I think I see why some people call this 'corny'..

I've seen a couple dozen Asian movies at this point (all of which I loved), and I've noticed that their movies tend to be a lot more melodramatic than most films we are used to seeing in North America.

This is not a bad thing, and it doesn't mean the acting is bad or that the movies are corny. In fact it's quite the contrary, in my opinion. But I can see why some viewers new to Asian cinema are left with that impression at first. It just takes some getting used to, as their standards of acting and what connects with the audience emotionally is a bit different than ours.

Taegukgi definitely has it's melodramatic moments, but overall it was a film that really did connect and resonate with me, more powerfully than any war films I've seen come out of Hollywood.

And we can't ignore the fact that Hollywood has it's share of melodrama and cringe worthy moments too. Take the opening scene of the immensely popular Hollywood production of "Saving Private Ryan" for example, where in the opening scene we witness a veteran sobbing and stumbling around in the cemetery before finally breaking down in front of the graves of his fallen comrades. During all this he is also being consoled by his entire family, standing over his shoulder in pity and sadness, amid shots of the waving American flag and the emotionally stirring euphony of strings and horns instruments to get the patriotism stirring in the audience.

I'm sure there are a lot of foreign audiences who would watch the above scene, which is an example of classic Spielberg manipulation of the audience's emotions, and roll their eyes at how overly melodramatic it is. As a non-American I know I did when I first saw SPR. But to the target audience (Americans), I'm sure that intro was very powerful for most viewers and stirred a deep emotion in them, be it patriotism, appreciation, respect, sadness etc.