hankyoreh

showing democracy activist Kim Geun-tae having (played by actor Park Won-sang

By Song Ho-jin, film correspondent

As soon as the film’s credits began to roll, Democratic United Party lawmaker In Jae-geun turned to the actor, Park Won-sang, who was seated next to her, hugged him, and began to sob. The gratitude she felt to the actor for depicting the plight of her husband Kim Geun-tae, who 27 years ago was tortured and endured all varieties of cruelty, coupled with the longing she must feel for him following his death last year, was impossible for her to contain.

“It was all stuff that I already knew, but it was still very hard to watch,” said Rep. In, adding, “I’m sure that what befell him last year was because of the lingering effects of the electric shock torture and that’s why I had to close my eyes during those scenes.”

She continued, “Even though they treated him like an animal, he never lost his love for the people. I felt both sorry for and thankful to my life partner who is now in heaven.” During the Q & A session that followed the screening, actor Lee Gyeong-yeong, who portrays police captain Lee Geun-an (character name: Lee Doo-han), the man who tortured her husband, fought back tears as he said, “I’m so very sorry,” in a moment that seemed almost like an official apology for the state-sponsored violence.

“National Security,” screened Oct. 6, the fourth day of the Busan International Film Festival, depicts the 22 days of torture inflicted on the now-deceased Kim Geun-tae following his arrest in September 1985 for being the leader of a pro-democracy youth group. Terribly cruel scenes of interrogators filling his nose and mouth with hot pepper powder and then pouring water down his throat until he passed out, shocking him with electrodes and beating him with clubs are seen throughout the film. Scenes of Lee, even in the midst of such brutality, continuing to state, “I denounce the May 16 coup d’etat [of President Park Chung-hee] and the military dictatorship [of Chun Doo-hwan]” and later, as he was buckling under the sustained abuse, “I can’t forgive myself,” left no dry eyes in the theater. Following his film “Unbowed,” which took aim at the judicial department, Director Chung Ji-young, once again has managed to shake the social consciousness.

Without actor Park Won-sang, who himself had to endure difficult filming conditions, including having water repeatedly poured over his face and rolling around on the floor stark naked, the film would have been impossible. The director also admitted as much, saying, “Any other actor would’ve run away half way into the shooting.”

The actor says, “I almost drowned once as a child, so I have a fear of water.” He also confided, “There is no way to prepare for a role that deals with the pain of torture: completely dismantling a person. I doubted my own ability to handle the scope of this character and the acting that I knew would be required.”

Park Won-sang said, “Just imitating what he went through on the Yangsu-ri set in Gyeonggi province was almost enough to kill me. It was so hard to have to ponder how terrible it must have been for him to go through that kind of torture.”

Park called the era of military rule “an illogical, barbaric time.” The original title of the work was, in fact, “The Barbaric Times.” He also called the film a “movie that remembers history,” because of the way it brings the issue of Kim Geun-tae and the torture of the not-so-distant past back into the light.

“[Society] forgets things that must be remembered and fails to point out the things that must be seen.” On the calls to forget the past and instead focus on the future that have been ringing out in the midst of the current presidential campaign, the actor said “That’s just not right.”

He explained, “We must reflect on our sad and shameful past and clean up the mess. Only then can we move forward.” On the character of the torturer in the film, he said, “He is a symbol of the violence that can be perpetrated in the name of the state against the common people or any group.”

He added, “I believe that someone always has to step forward and bravely condemn such violence from the state.”

After filming wrapped in late May, the actor took small Korean melons and the makgeoli (Korean rice wine) that the deceased Kim Geun-tae was fond of and visited his grave to pass on the message that they had finished the film.

This film is slated to hit theaters immediately ahead of the presidential election. Director Chung Ji-young said, “I hope that all the candidates see this film,” adding, “We must all 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.”

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