[HanCinema's News] "12.12: The Day" Protested by Conservative Groups for Historical Distortion

According to an education report published on December 20th, "12.12: The Day" has come under increasing attack by conservative political groups for its alleged historical distortion. The context of such protests involves students watching the film as a part of school trips. The YouTube channel Hover Lab organized the protest, seeking out a middle school in the Mapo district of Seoul which had organized one such trip on December 13th.

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The movies selected for such school trips are typically selected by the students going on such trips. Despite the violence depicted, "12.12: The Day" has a rating of 12 from the Korea Media Rating Board, and is thus considered appropriate for children of at least that age to watch. However, the conservative groups protesting the consumption of the film by children argue that it's the film depiction of historical events, rather than the violence, that's problematic.

"12.12: The Day" dramatizes the Coup d'état of December Twelfth, an event in 1979 which saw Chun Doo-hwan take power in South Korea following the arrest of the suspected assassin of the country's previous leader, Park Chung-hee, who had been assassinated back in October. The names of the real-life people are all changed to pseudonyms in the film. However, the critical attitude taken by the film to the government of that era is quite obvious.

The Korea Teachers Org has issued an official response to the protest, stating that such right-wing provocation makes it difficult for them to effectively teach. They stated that the Coup d'état of December Twelfth is historical fact and that students can judge for themselves the extent to which the film differs from reality. As of this writing, "12.12: The Day" has earned 9,219,135 admissions at the South Korean box office.

Written by William Schwartz