'Geon-guk Jeonjaeng' Production Company CEO: "Not a Movie Supporting Kukhim, Hope It Reaches 10 Million" [Interview]

Co-producer Truth Forum CEO Kim Eun-gu Interview

480,000 Viewers in 15 Days, Revenue 4.6 Billion Won
Clarification on Bulk Buying and Market Disruption Controversy
"Pure Intent... No Intention to Disparage the Democratic Party"

"It is neither a film supporting the 'People Power Party' nor a film disparaging the 'Democratic Party.' Yet, 'Geon-guk Jeonjaeng' has become a 'political movie.' I want to ask what that actually means."

On the 16th, Kim Eun-gu, CEO of Truth Forum, the co-producer of the movie 'Geon-guk Jeonjaeng,' which was released on the 1st and attracted 480,000 viewers (sales of 4.63173 billion KRW) within two weeks, said this in a phone interview with Asia Economy. Kim said, "The movie is a story about the roots of the Republic of Korea," and added, "It is sad to be evaluated as a political movie." Regarding the criticism that an event reimbursing movie ticket prices to young viewers was a form of 'ticket scalping,' he explained, "It was a pure intention," and said, "In conversations with officials from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korean Film Council, I understood that there is currently no significant problem."

On the afternoon of the 12th, Han Dong-hoon, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, met with reporters after watching the movie 'Geon-guk Jeonjaeng' at a cinema in Yeouido, Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Director Kim Deok-young, who directed 'Geon-guk Jeonjaeng,' and CEO Kim said they first met three years ago through 'Children of Kim Il-sung' (2020). CEO Kim explained that he raised production funds after the director expressed his desire to make a film about former President Syngman Rhee. He said, "As the first project of Truth Fund, we raised about 15 million KRW for 'Geon-guk Jeonjaeng.' Later, the Korea Love Association, which was listed as a co-producer, donated 35 million KRW two years ago, and the total 50 million KRW was handed over to Director Kim."

He said he did not interfere with the entire scenario, including the title. CEO Kim said, "After delivering the production funds, I did not tell the director what to do. I understand the scenario changed three or four times. I observed the process and had discussions. There were title candidates like 'Holy War' and 'The President Who Went to Hawaii.'" He added, "Many people think President Syngman Rhee went into exile, but he was actually denied entry after returning to the country. We also considered making that the main story. We even thought about making Mrs. Francesca the protagonist."

CEO Kim said, "'Geon-guk Jeonjaeng' was expected to cause a stir. It is unfortunate and sad that a film revealing historical truth is being labeled as a political movie. I hope many people watch it. Ideally, it would be great if it reaches 10 million viewers." He added, "When the movie was first released, some theaters caused trouble. Initially, fewer than 10 screens were given. We had no money to put up posters in theaters, but yesterday the number of screens exceeded 900. As someone who supported production from the beginning, I am grateful and moved to tears."

'The War of Independence' still image [Photo by Docustory]

Truth Forum is running an event on its website reimbursing movie ticket prices to young viewers aged 10 to 40 who watch 'Geon-guk Jeonjaeng.' In the industry, while events giving out movie tickets or vouchers are common, reimbursing viewers via direct cash bank transfers is not typical. This has led to criticism calling it 'ticket scalping' and 'market disruption.' Recently, the Korean Film Council has been investigating and reviewing the matter from multiple angles. CEO Kim refuted this, saying, "It is a political framing," and explained, "It is not an illicit 'payback event' but a pure support event for young viewers."

He said, "It is an event where seniors voluntarily support juniors' viewing," and added, "It started with the pure intention of hoping many young people watch the film." He continued, "'Geudaega Joguk' was literally ticket scalping, buying tickets and screening the movie at dawn when theaters were empty, causing problems. 'Geon-guk Jeonjaeng' is a voluntary event where the senior generation supports junior viewers. Calling this market disruption is absurd."

Truth Forum is also receiving donations from conservative groups and citizens through the Truth Fund site under the title 'Support Young People’s Viewing of Geon-guk Jeonjaeng.' The collected amount is returned through the youth event. As of the 16th, 82 people participated through the page, raising 47.12 million KRW. CEO Kim Eun-gu also received donations through a personal account. He wrote in the funding post, "As of 2:30 PM on the 11th, 398 people have donated." CEO Kim said, "We need to manually calculate the total amount raised by combining the 47.12 million KRW collected through the funding site and the amount received in the personal account," and added, "We plan to organize it."

[Photo by Yonhap News]

When asked how long the youth event will continue, CEO Kim said, "If there is no more fundraising through the ongoing self-funding, the youth project cannot continue, and if the movie is taken down from theaters, it cannot proceed either. If the movie is removed, we are considering renting individual screening rooms. We will explore every possible way to ensure young people can watch it." He added, "In conversations with the Korean Film Council and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, it was confirmed that there is currently no problem with this matter, but they said if there are any issues to be reviewed or adjusted, they will let us know. If there are such matters, we will reflect them as much as possible."