The historical distortion controversy surrounding the film "The Assassin(s)" has heated up "100-Minute Debate."
On the night of October 13, MBC's "100-Minute Debate" aired a discussion under the theme "The 'The Assassin(s)' Controversy; How Far Can History in Films Go?," where panelists exchanged diverse perspectives. This marked the first time in approximately 19 years that "100-Minute Debate" dedicated an episode to debating a single film since the controversy surrounding director Shim Hyung-rae's "D-War" in 2007. The selection of the topic demonstrated the widespread escalation of the dispute surrounding "The Assassin(s)."
"The Assassin(s)" uses the 1974 assassination of First Lady Yuk Young-soo as a motif, reconstructing the stories of individuals involved in the incident through cinematic imagination. However, the film has recently sparked debate over historical distortion, triggering clashes both within the political arena and across the film industry.
Regarding the film's premise suggesting the potential involvement of the ruling elite behind the incident at the time, conservative factions, including the People Power Party, pushed back, calling it "a distortion of history that undermines judicial rulings and established historical facts." In contrast, progressive factions, including the Democratic Party of Korea, countered that "excessive political interference could infringe upon creative freedom and stifle the film industry."
The debate featured Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Noh Jong-myun, film critic Jeon Chan-il, People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Yong-geun, and Shim Yong-hwan, head of the History N Education Research Institute. Unlike many politicians who have expressed opinions and grievances about the controversy without watching the film, all four participating panelists began the debate by stating that they had "watched the film."
Lawmaker Noh Jong-myun and critic Jeon Chan-il voiced the view that "evaluating the film must be left to the audience, and the political sphere should not infringe upon freedom of expression and creative rights in cinema." They particularly emphasized that character attacks directed at the actors, as well as defamatory actions and labeling—such as staging protests in front of an actor's home—must stop.
Lawmaker Yoon Yong-geun emphasized that "we in the People Power Party and conservative factions are not trying to deny the creative license of cinema," but noted, "As a commercial film, this movie is based on fiction. The film crosses the boundaries of creative freedom, distorting historical facts and defaming the deceased." He pointed out that judicial rulings regarding Mun Se-gwang have already been established, yet the contents of the film conflict with those rulings.
While director Shim Yong-hwan pointed out that the historical evidence and period verification in "The Assassin(s)" were lacking, he criticized the raising of historical distortion controversies by conservative politicians and online communities as an unnecessary political dispute.
Rather than dividing the panelists strictly along conservative and progressive political party lines, the broadcast appeared to select two panelists who argued that the film distorts history and two who argued for cinematic imagination. The four panelists held nuanced differences in how they viewed the film and the political dispute. Nevertheless, they spoke with one voice in stating that attacks directed at individual actors by conservative politicians and conservative civic groups are unjust.
"The Assassin(s)" opened on September 23 and surpassed 3 million moviegoers nationwide in just 20 days.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Ji-hye)
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