''26 Years'' () 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 Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n film based on the popular 2006

manhwa (; ) is the general Korean term for comics and print cartoons. Outside Korea, the term usually refers to South Korean comics. is greatly influenced by Japanese Manga comics. Modern Manhwa has extended its reach to many other countries. ...

serialized online by manhwaga Kang Full. It is the fictional story of five ordinary people (a sports shooter, a gangster, a policeman, a businessman, and head of a private security firm) who band together in order to assassinate the man responsible for the massacre of innocent civilians in Gwangju in May 1980.

Plot

The story deals with one of the most tragic and critical events in South Korean history. On May 18, 1980, in the city of

Gwangju Gwangju () is South Korea's sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province until the provincial offic ...

, state troops were ordered to open fire on civilians, killing and wounding thousands. Former president

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 ...

is believed to have given the order, and although he is not named explicitly in the film, the target of the assassination attempt is clearly meant to represent Chun, who was convicted in 1996 of crimes related to the

Gwangju Massacre The Gwangju Uprising was a popular uprising in the city of Gwangju, South Korea, from May 18 to May 27, 1980, which pitted local, armed citizens against soldiers and police of the South Korean government. The event is sometimes called 5·18 (M ...

, but later pardoned by President

Kim Dae-jung Kim Dae-jung (; ; 6 January 192418 August 2009), was a South Korean politician and activist who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. He was a 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for his work for democracy and human ...

. 26 years later in 2006, five people who consider themselves as some of the biggest victims of the massacre, plot a top-secret project to exact revenge by assassinating the man responsible. Kwon Jung-hyuk is a newly recruited policeman who lost his family in the massacre; he is now responsible for the cars that have access to the target's house. Kwak Jin-bae is a young gangster from an organized crime group whose father was also killed. Olympic sharpshooter Shim Mi-jin, a

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

from a large company and the director of a private security firm are also involved. As a former president, "that man" lives under police protection in an affluent district of

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

, but through a combination of ingenuity, skill, and well-placed money they are able to draw within shooting distance of their target.

Cast

* Jin Goo - Kwak Jin-bae (gangster) * Han Hye-jin - Shim Mi-jin (shooter of national team) * Im Seulong - Kwon Jung-hyuk (policeman) *

Bae Soo-bin Bae Soo-bin (born Yoon Tae-wook on December 9, 1976), is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in the television dramas ''Brilliant Legacy'', ''Temptation of an Angel'', ''49 Days'', and '' Dong Yi''. He also starred in the films ...

- Kim Joo-ahn (lobbyist) * Lee Geung-young - Kim Gap-se (chairman of a company) *

Jang Gwang Jang Gwang (born January 5, 1952) is a South Korean actor in film and television. Filmography Film * ''Taste of Horror – Gym for Residents'' (TBA) * '' Air Murder'' (2022) * '' Sinkhole (2021) * ''White Day: Broken Barrier'' (2021) * ...

- " that man" (ex-president) *Jo Deok-jae - Ma Sang-ryul *

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); ...

- Chief Choi *

Ahn Suk-hwan Ahn Suk-hwan (Hangul: 안석환; real name: Ahn Jin-hyeong (Hangul: 안진형); November 1, 1959) is a South Korean actor. Ahn has been active in theater, film and television since 1986. His onscreen roles include both comedic and villainous sup ...

- Ahn Soo-ho *

Lee Mi-do Lee Mi-do (born Lee Eun-hye on 25 May 1982) is a South Korean actress. Career In 2012, she also moved into the TV arena, while remaining active in her film career. Her notable TV credits include ''The Queen of Office'' (2013) and '' You Are ...

- Kwak Jin-bae's mother *Kim Min-jae *

Jung Hee-tae Jung Hee-tae (Korean: 정희태, Jeonghuitae, born 5 July 1974) is a South Korean actor. He is known for his roles in '' My Mind's Flower Rain'' (2016), ''My Father Is Strange'' (2017) and 2018 drama series '' Radio Romance''. He has appeared ...

as Teo Mi-neol

Production

Kang Full's

webtoon Webtoons (), are a type of digital comic that originated in South Korea usually meant to be read on smartphones. While webtoons were mostly unknown outside of Korea during their inception, there has been a surge in popularity internationally ...

illustrated the brutal suppression by the dictatorial administration of the time, putting emphasis on the overcoming of interpersonal and societal barriers. In 2008, the film was originally set to be directed by Lee Hae-young based on his own adapted screenplay titled ''29 Years'', with

Ryoo Seung-bum Ryoo Seung-bum (born August 9, 1980) is a South Korean actor. He made a name for himself in his older brother director Ryoo Seung-wan's eclectic films, notably '' Die Bad'' (his acting debut in 2000), ''Arahan'' (2004), '' Crying Fist'' (2005), ...

Kim Ah-joong Kim Ah-joong (born October 16, 1982) is a South Korean actress, model and singer. She is best known for playing the main character in the romantic comedy '' 200 Pounds Beauty''. Education Kim graduated from Korea University with a master's degr ...

, Jin Goo,

Chun Ho-jin Chun Ho-jin (born September 9, 1960) is a South Korean actor. Early life Chun studied chemistry at Inha University but dropped out to pursue acting. His father Chun Gyu-deok was among the first generation of professional wrestlers in the count ...

, and

Byun Hee-bong Byun Hee-bong (born Byun In-chul; June 8, 1942) is a South Korean actor. Career Byun In-chul was born in Jangseong County, South Jeolla Province, and attended Salesian High School in Gwangju. He took up law at Chosun University before droppin ...

cast in the lead roles. But the production came to a halt once investors pulled out from funding the film ten days before filming began because of its controversial politically sensitive content, and rumors were rife that the pressure had originated from the conservative government. After nearly four years of languishing in pre-production limbo due to financial difficulties, online donations poured in from 15,000 individuals amounting to (US$646,000), with singer

Lee Seung-hwan Lee Seung-hwan (; born December 13, 1965) is a South Korean singer and record producer known as the country's "King of Live Performances" for his frequent solo concerts. Lee debuted in 1989 as a pop ballad singer and later incorporated rock el ...

contributing another (US$923,000), toward the film's (US$4,246,000) production cost. Another investor was television personality

Kim Je-dong Kim Je-dong (born 3 February 1974) is a South Korean comedian, variety and talk show host on television. He is best known for hosting the talk show ''Healing Camp, Aren't You Happy'' on SBS. Background Kim is also famous for being one of ...

. The

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by cro ...

enabled the production to finally begin filming Lee's script with a new cast and director on July 19, 2012. Filming wrapped on October 10, 2012. The film's ending credits roll for more than 10 minutes, as they include all 15,000 donors' names. Director

Cho Geun-hyun Cho Geun-hyun is a South Korean art director and film director. His directorial debut, the hit drama thriller ''26 Years'' (2012) with over 2.9 million admissions, was voted Best Korean Film by Twitter users held by KOFIC in December 2012. He wa ...

said at the movie's press conference, "When one does something terribly wrong and hurts others, they should at least apologize. And even if he or she chooses not to, they should be punished for what they’ve done. This is common sense, not some political idea."

Box office

The film debuted at the top of the box office, selling 1,108,714 tickets in only a single week on release. It reached 2.5 million admissions in mid-December 2012, resulting in a total of nearly 3 million in January 2013.

Awards and nominations

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

Baeksang Arts Awards The Baeksang Arts Awards (), also known as the Paeksang Arts Awards, are awards for excellence in film, television and theatre in South Korea. The awards were first introduced in 1965 by Chang Key-young, the founder of the Hankook Ilbo newspap ...

*Nomination - Best New Actor - Im Seulong *Nomination - Best New Director -

Buil Film Awards The Buil Film Awards () is a South Korean film awards ceremony hosted by the ''Busan Ilbo'' newspaper. It began in 1958 as one of the earliest film awards in the country. During the 1950s and 1960s, it was the biggest film awards event in the B ...

*Nomination - Best Actor - Jin Goo *Nomination - Best Supporting Actor -

*Nomination - Best New Director -

Blue Dragon Film Awards The Blue Dragon Film Awards () is an annual awards ceremony that is presented by '' Sports Chosun'' (a sister brand of the ''Chosun Ilbo'') for excellence in film in South Korea. The Blue Dragon Film Awards considers only blockbusters and popu ...

*Nomination - Best New Actor - Im Seulong 2014 Golden Cinema Festival *Special Jury Prize - Jin Goo

References

External links

* * * *
''26 Years'' original webtoon
at Daum {{DEFAULTSORT:26 Years (film) 2012 films 2012 action thriller films South Korean action thriller films Films about the Gwangju Uprising Films about politicians South Korean films about revenge Films set in 1980 Films set in Seoul Films set in Gwangju Films shot in Daejeon Films based on manhwa Films based on works by Kang Full Chungeorahm Films films 2010s Korean-language films Films directed by Cho Geun-hyun Live-action films based on comics Manhwa adapted into films 2010s South Korean films