A new Japanese-South Korean joint film about professional wrestler Rikidozan celebrates his short, tragic life.
Rikidozan, known as Yokdosan in Korean, was a national hero in Japan in the 1950s and 1960s. But few Japanese knew at the time that he was an immigrant from the Korean Penisula because the wrestler kept his ethnic origin secret.
Forty-one years ago, at the height of his fame, Rikidozan was fatally stabbed in a brawl at a Tokyo nightclub.
In the movie, "Yokdosan," the star says as he looks out a hospital window, "I really want to lead a life with a smile on my face."