"Silmido" Attacked as Pro-NK
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Blockbuster movies "Taegukgi" and "Silmido" were accused of positively portraying North Korea during a National Assembly interpellation session on Thursday.
"One of the first scenes in 'Taegukgi' shows military policemen conscripting students as soldiers against their will, which is not only factually erroneous but also damages the legitimacy of our armed forces," Rep. Kim Yong-kyun of the opposition Grand National Party said. "Taegukgi," which tells the tragic story of two brothers fighting in the 1950-1953 Korean War, has attracted huge audiences since its release earlier this month.
Kim claimed that the movie also omits vital historical details regarding massacres of civilians by the North Korean Army.
"Tens of thousands of viewers are being brainwashed into believing that it was not the communists but our army who was to blame for the atrocities," he said.
He also attacked "Silmido," another highly successful film about a group of South Korean commandos who were trained to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Il-sung in the late 1960s.
"The movie exaggerates violent acts by the South Korean Army," he said. "Silmido," also the name of an island off Inchon where the commandos were trained in secret, has attracted more than 10 million viewer, the most ever by a film screened in South Korea.
Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) lawmaker Choi Myung-hun also took the issue with "Silmido," citing scenes in the movie where a North Korean military song is sung. "I don't understand how this movie with scenes praising our primary enemy, North Korea, can be screened in public," the retired Army colonel and Korean War veteran said.
Thursday's Assembly interpellation covered affairs related to the Culture and Tourism Ministry with minister Lee Chang-dong and Prime Minister Goh Kun attending.
"One of the first scenes in 'Taegukgi' shows military policemen conscripting students as soldiers against their will, which is not only factually erroneous but also damages the legitimacy of our armed forces," Rep. Kim Yong-kyun of the opposition Grand National Party said. "Taegukgi," which tells the tragic story of two brothers fighting in the 1950-1953 Korean War, has attracted huge audiences since its release earlier this month.
Kim claimed that the movie also omits vital historical details regarding massacres of civilians by the North Korean Army.
"Tens of thousands of viewers are being brainwashed into believing that it was not the communists but our army who was to blame for the atrocities," he said.
He also attacked "Silmido," another highly successful film about a group of South Korean commandos who were trained to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Il-sung in the late 1960s.
"The movie exaggerates violent acts by the South Korean Army," he said. "Silmido," also the name of an island off Inchon where the commandos were trained in secret, has attracted more than 10 million viewer, the most ever by a film screened in South Korea.
Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) lawmaker Choi Myung-hun also took the issue with "Silmido," citing scenes in the movie where a North Korean military song is sung. "I don't understand how this movie with scenes praising our primary enemy, North Korea, can be screened in public," the retired Army colonel and Korean War veteran said.
Thursday's Assembly interpellation covered affairs related to the Culture and Tourism Ministry with minister Lee Chang-dong and Prime Minister Goh Kun attending.
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