Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Conscription parody of hit musical

Updated at 6:33 am on 9 February 2013

A parody of Les Miserables by military conscripts in South Korea has become an Internet hit.

Les Militaribles was made by 80 conscripts for $US900 and has garnered over a million views in three days.

In the opening scene, a group of young airmen shovel snow to the tune of "Work Song".

The parody tells the story of conscript "Airman 24601", who manages to spend only 10 minutes with his visiting girlfriend Cosette, because of the shovelling. She dumps him - the fate, his comrades assure him, of any military man.

Besides the take-off of "Work Song," the parody features versions of "I Dreamed a Dream" and "Red and Black."

"Snow removal is like a black hole. There's no start and no end of it," said director Chung Da-hoon, 25, who was a film student before being called up.

South Korean males serve 21 months minimum in the army and longer in the air force as part of mandatory military service.

Copyright © 2013, Radio New Zealand