Opposition leader Jang Dong-hyuk visits Yuk Young-soo birthplace over film row
Version 2: The planned visit took place: Jang Dong-hyuk appeared at the birthplace with party officials and about 200 members, delivered the criticism of the film in person, and the Democratic Party leader publicly rejected the pressure, while Kukmin Ilbo reported that an actor's side plans legal action over personal attacks.
In short
People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk visited the birthplace of the late Yuk Young-soo in Okcheon, North Chungcheong Province, on Oct 5, laid flowers and held a press conference, calling the film “Assassins” an attempt to deny the legitimacy of the Republic of Korea. He said artistic imagination must stop before clear historical fact and urged the public to join a “history war” and “culture war”, while his party presses the Singapore International Film Festival to drop the film as its opening title. Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok countered that the film belongs to its makers and its evaluation to audiences, and that politics should turn to people's livelihoods.
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People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk visited the birthplace of the late Yuk Young-soo in Okcheon, North Chungcheong Province, on Oct 5, laid flowers before her portrait and held a press conference, Yonhap and other outlets reported. Jang said the film “Assassins”, which deals with Yuk's shooting death, “denies the legitimacy of the Republic of Korea”, and that artistic imagination “must stop before clear historical fact”. Freedom of expression, he said, does not permit the distortion of historical fact or immoral conduct. [ 7 , 8 , 12 , 13 , 15 ]
Jang urged the public to join his party in a “history war” and “culture war”, saying the left distorts the history of some figures while treating others as sacred. Asked about Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok's remark that the film belongs to its makers and its evaluation to audiences, Jang asked why, if everything were left to public judgment, the “Starbucks case” and the “Baejae High School case” had happened. He said the party must show clearly what disadvantages historical distortion brings. [ 10 , 12 , 15 , 16 , 18 ]
Newsis reported that about 200 party officials, lawmakers and members gathered at the birthplace. Deputy National Assembly Speaker Park Deok-heum, whose constituency is Okcheon, demanded that the production and distribution companies apologise to the family and residents and halt screenings immediately, saying the film had caused pain that could not be healed. The party's policy committee chief said she remembered her father praying after the shooting and called the filmmakers' invocation of creative freedom “absurd”. [ 12 , 13 , 15 ]
The party plans to send a letter in the names of all of its lawmakers to the Singapore International Film Festival asking it to withdraw the film as opening title, Yonhap and others reported. Chief deputy floor spokesman Kim Tae-kyu said in a commentary that the production company and Megabox should apologise and discard all promotional materials, and urged the Democratic Party to state its position on the dispute. [ 2 , 10 , 12 , 15 , 18 ]
Kim Min-seok said on Facebook that history criticism belongs to records and verification and film criticism to critics and audiences, adding that the film belongs to its makers, evaluation to viewers, and that the place “where politics should join in is people's livelihoods”. He criticised attacks on the film's actors. SBS News reported that the dispute between the ruling and opposition camps was intensifying, framed by the two sides as “historical distortion” against “incitement of hatred”. [ 16 , 17 , 18 ]
Kyunghyang Shinmun noted that Park Geun-hye and Park Chung-hee have been invoked at moments when the party needed to rally conservatives, most recently in a dispute in which lawmaker Yoo Young-ha released a handwritten letter Park Chung-hee sent two days after Yuk's shooting. [ 10 , 19 ]
Korea Economic Daily reported that Megabox apologised on Oct 4 over merchandise tied to the shooting scene, saying it had failed to consider the gravity of the incident, and that Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon called the items “low-grade commercialism”. The report described goods featuring the national flag, a podium and a person presumed to be Yuk Young-soo, and said the company described its original ticket as provided free to viewers. [ 3 ]
Why it matters
The visit puts an opposition party leader at the centre of a dispute over how a politically charged period of recent Korean history is portrayed on screen, and the party is using the issue to rally conservative supporters, Kyunghyang Shinmun noted in pointing to the recurring role of Park Geun-hye and Park Chung-hee. Because the film is due to open the Singapore International Film Festival and the party plans to write to the festival, the argument also has an element outside South Korea. No document reports how the festival or the filmmakers have responded.
Key facts
- People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk visited the late Yuk Young-soo's birthplace in Okcheon, North Chungcheong Province, on Oct 5, laid flowers before her portrait and held a press conference, Yonhap and other outlets reported. [ 7 , 8 , 10 , 12 , 13 , 15 ]
- Jang said the film “Assassins”, which deals with Yuk's shooting death, denies the legitimacy of the Republic of Korea, and that artistic imagination must stop before clear historical fact. [ 7 , 12 , 13 , 15 , 18 ]
- Jang urged the public to fight alongside his party in a “history war” and “culture war”, saying the left distorts the history of some figures while treating others as sacred. [ 10 , 12 , 15 , 18 ]
- Newsis reported that about 200 party officials, lawmakers and members gathered at the birthplace, and that Jang wrote in the guestbook that truth is protected by the people and distortion judged by history. [ 13 ]
- Deputy National Assembly Speaker Park Deok-heum, whose constituency is Okcheon, demanded that the production and distribution companies apologise to the bereaved family and residents and halt screenings immediately. [ 2 , 12 , 13 , 15 , 18 ]
- The party plans to send a letter in the names of all of its lawmakers to the Singapore International Film Festival asking it to withdraw the film's selection as opening title. [ 2 , 10 , 12 , 15 , 18 ]
- Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok said, according to CBS NoCut News, that history criticism belongs to records and verification and film criticism to critics and audiences, that the film belongs to its makers and its evaluation to viewers, and that politics should join in people's livelihoods. [ 16 , 18 ]
- Korea Economic Daily reported that Megabox apologised on Oct 4 over merchandise tied to the shooting scene, saying it had failed to consider the gravity of the incident, and that Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon criticised the items as “low-grade commercialism”. [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Jang Dong-hyuk, leader of the People Power Party, visited the late Yuk Young-soo's birthplace in Okcheon, North Chungcheong Province, on Oct 5, laid flowers and held a press conference there. [ 7 , 8 , 10 , 12 , 13 , 15 ]
- Jang said the film “Assassins”, which deals with Yuk's shooting death, denies the legitimacy of the Republic of Korea and that artistic imagination must stop before clear historical fact. [ 7 , 10 , 12 , 13 , 15 , 18 ]
- Jang called on the public to join the party in a “history war” and “culture war”, and said the left distorts some figures' history while sanctifying others. [ 10 , 12 , 15 , 18 ]
- National Assembly Deputy Speaker Park Deok-heum, whose constituency is Okcheon, took part in the visit and demanded that the production and distribution companies apologise and halt screenings. [ 2 , 12 , 13 , 15 , 18 ]
- The party plans to send a letter in the names of all of its lawmakers to the Singapore International Film Festival asking it to withdraw the film's selection as opening title. [ 2 , 10 , 12 , 15 , 18 ]
- The ruling and opposition camps publicly clashed over the film on Oct 5, the People Power Party calling it a distortion of history and the Democratic Party's leader rejecting the pressure on the film. [ 17 , 18 ]
Still unclear
- Which month Jang's earlier visit to the same birthplace took place Yonhap said he had visited “last May” ahead of the June 3 local elections, while Newsis said the earlier visit was in May of last year, about 17 months before this one; the documents do not reconcile the two.
- Reported plans by actor Yoo Hae-jin's side to take legal action Only a Kukmin Ilbo headline mentions personal attacks and a legal response from Yoo Hae-jin's side; no other document reports this and no details are given.
- Megabox's apology and the merchandise tied to the shooting scene Only Korea Economic Daily reports the Oct 4 statement, and its quoted text is truncated; no other document in this set confirms the apology or describes the items.
- Any response from the film's producers, its distributor or the Singapore International Film Festival No document reports a reply to the party's demands or to the planned letter to the festival, which is still described as something the party will send.
- The number of party officials and members who gathered at the birthplace Only Newsis gives a figure, about 200; no other document confirms a count.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- Kukmin Ilbo reports, in its headline, that Jang Dong-hyuk will visit Yuk Young-soo's birthplace and calls for the screening of “Assassins” to stop. [ 1 ]
- Yonhap reports that Jang will visit the Okcheon birthplace that afternoon, lay flowers and hold an emergency press conference with Deputy Speaker Park Deok-heum, and that the party will write to the Singapore International Film Festival. [ 2 , 6 ]
- Korea Economic Daily reports the planned visit and also carries Megabox's Oct 4 apology over shooting-related merchandise and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's criticism of it. [ 3 ]
- Yonhap reports that Jang has visited the birthplace and said the film denies the Republic of Korea's legitimacy. [ 7 ]
- Newsis publishes photographs and remarks from Jang's press conference at the birthplace, listing party officials who accompanied him. [ 8 , 12 ]
- Newsis reports that about 200 party officials, lawmakers and members gathered at the birthplace. [ 13 ]
- CBS NoCut News reports the Democratic Party leader's counter-remarks and the party's renewed demands for an apology and a halt to screenings. [ 16 , 18 ]