A Historian's View on the 'Seoul Spring'... The Person with the Highest Synchronicity Rate

Historian Kim Jaewon Analyzes Film and Actual Past
"Lee Taesin's Famous Line, Wiretap Transcript Actual Dialogue"
"December 12 Core Is Power Struggle Within Military"

The film 'Seoul Spring,' which deals with the December 12 military coup, is approaching 3 million viewers just eight days after its release, increasing interest in the history of Korean democracy and real-life figures. Historian Kim Jae-won named Jeon Du-gwang (played by Hwang Jung-min) as the character in the film with the highest synchronization rate with the real person on the 30th of last month.

Jeon Du-gwang, inspired by Jeon Du-hwan, then the commander of the Security Command, was a hot topic on social media (SNS) from the time the teaser video was released before the film's premiere. Hwang Jung-min, who wore the trademark bald makeup of former President Jeon and even perfectly mimicked his speech style, added realism.

In an interview with YTN Radio that day, Kim said, "Jeon Du-gwang had the highest synchronization rate," adding, "The others don't quite match. The actor (Park Hae-joon) who played Noh Tae-gun was too handsome." Noh Tae-gun was modeled after former President Noh Tae-woo.

The Hana Group faction, including military coup leaders Jeon Du-gwang (played by Hwang Jung-min) and Noh Tae-geon (played by Park Hae-joon), appearing in the movie Seoul Spring. [Image source: Official trailer capture of the movie Seoul Spring]

The character Lee Tae-shin, played by actor Jung Woo-sung, was also created reflecting the real figure Jang Tae-wan, commander of the Capital Security Command, although with some artistic imagination. Lee Tae-shin is a character who struggles fiercely to suppress the coup. In the 2005 drama 'The Fifth Republic,' set in the same era, actor Kim Ki-hyun played the role of Commander Jang Tae-wan with great passion.

The scene where Lee Tae-shin shouts at the new military faction that staged the coup, "Hey, this is a declaration of war to you! I'm a man who's decided to die," was also reconstructed based on actual voice tapes. At that time, internal communications within the Capital Security Command were being wiretapped by the Security Command, so voice tapes remain.

Kim explained, "The drama 'The Fifth Republic' was so meticulously researched that even people from the actual Fifth Republic advised on it," adding, "Regarding the December 12 coup, there were trials and hearings, and all the phone conversations were wiretapped, so the content has already been made public. It is not fiction."

However, Kim noted that the film title 'Seoul Spring' differs from its actual meaning. The film is set on the night of December 12, 1979, when the coup occurred, but originally, 'Seoul Spring' refers to the entire period filled with democratic aspirations in South Korea from the October 26 incident in 1979 until May 17 of the following year. The term originated from the Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia in 1968.

Kim said, "As a historian, the most regrettable point in the film is that the expression 'Seoul Spring' does not refer to the day depicted in the movie but is a historical term meaning the noble sacrifices of citizens and students striving for democratization after the October 26 incident," adding, "I personally feel it is unfortunate that the film about the power struggle among soldiers on December 12 had to use the term 'Seoul Spring.'"

'Seoul Spring' displayed at a movie theater in Seoul on the 26th [Image source=Yonhap News]

The Hana Group, which staged the coup in the film, was also a real secret organization within the army in modern history.

Kim explained, "The organization called Hana Group was originally formed mainly by the 11th class of the Korea Military Academy and was initially called Oseonghoe. The name Hana Group gives a feeling of 'the nation and we are one,' and the core members of this group grew into the key forces within the military during the Park Chung-hee regime, rapidly expanding after the December 12 military coup."

He continued, "Because the new military faction is portrayed as an absolute evil, which it certainly was, what we tend to forget is that before the new military faction, there was Yushin," adding, "It is quite bitter for me to see the current situation debating whether Yushin or the new military faction was worse. The core truth of the December 12 military coup was a power struggle within the military."

Kim said, "The night of December 12 that year was the first chapter of history where Jeon Du-hwan, the Hana Group, and the soldiers who wanted to join the Hana Group's ambitions unfolded," adding, "Because we already know the historical outcome, this entire process is often seen only as the formation of the Fifth Republic, but this period was also the moment when Seoul Spring began. I hope people remember that it was a moment when various options and opportunities were open to citizens yearning for democracy."