3 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.
