Bong Joon-ho: "People from the country of BTS and Squid Game were surprised when martial law was mentioned"

"Everyone Was Bewildered by the Sudden Martial Law"
"We Are Overcoming It Well... It Will Be Resolved"

Film director Bong Joon-ho, whose new work is about to be released, stated that he felt "the national dignity seemed to have declined" regarding the December 3 martial law incident.

On the 21st, during a press interview related to the movie 'Mickey 17,' Director Bong indirectly referred to the current impeachment situation following the declaration of martial law. He began by saying, "The image of the country called Korea was engraved in the minds of people working together through groups like BTS and Squid Game," and added, "Suddenly encountering the word 'martial law' was very absurd."

Film director Bong Joon-ho. Yonhap News

He then expressed his feelings, saying, "I wondered if the national dignity had unintentionally declined." Along with this, he said, "We are continuously overcoming it well and recovering," and "I believe it will ultimately be resolved properly through the legal system we have."

Earlier last month, the 'Film Industry Members Demanding Yoon Seok-yeol's Resignation,' which included 81 organizations such as the Korean Film Producers Guild (PGK), the Directors Guild of Korea (DGK), and 6,388 film industry professionals, issued a statement urging the dismissal and arrest of President Yoon. In the statement, they said, "We watched the scene where the vote failed with a heavy heart. We hoped that the People Power Party members would participate in the vote, even belatedly, but such a cinematic event never happened," and added, "In this chaos that began with Yoon Seok-yeol's delusional declaration of martial law, we cannot imagine any outcome other than impeachment or immediate resignation."

They further stated, "'Early resignation that can be accepted' is a second civil war. A president who violates the constitution must be punished by the methods specified in the constitution," and urged, "The people have never entrusted presidential power to Han Duck-soo, Han Dong-hoon, or the People Power Party. Members of the People Power Party in the National Assembly must now fulfill their original roles. They should clearly state their position on 'Yoon Seok-yeol, a current offender of the crime of rebellion,' and if they judge martial law to be unconstitutional, they should participate in the vote without hesitation." The first statement included participation from Director Bong Joon-ho, as well as directors Park Chan-wook, Jung Ji-young, Jang Joon-hwan, and actress Moon So-ri, while the second statement reportedly included directors Kim Sung-soo, Lee Joon-ik, and Jang Hang-jun.

Meanwhile, 'Mickey 17' is Bong Joon-ho's first Hollywood film, depicting the story of a clone sent to pioneer an ice-covered space planet, and will be released first in Korea on the 28th of next month. The original work is the novel 'Mickey 7' by American author Edward Ashton, and actor Robert Pattinson plays the protagonist Mickey, who is discarded and resurrected as a clone every time he dies during a mission. Director Bong explained about the film, saying, "Instead of the original's depiction of scientific technology, I filled the movie with the working-class elements that smell of sweat and feet."