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The making of 12.12: The Day, hit South Korean political drama: how 1979 military coup was brought to the big screen
- 12.12: The Day charts the lead-up to the 1979 military coup that brought Chun Doo-hwan to power in South Korea – events not fully known until the 1990s
- The film’s director, producer, and lead actor Jung Woo-sung, in Udine, Italy for the Far East Film Festival, talk about their high-grossing political film
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“Growing up, I always wondered what the hell had happened on December 12, 1979.”
These are the words of Kim Sung-soo, director of the hit political drama 12.12: The Day, which dramatises the coup d’état in South Korea that brought the totalitarian president Chun Doo-hwan to power.
His sentiments were shared by many in South Korea in the years after the events of that frigid winter night in 1979, the details of which were long shrouded in secrecy.
On the occasion of this interview, Kim, actor Jung Woo-sung and producer Kim Won-guk are attending the Far East Film Festival in Udine, northeast Italy, for the first international festival screening of their film.
12.12: The Day drew a staggering 13 million South Koreans to cinemas late last year, on its way to becoming the fourth highest grossing South Korean film of all time with takings of 120 billion won (US$88 million).
Perhaps surprisingly, the film wasn’t seen as a sure-fire hit.
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