The controversy surrounding the film "Assassins" is growing more heated by the day. Released on Sept. 23, the movie drew a cumulative 1.56 million viewers during the Chuseok holiday, seizing the upper hand in a fiercely contested holiday box-office race. But immediately after the holiday, politicians raised allegations of historical distortion, reviving a long-running debate over creative works and freedom of expression.
The dispute centers on the shooting of first lady Yuk Young-soo at the Liberation Day ceremony on Aug. 15, 1974. While President Park Chung-hee was delivering a congratulatory address at the National Theater in Jangchung-dong, Seoul, Mun Se-gwang, a second-generation Korean resident of Japan, fired a gun, and Yuk was struck by a bullet and died. A special investigation headquarters at the time concluded that Mun had acted alone on orders from North Korea and the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, and Mun was executed in December that year.
Director Hur Jin-ho's "Assassins" takes that incident as its motif. The film follows a police officer and a reporter who were at the scene as they question the official account and pursue the truth. It was built by adding cinematic imagination to conspiracy theories that had circulated since shortly after the shooting.
In fact, the claims of "six gunshots at the scene" and the "possibility of an accidental discharge by a bodyguard" were examined on SBS's "Unanswered Questions" (Episode 332, "Who Shot Yuk Young-soo," aired March 26, 2005), shortly after diplomatic documents were declassified in 2005 after 31 years. The program put the case under intense scrutiny, including conducting firing experiments. At the time of broadcast, it also pointed to gunshots that differed from the four recorded in investigation files and to gaps in the process of preserving the bullets.
The case was also covered in "The Uninvited Guest: The Aug. 15 Shooting," an episode of SBS's "Story of That Day, One After Another Season 2" (aired April 8, 2021). That program likewise revisited unresolved questions about the investigation's findings through interviews with people involved and archival material.
Both programs spotlighted the unsolved mysteries and conspiracy theories surrounding the shooting of the first lady, but neither drew the kind of sensitive political reaction seen this time.
Politicians were the first to take issue. People Power Party lawmakers including Jang Dong-hyuk and Lee Jin-sook pushed back, saying the film "distorted history by making it appear that former President Park Chung-hee was behind the assassination." The Park Chung-hee Presidential Memorial Foundation said it "demands an apology for distorting historical facts and a halt to screenings," while lawmaker Yoo Young-ha called the film "clear political propaganda." Lee Jong-bae, a former Seoul city council member, filed a criminal complaint with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency against four people, including Hur, the screenwriter and the head of the production company, on charges of defamation through false statements. The Park Chung-hee Presidential Memorial Foundation and the Yukyoung Foundation are also weighing legal action, including an injunction to block screenings.
The fallout has spread beyond the screen. YouTube videos for a Burger King advertisement featuring lead actor Yoo Hae-jin now display a notice saying comments have been disabled. Comment sections were closed simultaneously on five fall menu ads, and the same was done for a Kiwoom Securities ad. Comments were also restricted on Burger King's official Instagram account. People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo went so far as to post a comment saying Yoo "has a North Korean face," part of a wave of attacks that crossed the line into disparaging his appearance. With portals such as NAVER taking steps to delete duplicate and abusive comments, a single film has ended up shaking an actor's advertising, film-review channels and platform comment policies. Review videos by film critic Lee Dong-jin, as well as an "Assassins" video by the popular YouTuber Ji Movie, who has 4.17 million subscribers, have been switched to private.
Critics say the dispute calls for an understanding of freedom of expression and of the particular nature of film as a genre. Kim Hun-sik, a popular culture critic, said the issues "have been raised for decades, including on television programs, but this is probably the first time they have been dealt with in a film," adding that "this work in particular is a film about journalism." He continued: "The film says the one trying to hide something is the culprit, but in fact the culprit is the one who cannot answer the questions. This is a story about a reporter and a police officer tracking facts and the truth to find out why those questions go unanswered." Critic Yoon Sung-eun noted that "the film states at the outset that it is a product of imagination," and said "driving this into a political fight is itself a restriction on the freedom of creative work."
As the controversy widened, production company Hive Media Corp drew a line, saying the film is a creative work with no political purpose. "This is not a film made to newly establish any particular historical conclusion or to deny or distort existing facts," the company said in an official statement. "It reconstructs actual records with the addition of cinematic imagination." Claims of Chinese capital involvement later surfaced, but Hive Media Corp said there was "absolutely no Chinese capital in the production or investment process." It added: "'Assassins' was independently planned and produced with domestic capital under the leadership of Korean production staff and creators. We are well aware that a range of views and objections have been raised about the work recently. We respect criticism and diverse opinions about it."
As the dispute intensified, Hur also firmly rejected the interpretation in some quarters that the film hints Park ordered his wife's death. "It happened when I was in the fifth grade, and I think the whole country grieved," he said. "I thought it might be possible to make a film out of that story." He stressed: "I did not make a film based on the idea that Park Chung-hee ordered Yuk Young-soo killed. The truth cannot be stated with certainty, so I wanted to raise questions, and the judgment is up to the audience."
As the director says, the judgment is probably up to the audience — whether to see the film, and what to make of it afterward.
Yeon Seung's Entertainment Talk
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