True Life Political Tales and Fictionalized Election Stories Draw Big Crowds

After a year of ups and downs as the COVID pandemic continued to destabilize global markets, the election drama Kingmaker is about to get ready for the release. 

From The Merciless (2017) director Byun Sunghyun, Kingmaker features Sul Kyunggu (The Book of Fish) as a politician jumping into the presidential race with the help of a campaign strategist played by Lee Sunkyun (Parasite, 2019). The political drama is being released just over two months ahead of next year’s hotly contested 20th Korean presidential election, which, along with the pandemic, is already dominating headlines in the country.

Elections are serious business in any country, but in Korea, politics have also proven to be good business for the film sector. Stories about political events, many of them true-life accounts of major events in modern Korean history, have consistently to be significant draws at the box office over the years.

These stories cover the breadth of South Korea’s relatively short history and feature characters strutting through the halls of power but also the citizens whose lives are most affected by their era’s political currents. 

Below is a list of the all-time most popular political dramas at the Korean box office, followed by a brief primer on other Korean election dramas ahead of the political contest 2022.

A Taxi Driver - 12.2 million viewers

The Gwangju Democratization Movement of May 1980 has been the subject of several major cinematic events over the year, from Jang Sunwoo’s A Petal (1996) and Lee Changdong’s Peppermint Candy (1999), all the way to the modern revisionist revenge tale 26 Years (2012), but the uncontested box office champ among the bunch is Jang Hoon’s A Taxi Driver, which was released in the summer of 2017 and is currently the 12th most successful Korean film of all time.

The film stars Song Kangho as a true-life taxi driver (whose real identity was unknown when the film was made) who escorts the German reporter Jürgen Hinzpeter (played by Thomas Kretschmann) down to Gwangju and through the riots. Hinzpeter captured the violence in the city and made the atrocities that were committed there known to the world. Beyond being a financial success, the film won many awards and was selected as the South Korean entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 90th Academy Awards.

The Attorney - 11.37 million viewers

Song Kangho once again leads The Attorney (2013), another tale inspired by true events, in which he plays Song Woosuk, a character closely modeled on former Korean president Roh Moohyun before he assumed political office. Woosuk is a lawyer who came up from humble origins and practices law in Busan in the 1980s. Having carved out a specialized niche for himself, he is enjoying some success, but his consciousness begins to ear away at him when the son of the owner of his favorite lunch restaurant is abducted by security forces and tortured as a political dissident. Putting his career and life at risk, Woosuk decides to represent the young man. The Attorney was the debut of director Yang Woosuk and became a surprise hit in late 2013, becoming the year’s second best-selling film.

Inside Men - 9.13 million viewers

In one of his most iconic roles, Lee Byunghun plays Ahn Sanggoo, a gangster who becomes a shady political fixer who is betrayed by an influential newspaper editor (Baek Yoonsik) and the national assemblyman (Lee Gyoungyoung) he’s trying to position as Korea’s next president. Sanggoo returns from the shadows and begins to hatch a plan to get back at his former ally while the editor is busy maneuvering behind the scenes as Korea’s next presidential election cycle heats up. But to do so, he needs to team up with a straight arrow district attorney played by Cho Seungwoo, who is also hellbent on taking down the corrupt editor and assemblyman. The third film by Woo Minho, Inside Men became a huge hit in late 2015, prompting the release of a significantly expanded three-hour extended cut that was also a critical and commercial hit.

May 18 - 7.31 million viewers

Before A Taxi Driver, the Gwangju Uprising of May 1980 was the subject of another box office hit, the tearjerker May 18. From director Kim Jihoon, the film features a range of characters whose lives are impacted by the protests in Gwangju and follows their crisscrossing stories during the tragic events that took place there. Released in the summer of 2007 and featuring actors such as Ahn Sungki, Kim Sangkyung and Lee Joongi, the drama became the second most successful Korean film of the year and was nominated for eight prizes at the Blue Dragon Film Awards.

1987: When the Day Comes - 7.23 million viewers

One of the most critically acclaimed Korean films of recent memory, 1987: When the Day Comes (2017) offers a scintillating snapshot of the events leading up to and around the death by torture of student protester Park Jongchul, an event, which sparked the June Democratic Uprising, which ultimately changed the political course of the country. From Save the Green Planet (2003) director Jang Joonhwan, the film features a gigantic cast of heavyweight thespians playing politicians, security agents, reporters, activists, students, prison guards, prosecutors, and more in a breathlessly paced true-life tale. The cast features Kim Yoonsuk, Ha Jungwoo, Yoo Haejin, Kim Taeri, Sul Kyunggu, and Gang Dongwon, among many others.

The King - 5.32 million viewers 

The Scorsese-esque prosecutor saga The King (2017) from director Han Jaerim chronicles the rise and fall of an ambitious prosecutor played by Zo Insung. Zo plays Park Taesu, who comes upon from humble origins and impresses hotshot prosecutor Han Kangsik (Jung Woosung), from whom he learns the ropes and how to twist the constitution to their benefit. The story is structured around Korea’s presidential election contests, which take place every five years, showing how corrupt prosecutors stand to gain or lose from these hotly contested elections during Korea’s evolving political landscape.

The Man Standing Next - 4.75 million viewers

Director Woo Minho and star Lee Byunghun teamed up again last year for the political drama The Man Standing Next, which chronicles the days leading up to the assassination of president Park Junghee in 1979, an event that was previously dramatized in director Im Sangsoo’s modern classic The President’s Last Bang (2005). Lee plays Kim Gyupyeong, the head of the KCIA, which operated directly under President Park’s control. The film chronicles Kim’s gradual disillusionment with the head of state as President Park begins to favor his security chief’s hawkish counsel. Woo’s film was selected as South Korea’s entry to the Best International Feature Film category at the 93rd Academy Awards.

Korean Election dramas

Election dramas naturally feature tension and combine with Korean audiences’ avid interest in political stories, so it is no surprise that the genre has been a popular one with Korean filmmakers. As mentioned above, both Inside Men and The King prominently feature presidential election campaigns, while elections have also featured in other notable films over the years. These have included the romantic comedy Dancing Queen (2012), the thriller The Truth Beneath (2016), the election dramas The Mayor (2017) and Long Live the King (2019), as well as the election comedy Honest Candidate (2020). 

Following Kingmaker, next year will welcome the election crime-thriller The Devil’s Deal and a sequel to Honest Candidate.