Historic epic “12.12: The Day” attracts younger generation, pulling over 7 million viewers

Visitors cover the face of actor Jeon Doo-kwang, who plays the film\'s protagonist, with their hands as they take a commemorative photo at a movie theater in Seoul on Nov. 11, after the film \

Historic epic “12.12: The Day” drew more than 7 million viewers on December 11. Since its release on November 22, the film, which follows the dramatic events of the 1979 coup, has been successful at the box office as it has been attracting the younger generation who did not experience the era but try to remember the history.

Lee Ju-yeon (28), an office worker living in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, said that after watching the film, she searched for the names of the people on whom the characters were based, such as former President Chun Doo-hwan and Jang Tae-wan, the former commander of the Capital Garrison Command (now Capital Defense Command). "I became curious about the history of the military coup," she said.

Like Lee, other viewers of the film have been uploading postings on various social media platforms that they were studying the history of that period.

A person wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that read papers on the topics related to the film, such as "Uncovering the Truth about the 1980 Pro-Democracy Uprising in Gwangju” and "The New Military Regime and Accomplices in 1980.”

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.