''5th Republic'' () is a 2005 South Korean drama television series that aired on MBC from April 23 to September 1, 2005, on Saturdays and Sundays at 21:40 ( KST) for 41 episodes. It depicts the period of the

Fifth Republic of South Korea The fifth Republic of South Korea was the government of South Korea from March 1981 to December 1987. The fifth republic was established in March 1981 by Chun Doo-hwan, a military colleague of long-time president and dictator Park Chung-hee, aft ...

, during which 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 ...

was the dictator from 1981 to 1988, from his rise to power through a

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

to his downfall after a series of democratic movements, such as the

Gwangju uprising 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 ( ...

and the

June Democratic Uprising The June Democratic Struggle (), also known as the June Democracy Movement and June Democratic Uprising, was a nationwide pro-democracy movement in South Korea that generated mass protests from June 10 to June 29, 1987. The demonstrations force ...

. The Fifth Republic was a politically and socially turbulent era in the country's history, which generated controversy for the drama series.

Synopsis

Seventeen former politicians and key aides of Chun's (including Chang Se-dong, his former chief-of-staff; Hur Hwa-pyong, lawmaker;

Jeong Ho-yong General Chung Ho-yong (; born 10 September 1932) is a South Korean politician and army general, who was held the positions of minister of the interior and later minister of defense. He is considered as one of the best friends of Chun Doo-hwan ...

, former Army Chief of Staff; and Lee Hak-bong, former vice director of the Korea Central Intelligence Agency) attempted to halt the drama in pre-production, and failing that, sent a statement to the producers with claims of historical distortion and threatened legal action unless the script was changed. The production refused, with producer- director Im Tae-woo saying that they tried their best to maintain

objectivity Objectivity can refer to: * Objectivity (philosophy), the property of being independent from perception ** Objectivity (science), the goal of eliminating personal biases in the practice of science ** Journalistic objectivity, encompassing fai ...

by basing their script on historical records and information that they collected for three years, such as

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

rulings, and other hearing documents and news reports at that time.

Cast

Lee Deok-hwa Lee Deok-hwa (born May 8, 1952) is a South Korean actor. Career Lee Deok-hwa studied theater and film at Dongguk University, and made his acting debut in 1972. He and his father, movie star Lee Ye-chun starred together in the 1975 horror film '' ...

Seo In-seok Seo In-seok (born February 22, 1949) is a South Korean actor. Seo made his acting debut in 1976, and among his notable television series are the historical dramas '' Emperor Wang Gun'' (2000) and ''Jeong Do-jeon Jeong Dojeon (Korean: 정도전 ...

Roh Tae-woo Roh Tae-woo (; ; 4 December 1932 – 26 October 2021) was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the sixth president of South Korea from 1988 to 1993. Roh was a close ally and friend of Chun Doo-hwan, the predecessor leader ...

* Kim Young-ran as Rhee Soon-ja *

Song Ok-sook Song Ok-sook (born August 14, 1960) is a South Korean actress. She has appeared in supporting roles in numerous television dramas, including '' Winter Sonata'', '' Beethoven Virus'', ''More Charming by the Day'', and '' Missing You''. Song is ...

Kim Ok-suk Kim Ok-suk (Hangul: 김옥숙, Hanja: 金玉淑) (born 8 September 1935) is the widow of South Korean President Roh Tae-woo. She was the first lady when Roh Tae-woo was in office, from 1988 to 1993. Early life Kim was born on September 8, 193 ...

*Hong Hak-pyo as Chang Se-dong *Yoon Seung-won as

Lee Jae-yong Lee Jae-yong (; born 23 June 1968), known professionally in the West as Jay Y. Lee, is a South Korean business magnate and the chairman of Samsung Electronics. He is the only son of Hong Ra-hee and Lee Kun-hee, chairman of Samsung until his de ...

as Lee Hak-bong *Kim Sung-kyum as

Choi Kyu-ha Choi Kyu-hah (; ; July 16, 1919 – October 22, 2006), also spelled Choi Kyu-ha or Choi Gyu-ha, was a South Korean politician who served as the fourth president of South Korea from 1979 to 1980. Early life Choi was born in Wonju-myeon, Wonj ...

*Im Dong-jin as

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 ...

Kim Yong-gun Kim Yong-gun (; born May 8, 1946) is a South Korean actor. His sons Ha Jung-woo Kim Sung-hoon (born March 11, 1978), better known as Ha Jung-woo (), is a South Korean actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. One of the highest gr ...

Kim Young-sam Kim Young-sam (; or ; 20 December 1927 – 22 November 2015) was a South Korean politician and activist who served as the seventh president of South Korea from 1993 to 1998. From 1961, he spent almost 30 years as one of the leaders of t ...

Lee Jung-gil Lee Jung-gil (born October 1, 1944) is a South Korean actor. After making his acting debut in 1967 in the stage play ''Sakhalinsk's The Sky and the Earth'', Lee has had a prolific career in Korean television and film. Filmography Television ser ...

Kim Jong-pil Kim Jong-pil (; ; January 7, 1926 – June 23, 2018), also known colloquially as JP, was a South Korean politician and the founder/first director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA, now the National Intelligence Service). He s ...

*Won Jong-rye as Park Young-ok *Yeon Woon-kyung as Lee Hui-ho *Hyun Sook-hee as

Son Myung-soon Son Myung-soon (Hangul:손명순, Hanja:孫命順) (also transliterated as Sohn Myung Soon) (born 29 January 1929) is the widow of South Korean President Kim Young-sam. She was the first lady when Kim Young-sam was in office, from 1993 to 199 ...

* Lee Jin-woo as Hur Hwa-pyong *Cha Kwang-soo as Huh Sam-soo *Lee Hee-do as Huh Moon-do *

Jeon Su-ji Jeon Su-ji (born 10 November 1983) is a South Korean actress. She is known for her roles in dramas such as '' Designated Survivor: 60 Days'', ''Signal'', ''Sin Don'' and '' Green Mothers' Club''. She also appeared in movies ''Marathon'', '' Clos ...

as Park Geun-young *Jung Han-heon as Kwon Jung-dal *Kim Hyung-il as

Kim Jae-gyu Kim Jae-gyu (Hangul: 김재규, April 9, 1924 – May 24, 1980) was a South Korean politician, army lieutenant general and the director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency. He assassinated South Korean President Park Chung-hee— ...

Jung Ho-keun Jung Ho-keun (born September 28, 1964) is a South Korean actor and shaman, who mostly was a supporting actor in television dramas. In 2008, Jung played the leading role in a stage musical production of ''Hi Franceska'', adapted from '' Hello Fra ...

as Cha Ji-chul *Kim Sung-joon as Park Heung-ju *Kim Hyuk as Park Seon-ho *Jo Mi-na as Shin Jae-soon *

Shin Dong-mi Shin Dong-mi (born 29 November 1977) is a South Korean actress. Career She made her debut as a theater actor in 1998. The following year, she started to act as a musical actor in 1999, and then she started her career as a TV actress in 2001 ...

Shim Soo-bong Sim Min-kyung is a South Korean singer known professionally as Sim Soo-bong. When she was a senior at Myongji University, she debuted in 1978 through MBC College Song Contest ( ko, MBC 대학가요제) at which she performed her self-composed ...

*Lee Chang-hwan as

Park Chung-hee Park Chung-hee (, ; 14 November 1917 – 26 October 1979) was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the dictator of South Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979; ruling as an unelected military strongman from 1961 ...

* Park In-hwan as

Jeong Seung-hwa Jeong Seung-hwa (정승화, 鄭昇和; 27 February 1929 – 12 June 2002) was a South Korean general officer, and the 22nd Republic of Korea Army Chief of Staff. He was present at the Blue House presidential compound, site of the assassination ...

Kim Ki-hyeon Kim Ki-hyeon (; born June 24, 1945) is a South Korean voice actor. He joined the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation's voice acting division in 1965. Roles Broadcast TV *24 (television) (replacing Tobin Bell by Season 2, Korea TV Edition, MBC) *Cu ...

Jang Tae-wan Jang Tae-wan (장태완, 張泰玩, 13 September 1931 – 26 July 2010) was an army general and politician of South Korea. Jang was the commander of the Capital Garrison Command (now Capital Defense Command) during the Coup d'état of December T ...

Yang Mi-kyung Yang Mi-kyung (born July 25, 1961) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for playing the role of palace lady-in-waiting Han Baek-young in the popular period drama series ''Dae Jang Geum'' (2003). Other activities Yang was also a visitin ...

Yuk Young-soo Yuk Young-soo (; 29 November 1925 – 15 August 1974) was the wife of the 3rd South Korean president Park Chung-hee and the mother of the 11th South Korean president Park Geun-hye. She was killed in 1974 during an attempted assassination of ...

*Na Sung-kyoon as

Kim Gye-won Kim or KIM may refer to: Names * Kim (given name) * Kim (surname) ** Kim (Korean surname) *** Kim family (disambiguation), several dynasties **** Kim family (North Korea), the rulers of North Korea since Kim Il-sung in 1948 ** Kim, Vietnamese ...

*Moon Hoe-won as Hwang Young-shi *

Lee Seung-hyung Lee Seung-hyung is a South Korean actor. He is best known as a supporting actor in television dramas, notably in ''Brilliant Legacy'' (2009) and ''Prosecutor Princess ''Prosecutor Princess'' () is a 2010 South Korean television series starring ...

as Park Chul-un *

Lee Han-wi Lee Han-wi (born June 17, 1961) is a South Korean actor. Since his acting debut in 1983, Lee has become a prolific supporting actor A supporting actor is an actor who performs a role in a play or film below that of the leading actor(s), and ...

as Kim Yong-nam *

Lee Ki-young Lee Ki-young (born August 26, 1963) is a South Korean actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as f ...

as Choi Se-chang *Go Jung-min as

Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; often in English ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, until she was impeached and convicted on related corruption charges. Park was the fi ...

Kim Nam-gil Kim Nam-gil () is a South Korean actor, producer, director, singer and philanthropist. He is best known from leading roles in disaster blockbuster ''Pandora'' (2016); crime thriller '' Memoir of a Murderer '' (2017); adventure film '' The Pirate ...

as Park Ji-man

References

External links

* {{in lang, ko Korean-language television shows 2005 South Korean television series debuts 2005 South Korean television series endings MBC TV television dramas South Korean political television series South Korean military television series Works about coups d'état