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| President Moon Jae-in, center, watches "A Taxi Driver," a movie based on the true story of the late Jurgen Hinzpeter, a German journalist who covered the Gwangju pro-democracy movement in 1980, at a local theater in Seoul, Sunday, together with Edeltraut Brahmstaedt, left, the widow of Hinzpeter, and Song Kang-ho, right, the actor who played the main character in the movie. / Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae |
By Kim Rahn
President Moon Jae-in watched "A Taxi Driver," a movie about the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju, Sunday.
The choice of the film was not random and he did not view the movie just as a pastime: watching a movie has been a way for a president to indirectly deliver his or her political message and state management philosophy.
"A Taxi Driver" is based on the true story of the late Jurgen Hinzpeter, a German journalist who reported on the Chun Doo-hwan military junta's bloody suppression of citizens in the pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju, and the Korean taxi driver who helped him.
The President watched the movie at a local theater in Seoul together with Edeltraut Brahmstaedt, the widow of Hinzpeter.
Since long before, he has highly evaluated the May 18 Gwangju Uprising, and he promised, as an election campaign pledge, to etch the spirit of the movement in the Constitution and find the truth about the suppression.
He also attended the commemoration ceremony in Gwangju about a week after his inauguration, while his predecessor Park Geun-hye had refused to attend.
After watching the film, Moon was quoted as saying by Cheong Wa Dae officials, "The truth about the uprising has not been fully revealed. This is the task we have to resolve. I believe this movie will help resolve it."
In 2012 before becoming President, Moon also watched "Masquerade," a film depicting a Joseon king learning to be a better ruler when he switches places with a poor clown. Moon, who cried a lot during the viewing, said on Facebook that the movie reminded him of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, his longtime friend for whom he served as chief of staff. "It made me think how a state leader should serve the people," he wrote.
In 2014, he watched "The Attorney," a film based on Roh's days as a human rights lawyer and a real event called the "Burim case" in 1981, when 22 students were falsely accused of espionage and tortured by the Chun regime. He then wrote, "Under the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations, history has gone backward and the nation's democracy, which people achieved through blood, is in a crisis again."
Park watched several movies, mainly those focusing on patriotism: "The Admiral: Roaring Currents" (2014), a true story about Admiral Yi Sun-sin who fought against Japanese invaders in the 1592-98 Imjin War; "Ode to My Father" (2014) that depicts the nation's industrialization era after the Korean War; and "Operation Chromite" (2016), a true story about the war.
She watched "Ode to My Father" together with former nurses and miners who worked in Germany in the 1960s-70s and sent hard cash to help their families and revive the economy. They went to Germany under the Park Chung-hee government, Park Geun-hye's father. She said, "The movie well depicted the old generation's sacrifice. I heard the film is helping communication between the old and young generations."
Lee, as president-elect, watched "Forever the Moment" in 2008, a film based on a true story of the women's national handball team during the Athens Olympics. He expressed hope for the Korean team in the upcoming Beijing Olympics.
Roh also watched a film about the Gwangju uprising, "May 18," in 2007. After watching, he said, "I couldn't watch the movie comfortably as I had a lump in my throat."
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