Director Kim Seong-su noted that the state of emergency on Dec. 3 helped him realize why the film "Spring of Seoul," which Kim directed, became a hit.
At the 11th Korean Film Producers Association Awards held at Indie Space in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on the 17th, Kim received the Best Director award for "Spring of Seoul" and said, "Watching the president's outrageous coup attempt and people rushing out towards the National Assembly, while young people across the country were approving the impeachment, I realized why so many audiences watched this movie."
He emphasized upon seeing rallies urging the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, "I learned that young people these days have the right sense of justice. I'm worried about how to reach out and what to say to these great audiences, but there is also excitement about welcoming a new era and new audience."
"Spring of Seoul," inspired by the Dec. 12 military rebellion, depicts the confrontation between Jeon Doo-kwang (played by Hwang Jung-min), a security commander who instigated a rebellion to seize power, and Lee Tae-shin (played by Jung Woo-sung), the capital defense commander trying to stop him. It was released in November last year and attracted over 13 million viewers.
Recently, with the state of emergency and impeachment situation revisited, the film has been gaining renewed attention, trending on IPTV and online video services (OTT), and spawning related memes and parodies on social media (SNS).