks to the rooftops. Lee Kang-ok, Park Moo-young, and Kim Shin-il converge, carrying makeshift weapons.

• PARK MOO-YOUNG: (handing a small toolkit to Shin-il) This opens the grate at the tunnel entrance.

• LEE KANG-OK: Nam-Ae and the others wait below. Once we’re in, we guide them out.

They exchange determined looks. Thunder of boots from above signals guards coming.

SCENE 8 – INT. VENTILATION TUNNELS – LATE MORNING

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Visual: Narrow, dark, and claustrophobic tunnel, breathing apparatus stacked aside. Water drips. The trio crawls single file, guiding a group of frightened miners behind them.

• NARRATION (OFF): The vents are suffocating, but freedom calls.

Park Moo-young ignites a small flame to guide the way; shadows dance on walls. A distant clang as a guard checks a door above.

SCENE 9 – EXT. DOCK AREA – NOON

Visual: Open dock area. Several escapees emerge from a hidden hatch near the water’s edge. Lee Kang-ok pulls Nam-Ae close, shielding her. Park Moo-young readies a small boat.

• LEE KANG-OK: Go now, quietly. I’ll hold off the guards.

• PARK MOO-YOUNG: We’ll come back for you.

He pushes the boat into the water. Nam-Ae and others climb aboard, oars in hand. The boat drifts away as guards rush down the platform above.

SCENE 10 – EXT. HASHIMA ISLAND EDGE – AFTERNOON

Visual: Lee Kang-ok stands at the cliff’s edge as a guard emerges behind him, rifle raised. Shin-il appears, tackling the guard from the side.

• GUARD (shouting in Japanese): Halt!

• LEE KANG-OK: (spins, strikes the guard with empty hands)

Shin-il disarms the guard. Both run toward the only remaining stairwell leading to the ships. Screams echo from the dock below.