Director Kim Sung-soo, who directed the film ‘Seoul Spring’, which deals with the December 12 military coup, criticized President Yoon Seok-yeol, who initiated the December 3 martial law, calling him a “crazy president”.

Director Kim Sung-soo went up on stage to receive the Best Director Award for ‘Seoul Spring’ at the 11th Korean Film Producers Association Awards held at Indie Space in Mapo-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 17th. During his acceptance speech, he said, “‘Seoul Spring’ was released and a miracle happened, and I was so happy that so many people came to see (‘Seoul Spring’). But on the other hand, he opened his mouth by saying, “I had some doubts about why so many people would watch (‘Spring of Seoul’), and why young people in particular would come to the theater.”

He then mentioned President Yoon Seok-yeol‘s declaration of martial law, saying, “A year after the release, on December 3, a crazy president suddenly carried out an absurd coup d’état.” He continued, “When I saw citizens running to the National Assembly, and young people running from all over the country to vote in favor of the impeachment (bill), I realized what kind of people the audience these days are, and why they watched our film so much.”

Watching this, Director Kim said, “I thought that young people these days have the right belief in justice,” and added, “On the other hand, what I think these days is that as a film director, in a way, ‘what kind of story should I tell to these people? I was worried about ’Should I convey this? What kind of different way should I speak and what kind of story should I tell?‘ I also feel excited as a storyteller to meet new audiences in a new era. I will work hard to make a good piece that does not disappoint the public’s expectations,” he said emphatically.

The movie ‘Spring of Seoul’, which was released last November, vividly depicts the military rebellion of former President Chun Doo-hwan that occurred in Seoul on December 12, 1979, and was a box office hit, attracting a cumulative audience of 13.12 million. Due to the influence of the movie, the martial law situation that was caused by President Yoon‘s surprise announcement late at night on December 3 is called ’Night of Seoul‘ online, and Director Kim Sung-soo had previously signed the ’2nd Emergency Statement of Filmmakers‘ demanding President Yoon’s resignation.



Reporter Seungmi Lee smlee@donga.com