Dude, Killer Waves

Despite its delicious name, Haeundae-gu is not an ethnic dessert dish. Rather, it’s a massively popular beach located on the southeastern tip of the Korean Peninsula in the city of Busan. I’m visibly shocked you did not know that. So popular is this beach, it draws over one million visitors every year. So why not have a monster tidal wave slam into it while everyone’s there? Works for me!

Billed as South Korea’s first disaster film, Haeundae (aka, Tidal Wave), is making a big splash (sorry) here in the States for its realistic depiction of wholesale destruction. While deep sea fishing, a guy lost his girlfriend’s father to a 2004 earthquake in the Indian Ocean. (I bet he wasn’t wearing a life-preserver. Those things are there for a reason, people.)

This somehow ties into the ocean making the same fidgeting maneuvers it did all those years ago. These rumbling cause a mega-tsunami that’s heading towards Haeundae at over 500 m.p.h. All of a sudden, sunblock doesn’t seem so important.

Great movie posters for this epic deconstruction. I particularly like the seagulls flying high above the monster tidal wave, as if hoping for some food scraps to float up after the entire city is flooded. This, I feel, is a realistic portrayal of the modern seagull’s struggle to survive.

Haeundae came out in July of 2009, but it’s just now bubbling to the surface (sorry) in places like Amazon.com™, Blockbuster™ and Netflix™. That it coincides with this summer’s beach-y fun, makes it timely and timeless.