Lead cast: Hyun Bin, Jung Woo-sung, Woo Do-hwanOver the past several years, the allure of South Korea’s dark modern history – particularly the men who stalked the corridors of power – has become one of the country’s most reliable sources of prestige entertainment and commercial success.This September, viewers can flock to cinemas to catch the big-budget period thriller The Assassin(s), which chronicles the 1974 attempt on South Korean president Park Chung-hee that killed his wife, first lady Yuk Young-soo. They can then stream the second season of Disney+’s Made in Korea, which opens with a fictionalised account of his 1979 assassination.Several major films have covered this turning point in Korean history before. In 2023, Made in Korea co-star Jung Woo-sung featured in 12.12: The Day, which chronicles the coup d’état that followed in the wake of Park’s death.Made In Korea | Season 2 Trailer | HuluThe assassination has been depicted in films such as Im Sang-soo’s The President’s Last Bang (2005) and The Man Standing Next (2020), from Made in Korea filmmaker Woo Min-ho. This makes Woo the first director to depict the incident twice on screen, raising the question: have filmmakers returned to this well once too often?
Made in Korea season 2: Hyun Bin returns for dark 1980s political thriller
South Korea’s history continues to be explored in the series, as Hyun Bin’s Ki-tae navigates the 1979 assassination of leader Park Chung-hee.
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