The late Kim Orang's nephew who watched 'Spring in Seoul' says, "I cried at the scene where my uncle dies"

"Actor Jeong Hae-in, Looks Nice Resembling His Uncle"
'Seoul's Spring' Reaches 4 Million Viewers in 12 Days After Release

Kim Young-jin (66), the nephew of the late Major Kim O-rang (posthumously promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1990), who died fighting against the new military group led by Chun Doo-hwan, the security commander during the December 12 military coup, shared his thoughts on the character 'Major Oh Jin-ho' played by actor Jung Hae-in in the film Seoul Spring during a phone interview with Yonhap News.

Major Kim O-rang was the model for the character 'Major Oh Jin-ho,' portrayed by Jung Hae-in in the film Seoul Spring, which was released on the 22nd of last month.

In the movie 'Spring in Seoul,' Major Oh Jin-ho, played by Jung Hae-in, is a character. Major Kim Oh-rang was the real-life figure who inspired the character of Major Oh Jin-ho.
[Photo by Plus M Entertainment]

At 12:20 a.m. on December 13, 1979, troops from the 3rd Airborne Brigade of the new military group stormed the Special Forces Command, firing M16 rifles, attempting to suppress the rebellion and arrest Special Forces Commander Jeong Byeong-ju. Major Kim, then 35 years old and serving as the secretary to the Special Forces Commander, engaged in a gunfight with the coup forces and was killed.

Kim Young-jin last saw his uncle about a month before the December 12 military coup. They briefly exchanged greetings on the streets of Seomyeon, Busan, where martial law had been declared following the October 26 incident, while his uncle was talking with martial law troops.

Kim described Major Kim as "a person for whom being a soldier was a true calling," adding, "He was a stern man, always armed with the spirit of a soldier even in daily life. Perhaps because of that, he was a strict uncle to his nephews. When the nephews were weak, he would take them to the gym he attended and ask them to 'make them exercise a bit.'"

The evening after December 12, the family received news that Major Kim had died. His body had been shot six times in the chest and abdomen, nearly split in two, and military doctors were struggling to stitch him up. The new military group secretly buried Major Kim’s body on a hill behind the Special Forces Command.

The shock at the time caused Major Kim’s mother to suffer from dementia and she passed away about two years later. Kim’s eldest brother and Kim Young-jin’s father, Kim Kwe-chul, also drank heavily every day calling his younger brother’s name and died of liver disease in 1983.

Nephew Kim Young-jin (66), who participated in the 2021 'Major Kim Orang Memorial Ceremony'
Photo by Chamgunin Kim Orang Memorial Association

Major Kim’s wife, Baek Young-ok, became completely blind due to severe optic nerve paralysis after her husband’s death. After democratization, she prepared to file a damages lawsuit against Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo but was found dead in 1991 at the Buddhist welfare institution Madang that she operated.

Kim Young-jin, who ran a private business in Gimhae, Gyeongnam, established the 'True Soldier Kim O-rang Memorial Association' around 2000. In 2014, the government posthumously awarded Major Kim the Order of Merit for National Foundation.

Kim said, "I was worried that my uncle’s name might be forgotten over time, but I’m relieved that the film is gaining popularity," adding, "I hope many people watch the movie and remember my uncle’s sacrifice."

Meanwhile, Seoul Spring surpassed 4 million viewers on its 12th day since release. According to Plus M Entertainment, the distributor of Seoul Spring, the film reached 1 million viewers on the 4th day, 2 million on the 6th day, and 3 million on the 10th day. At the box office, expectations are rising that it could become the second film this year to reach 10 million viewers, following Ma Dong-seok’s Crime City 3.