Phantom, The Submarine features an assumption and a concern. Having received the code name 431, Lee Chan-Suk joins the crew of Korea′s first nuclear submarine, named ′Phantom′. For the crew members with erased pasts, ′Phantom′ is their reason for existence. What if Korea really possessed a nuclear bomb? This is an assumption. Pressure from above convinces the Navy to destroy the submarine. Realizing this, Lieutenant Captain 202 seizes the control of the ship, killing the captain in the process. 202 proceeds to attack Japanese submarines on his path towards nuclear war, which 431 tries to prevent. Planting a bomb on the submarine, he tries to spoil 202′s battle plan. Who to support and what to do with the nuclear bomb? That is a concern. Min Byung-Chun daringly creates a ′Korean blockbuster′ with a unique submarine set and Hollywood-caliber special effects which add persuasive power to the film. But the characters don′t get to enjoy these cinematic resources as in Hollywood cinema where the characters suffer from the ethical agony of nuclear arm use because, as the situation within the cinema space becomes more realistic, it crashes with the reality outside the film world. Thus, faced with the extremes of self-destruction and nuclear war, the confrontation between war- seeking nationalist 202 and the defender of human life, 431, does not end as a victory for one. 431 is able to stop 202 but remains alone on the sinking ′Phantom′. The audience cannot give an ovation to the winning hero. From the abyss, Phantom, The Submarine resurfaces as a familiar yet uniquely Korean submarine genre film. (Cho Young-Jung)