Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 opens with a South Korean marine who wants to quit the service. Pfc. Park Hyun-jun, played by Beef actor Young Mazino, plans to leave while his pal, Sgt. So Jae-woo, wants to stay. Then troops from the North attack, and the unit seeks cover in a grocery store.
Here's the real part of the plot. The Korean War never got a formal peace deal, just a truce. South Korean men still face a draft that lasts about two years. Many have raised concerns about the rule, which can put work and life plans on hold.
Mazino grew up well aware of that duty. Even stars from BTS have had to put their careers on pause for it. He thinks Park speaks for young men who must set their plans aside to serve. That gives his role a personal link to life in Korea.
Infinity Ward took the local detail quite far. Rather than guess how life works on each side of the border, the studio asked Korean staff for help. People who had fled North Korea gave input as well. The aim was to make each place look and act more like its real-life version.
Even the roof paint got some care. Art director Haine Kim brought up the green tops seen on many Korean homes. Cheap urethane paint was once a common way to keep rain out. The team used that detail to help make the game's towns look right.
Activision also has a Slack group with about 100 South Korean staff members. O'Hara said their chats cover all kinds of local stuff, from death metal to pool halls. And yes, the lack of those halls in the game came up. Small detail, but the staff felt it was worth a chat.
One part of the plot does take a clear turn from real life. North Korea gets a made-up ruler named Ri Seung-ho, played by Jeongmin Cho. He takes charge after his father. The team chose not to use Kim Jong-un as the main figure, since a new character gave them more room to write the plot.
O'Hara admits that a Call of Duty game can upset people, no matter how much care goes into it. Yet he thinks this one may avoid the same kind of debate that hit Homefront. That game had a united Korea, while Infinity Ward has tried to keep its war plot closer to real events.
For the studio, the key was to give players a war story that still made sense in a Korean setting. The team did change parts of real life for the plot, but it wanted the people, places, and local culture to feel true to the country.
Here's the real part of the plot. The Korean War never got a formal peace deal, just a truce. South Korean men still face a draft that lasts about two years. Many have raised concerns about the rule, which can put work and life plans on hold.
Mazino grew up well aware of that duty. Even stars from BTS have had to put their careers on pause for it. He thinks Park speaks for young men who must set their plans aside to serve. That gives his role a personal link to life in Korea.
Infinity Ward took the local detail quite far. Rather than guess how life works on each side of the border, the studio asked Korean staff for help. People who had fled North Korea gave input as well. The aim was to make each place look and act more like its real-life version.
Even the roof paint got some care. Art director Haine Kim brought up the green tops seen on many Korean homes. Cheap urethane paint was once a common way to keep rain out. The team used that detail to help make the game's towns look right.
Activision also has a Slack group with about 100 South Korean staff members. O'Hara said their chats cover all kinds of local stuff, from death metal to pool halls. And yes, the lack of those halls in the game came up. Small detail, but the staff felt it was worth a chat.
One part of the plot does take a clear turn from real life. North Korea gets a made-up ruler named Ri Seung-ho, played by Jeongmin Cho. He takes charge after his father. The team chose not to use Kim Jong-un as the main figure, since a new character gave them more room to write the plot.
O'Hara admits that a Call of Duty game can upset people, no matter how much care goes into it. Yet he thinks this one may avoid the same kind of debate that hit Homefront. That game had a united Korea, while Infinity Ward has tried to keep its war plot closer to real events.
For the studio, the key was to give players a war story that still made sense in a Korean setting. The team did change parts of real life for the plot, but it wanted the people, places, and local culture to feel true to the country.
