In film and television, historical dramas have never gone out of style. Fans of period dramas, both in Korea and abroad, like to be transported to a different time and learn about the stories that swept up — or were put in motion by — our ancestors. Some watch to see how the present compares with the past. Others watch to see progress. Foreign Korea-philes can get a crash course in Korean history while watching historical films. But all historical dramas create characters, add romantic plots and conflate or invent events to make sure viewers don’t lose interest. With Fiction vs. History, the Korea JoongAng Daily attempts to distinguish fact from fiction in popular period dramas and films for clarification and to dispel misunderstandings.
Actors Lee Jung-jae, left, and Jung Woo-sung feature in Lee’s directorial debut film “Hunt.” Lee is the chief of the foreign intelligence unit and Jung the domestic cheif at the Agency for National Security Planning (NSP), which was formerly called the Korea Central Intelligence Agency. [MEGABOX PLUS M]
Convoluted espionage thriller “Hunt” is “Squid Game” star Lee Jung-jae’s directorial debut. The film offers a glimpse of what Korea was like in the early 1980s when the country was under yet another repressive regime…
