''National Security'' () is a 2012
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
n prison drama film based on the
memoir
A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...
by
Kim Geun-tae
Kim Geun-tae (14 February 1947 – 30 December 2011) was a democracy activist and politician of the Republic of Korea.
Life
Kim was born in Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do. He studied in Kyunggi High School and entered Seoul National University and ...
, a democracy activist who was kidnapped and tortured by national police inspector Lee Geun-an for 22 days in 1985 during the
Chun Doo-hwan
Chun Doo-hwan (; or ; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean army general and military dictator who ruled as an unelected strongman from 1979 to 1980 before replacing Choi Kyu-hah as president of South Korea from 1980 to 198 ...
regime.
Calling the film "the most painful experience in my 30 years as a filmmaker," director
Chung Ji-young
Chung Ji-young (born November 19, 1946) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Among his most well-known films are '' North Korean Partisan in South Korea'' (1990), '' White Badge'' (1992), ''Life and Death of the Hollywood Kid'' (199 ...
wanted the audience to reflect on the theme of torture. He said he found the courage to make the film so that Korean viewers will "engage with our sad history and the sacrifices of great people like Kim Geun-tae in a concrete, meaningful way. If we triumph over the past, we can move forward with unity and reconciliation."
Plot
September 4, 1985. Kim Jong-tae (
Park Won-sang
Park Won-sang (born January 20, 1970) is a South Korean actor.
Filmography
Film
Television
Theater
Ambassadorship
*Ambassador for 1st Democratization Movement Memorial Park Joint Memorial Cultural Festival (2022)
References
External ...
), 37, a prominent activist against the military dictatorship of
Chun Doo-hwan
Chun Doo-hwan (; or ; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean army general and military dictator who ruled as an unelected strongman from 1979 to 1980 before replacing Choi Kyu-hah as president of South Korea from 1980 to 198 ...
and onetime commissioner of the Youth Federation for Democracy, is arrested and taken to a special interrogation facility in
Namyeong-dong, a district in the center of
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
synonymous with political torture in the 1970s and 80s because it was the location of the
Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA). During the first three days he is allowed no food or sleep and told to write an exhaustive essay on his life to date. On the fourth day, in order to find out why he resigned from the YFD, head interrogator Park Nam-eun (Myung Gye-nam) starts
water torture, and on the next day
waterboarding
Waterboarding is a form of torture in which water is poured over a cloth covering the face and breathing passages of an immobilized captive, causing the person to experience the sensation of drowning. In the most common method of waterboard ...
. On the sixth day, torture specialist Lee Du-han, known as "The Undertaker" (
Lee Geung-young
Lee Geung-young (born December 12, 1960) is a South Korean actor. He graduated from the Department of Drama in Seoul. He debuted in 1977 and after completing his mandatory military service, he debuted in 1982 as the 10th public relations actor fo ...
), starts a deadlier form of water torture, trying to get Jong-tae to admit he is a
communist in league with
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
. By the 11th day Jong-tae writes whatever they want him to, but Lee says it's full of inconsistencies and unusable in a court of law. The next day, after finding Jong-tae tried to smuggle out a note to his wife (Woo Hee-jin), Lee resumes a more painful version of water torture, as well as
electric shocks
Electrical injury is a physiological reaction caused by electric current passing through the body. The injury depends on the density of the current, tissue resistance and duration of contact. Very small currents may be imperceptible or produce ...
.
Cast
*
Park Won-sang
Park Won-sang (born January 20, 1970) is a South Korean actor.
Filmography
Film
Television
Theater
Ambassadorship
*Ambassador for 1st Democratization Movement Memorial Park Joint Memorial Cultural Festival (2022)
References
External ...
- Kim Jong-tae
*
Lee Geung-young
Lee Geung-young (born December 12, 1960) is a South Korean actor. He graduated from the Department of Drama in Seoul. He debuted in 1977 and after completing his mandatory military service, he debuted in 1982 as the 10th public relations actor fo ...
- Lee Du-han, "The Undertaker"
*Myung Gye-nam - Park Nam-eun
*
Kim Eui-sung
Kim Eui-sung (; born December 17, 1965) is a South Korean actor. He is known for his roles in films ''The Day a Pig Fell into the Well'' (1996), ''Office'' (2015), '' The Exclusive: Beat the Devil's Tattoo'' (2015) and ''Train to Busan'' (2016); ...
- Kang Su-hyeon
*Seo Dong-soo - Section chief Baek
*
Lee Chun-hee
Lee Chun-hee (born February 19, 1979) is a South Korean actor.
Career
Lee Chun-hee made his acting debut in the movie '' A Good Lawyer's Wife'' in 2003 and has since starred in several big screen roles such as '' The Aggressives'' (2005), ''Thr ...
- Section chief Kim
*Kim Jung-gi - Section chief Lee
*
Moon Sung-keun
Moon Sung-keun (born May 28, 1953) is a South Korean actor and politician. He has won three Blue Dragon Film Awards, two Baeksang Arts Awards, and two Chunsa Film Art Awards for Best Actor.
Career
Moon was born in Tokyo, Japan. His father was ...
- Director Yoon
*
Woo Hee-jin
Woo Hee-jin (born May 24, 1975) is a South Korean actress. Woo began model
A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived ...
- In Jae-eun, Jong-tae's wife
Reception
Many had strong reactions to the film, some even choosing to leave theaters during its screenings at the
17th Busan International Film Festival
The 17th Busan International Film Festival was held from October 4 to October 13, 2012 at the Busan Cinema Center and was hosted by Ahn Sung-ki and Chinese actress Tang Wei, who is the first foreign celebrity to host the event.
In this year's f ...
.
Though it was very strongly reviewed with many critics calling it one of the best Korean films of 2012, its subject matter is believed to have intimidated many viewers, resulting in low box office returns. Director
Chung Ji-young
Chung Ji-young (born November 19, 1946) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Among his most well-known films are '' North Korean Partisan in South Korea'' (1990), '' White Badge'' (1992), ''Life and Death of the Hollywood Kid'' (199 ...
said, "It's a low-budget movie, so there wasn't a lot for publicity and marketing, and I think there are limits to its popular appeal. But I also think those 300,000 people went out of their way to see the movie. That's a truly meaningful number for us."
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Security (2012 Film)
2012 films
2012 biographical drama films
South Korean thriller drama films
South Korean biographical drama films
Biographical films about politicians
Films set in 1985
Films set in Seoul
Films based on biographies
Films directed by Chung Ji-young
2010s Korean-language films
Cultural depictions of activists
Cultural depictions of politicians
Cultural depictions of South Korean men
2012 drama films
South Korean films based on actual events
2010s South Korean films