Latest news with #KoreaMilitaryAcademy
Korea Herald
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Lee attends screening of documentary film on Korean independence fighters
President Lee Jae Myung and first lady Kim Hea Kyung on Sunday attended a screening of a documentary film on Korea's independence fighters against Japan's colonial rule, days after the nation marked the 80th anniversary of Liberation Day. Lee and Kim watched "La Resistance," which follows the history of legendary independence fighter Hong Beom-do, at a theater in Seoul, in commemoration of the landmark anniversary of the country's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule Friday. Lee was accompanied by the film's director, Moon Seung-wook, and actor Cho Jin-woong, who took part in the documentary as a narrator, as well as 119 people who applied to attend the screening. Lee had invited the public to apply for the event to remember and honor the independence fighters in a social media post Saturday. "La Resistance," which traces the roots of Korea's military, covers Hong's major victory against Japanese forces in the Battle of Bongo-dong in 1920 and recent controversy surrounding efforts to relocate Hong's bust at the Korea Military Academy. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Liberation Day on the big screen, with stories of Korean resistance
From AI-restored footage to drama on comfort women, theaters offer window into Korea's independence struggle As South Korea marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Korean Peninsula from Japanese colonial rule on Aug. 15, the film industry is rolling out a slate of works that grapple with the country's defiant history. This year's lineup spans documentary, drama and experimental formats, each offering a distinct perspective of the independence movement and its enduring legacy. Leading the slate is "La Resistance," a documentary on Gen. Hong Beom-do, a guerrilla commander who led Korean forces to key victories against Japanese troops at the Battle of Bongodong (Fengwudong) and the Battle of Cheongsanri (Qingshanli) in eastern Manchuria, in what is now the Helong region of Jilin province, China. Unveiled Wednesday, the film is a joint production from the Liberation Association and the Hong Beom-do Memorial Foundation. It opened simultaneously in South Korea and Kazakhstan, where Hong died in exile in 1943. Actor Cho Jin-woong, who served as a special envoy during the 2021 repatriation of Hong's remains from Kazakhstan, provides the narration. Long honored as a national hero, issues surrounding Hong became a flash point in 2023 when the conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administration ordered his bust removed from the Korea Military Academy, citing his membership in the Soviet Communist Party. The move set off a broader debate across ideological lines over how the country should remember its modern history. Also returning to theaters Wednesday is "I Can Speak," a 2017 comedy-drama that turned the testimony of survivors of Japanese military sexual slavery during World War II into a box office phenomenon. The film follows Ok-bun (Na Moon-hee), a relentless civil complainant who learns English to testify before the US Congress about her experiences as a wartime sex slave. Na's character draws inspiration from Lee Yong-soo, who traveled from South Korea to Washington in 2007 and 2015 to speak out about her experience as one of the Japanese military's euphemistically labeled "comfort women." The film drew 3 million viewers during its initial run and was a sensation with major award ceremonies in Korea, with Na winning best actress honors at the Blue Dragon Film Awards, Baeksang Arts Awards and Grand Bell Awards. Multiplex chain CGV and confectionery giant Binggrae have partnered on an experimental short that ventures into new territory. "Unheard Liberation," which premiered Aug. 8, uses artificial intelligence to reconstruct the sounds of Aug. 15, 1945 -- the shouts, cheers and jubilation of the original day of liberation, preserved in photographs but never captured in audio. Running exactly 8 minutes and 15 seconds, the film synthesizes archival materials with real testimony to imagine those lost voices. Screenings through Aug. 15 include a donation component, with 815 won (59 cents) from each ticket supporting descendants of independence fighters through the Korean Red Cross. Rounding out the lineup is "Baeksan: From Uiryong to Balhae," opening Aug. 21. The documentary spotlights Ahn Hee-je, a businessperson who supported Korea's Shanghai-based provisional government during the Japanese occupation through his trading company. The rerelease brings renewed attention to a figure who, despite financing a large share of the independence movement's activities, remains little known to contemporary audiences. Using AI restoration and newly discovered archives from across East Asia, the documentary reveals for the first time the vast scale of Ahn's journey from Siberia to Manchuria.
Korea Herald
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Independence fighter's bust to remain at military academy after relocation row
The Korea Military Academy has decided to retain the bust of a revered South Korean independence fighter on its campus, a lawmaker said Monday, reversing an earlier relocation plan that had sparked a heated public debate. The bust of Gen. Hong Beom-do, a leader of Korean independence forces from the time of Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea, will stay at the Chungmu education facility inside the institution, the academy said in response to a query by Rep. Jung Sung-ho of the Democratic Party. In 2023, the defense ministry announced plans to relocate Hong's bust to the Independence Hall of Korea in the country's central region and the busts of four other independence fighters erected at the academy to a third location. The ministry had cited Hong's controversial ties to Soviet communist forces. The move sparked fierce debate over its legitimacy and drew strong protests from liberal political groups and advocates for independence fighters. The busts of the five independence fighters were originally installed in 2018 at the academy under the previous liberal Moon Jae-in government. The relocation plan was therefore widely seen as an attempt by the conservative government of then President Yoon Suk Yeol to reverse Moon's initiative. According to Jung, the academy said it also plans to keep the busts of the four other independence fighters. Hong is known for leading Korean independence forces and spearheading major victories against Japanese troops in 1920. He moved to Russia the following year to seek refuge from Japanese forces. He was forced to relocate to current-day Kazakhstan in 1937 under then Soviet leader Joseph Stalin's policy, along with many other ethnic Koreans before his death in 1943.
