It’s not often that deep anger lingers after watching a cinematic blockbuster. But “1212: The Day” viscerally draws out that emotion by illuminating a darkly pivotal moment in Korean politics. Namely, it gives an eyewitness account of the nine-hour military coup that took place on December 12th 1979, roughly six weeks after the assassination of President Park Chung Hee.
This historical drama may be new to streaming but it was Korea’s largest moneymaker of 2023 and the country’s sixth greatest ticket-seller of all time. 1212 is a dramatization that stays, for the most part, faithful to fact. All character names have been altered from their real-life counterparts, with some names nearly identical and others intentionally very different. (The director is on record stating that the degree of difference reflects how much creative license he took.) But the key turning points and the general timeline are mostly true to life. (Notably, former President Chun Doo-hwan is called Chun Doo-kwang (Hwang Jung-min) in the film.)
By any measure, “1212: The Day” is a tour de force. It’s a gripping tale told by an exceptional filmmaker. Even if you’ve studied Korean politics, witnessing how General Chun step-by-step dismantles democratic safeguards and how he brazenly seizes power is astonishing. Those unfamiliar with Korean history won’t know what hit them by the time the credits roll.
In the film, the newly appointed Commander of the Capital Garrison, Lee Sung-min (Jung Woo-sung,) is the chief antagonist in attempting to block Chun’s plotting. (Lee’s counterpart in real life is General Jang Tae-wan, who did indeed staunchly resist Chun as Commander of Seoul’s last defense against the coup.) But while there’s no question that Jang opposed Chun, the film definitely took some liberties when dramatizing the night’s events.
Commander Lee assesses where loyalties lie as General Chun’s coup strategy unfolds.
It’s debatable whether prior knowledge of Korean history or politics is needed to readily follow what essentially amounted to a mini civil war on the night of December 12, 1979. Without an explicit exposition scroll of Korean politics or insight into who the players are in army chain of command, the films’ writer/director Kim Sung-soo, instead, has Chun lay out his own scheme. This happens when Chun calls a summit of the key members of Hanahoe, his not-so-secret army within an army. In one data-heavy scene: background, coup strategy and Chun’s chief allies are all introduced. It’s a clever device to deliver needed information without slowing down the film.
On one side of the night’s civil war was anyone who obstructed Chun’s ploy to “legally” remove his primary political rival by arresting him on a flimsy frameup for the assassination of President Park. On the other side were those who fell in line with Hanahoe and Chun’s power grab.
In “1212: The Day” (and history) Chun’s rival (and ranking superior) was the Army Chief of Staff. It’s noteworthy that the film character’s name, Jeong Sang-ho (Lee Seong-min) is almost identical to the real-life Chief of Staff, Jeong Seung-hwa. And it’s Jeong who chose the new Commander of the Capital Garrison to serve as a last stand against Chun’s ambitions.
Even for political junkies or war movie buffs, the fact that both sides of the coup were soldiers in the same army, wearing the same uniform, proved to be inherently confusing. Luckily, the focus of the film repeatedly pitted Chun and Lee against each other, man-to-man. Almost set as opposing gunslingers, they didn’t have to be in the same room to be each other’s chief antagonist.
The actions of the city’s Commander were at times stretched for dramatic effect in 1212. (The Haengju Bridge scene and the film’s last exchange between Chun and Lee took some liberties.) But while the film’s firefights were a little exaggerated, there were indeed casualties. And one soldier, in particular, did die when he refused to leave the side of his commander, who resisted being arrested by Chun’s rebel troops.
Major Oh Jin-ho stands his ground and refuses to allow General Chun’s rebels to arrest his commanding officer.
Given the captivating subject matter, it’s quite surprising that “1212: the Day” is the first film to explicitly focus on Chun’s coup and the extreme strategies he took to claim the Presidency. In short, Chun assured an extended military rule first started by Park Chung Hee. He did this not only with his own eight years as President but also through a five-year presidential term held by his hand-picked successor, Roh Tae-woo, who played a sizeable part in securing “The Day.”
Showing phenomenal cross-generational appeal, this historical drama’s audience skewed much younger than usual for a military documentary-style film. Although the film stopped short of when Chun declared martial law or made the call to slaughter protesters in the Gwangju Uprising, “1212: The Day” clearly reminded modern audiences who Chun was and how far he was willing to go to secure power.
“1212: The Day” is available to rent in the US on Viki Rakuten.
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