'Assassins' Historical Distortion Row Sparks Film Industry Backlash as Screenings Cut Short

South Korea’s film industry is pushing back against a backlash over ‘Assassins’, after a historical distortion controversy saw the film leave theaters earlier than usual and its promotional events cancelled, according to TV Daily.

Stage greetings and festival appearances have also been cancelled. A critic quoted in the report said that, from the audience’s point of view, what is happening amounts to committing a wrong.

The film’s director pushed back in stark terms, describing the situation as one in which imagination is banned and shackled. “It is a truly concerning reality. It is deplorable,” the director said. Other industry figures quoted in the report argued that the backlash violates freedom of expression and creative freedom.

At the center of the dispute is the film’s subject matter. ‘Assassins’ deals with the 1974 assassination of First Lady Yuk Young-soo, the wife of then-President Park Chung-hee. Its story raises the suspicion that the assassin may have had an accomplice, a premise that has drawn accusations of distorting history.

The director said the idea dated back to 2005, when the case was newly revisited and suspicions were raised, and he thought it would make an interesting film subject. He said he had made clear the work was a creation, and he does not accept the claim that it amounts to historical distortion.

Audience reaction has been more mixed. Most theatergoers quoted said they had simply enjoyed it as a thriller and did not regard it as distorting history.

The fiercest criticism has come from elsewhere. Middle-aged and older protesters at a recent rally were quoted angrily asking why anyone would watch such a film, and rejecting the idea that Park Chung-hee had done such a thing to his own wife.

The row has also spilled beyond debate about the film itself. The team behind MBC’s ‘PD Notebook’ was quoted as saying it has led to ruthless doxxing of the production company, actors and director, and that a line must be kept even in criticism.

The row is a sharp turn for a box office success. Directed by Heo Jin-ho, ‘Assassins’ passed 3.05 million admissions and opened the Singapore International Film Festival on October 21, the first Korean film to do so in 22 years.