Asian A.V. Club newsletter #36: Kim Sung Soo
South Korean film director Kim Sung Soo opens up about his personal relationship to the military coup of 1979 as depicted in his blockbuster film 12.12: The Day.
On December 12th, Republic of Korea Army Major General Chun Doo-hwan and his collaborators launched a coup d’état, seizing control of the military and government. While it may echo President Yoon Suk Yeol’s recent hours-long declaration of martial law (more on that later), the original mutiny occurred 45 years ago in 1979, marking the beginning of eight years of military rule in South Korea.
As a teenager, director Kim Sung Soo heard gunshots while walking in his neighborhood and rushed to see what was happening. The gunfire lasted only 20–30 minutes, and Kim returned home, thinking it was over. By morning, South Korea’s political landscape had shifted dramatically, altering his education, community, and the nation—changes that still resonate today.
Nearly three decades later, Kim revisited this fateful night with 12.12: The Day, assembling an all-star cast to portray the tense insurrection. The film not only broke box office records but also inspired younger audiences to learn more about their past. As South Korea's official entry for the Oscars International Feature Film, we spoke with the acclaimed director about his youth, how the coup influenced his creativity, and turning a story about men basically standing around the phone into a political masterpiece.
Asian A.V. Club: When you were growing up in South Korea, was there any TV show or movie that you watched that made you go, ‘Oh, this is something I want to pursue as a career’?
Kim Sung Soo: When I was young, there were moments that stuck with me—moments when I realized I could be part of this kind of work. Whether it was TV shows, movies, or something else, there was a light that seemed to spark a pursuit of something bigger in the world.
I’ve grown older now, and one thing I’ve realized is that life rarely goes as planned. You may think otherwise, but life doesn’t follow a set plan. Originally, I wanted to work in a different field, particularly literature. During college, I was into theater, and I never thought I would pursue film. But by chance, I had friends who were interested in movies. So, I joined them, and while the process was less fun compared to theater, seeing the images I had imagined come to life on screen was shocking for me. It was then I realized how extraordinary cinema is. I was 25 years old at the time.
Asian A.V. Club: South Korea went through a tumultuous political period during your college years, how did that affect your creativity and storytelling during that time?
Kim Sung Soo: While I enjoyed my youth, there was always this strong sense that we needed to fight and strive to reclaim things we had lost. That time was beautiful but also difficult.
Looking back, my generation had the opportunity to engage deeply with the issues of our society—asking questions like, ‘What’s wrong with our society? What kind of world do we want?’ It was a time for passionate and intense discussions. I think that’s something our generation uniquely experienced, unlike generations before or after us. Those dark times didn’t spoil our thoughts; instead, they motivated us.
Asian A.V. Club: Do you feel that period shaped a whole generation of directors who defined modern Korean cinema?
Kim Sung Soo: I do. I think people of our generation feel that we must express this, because we went through this dark and the heartbreaking history. From the 1970s through the 1980s, all of this became valuable stimulation for us.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed my youth. But on the other side, there’s always this mentality that we have to take things back to what we lost during that time. So, most people would remember their youth as beautiful, but I think it was a really hard time for me as well.
Now that I’ve grown older, what strikes me is that in our early 20s, young people gathered to have serious and passionate discussions about what was wrong with our society, what kind of world we wanted, and how we should recreate it. That was such an incredible opportunity for our generation. If you look at other generations before or after us, there weren’t many that had such intense, earnest conversations. So, I think those difficult times didn’t corrupt our thoughts; instead, they sharpened them.
Asian A.V. Club: Do you think being able to reflect on your own life this way was the key to making 12.12: The Day? Could you have made this film earlier in your career or did it require a culmination of both your professional and personal experiences to shape your vision?
Kim Sung Soo: As a director, saying that making this movie was my ‘destiny’ feels a bit exaggerated. (laughs) But honestly, I sometimes think I studied film and made this movie to properly express the events I experienced as a child. The events of December 12, 1979, began at 7:10 PM. I was a high school student, and I vividly remember hearing the gunshots. I was scared, but I couldn’t go home—I wanted to know what was happening and why. That curiosity became one of the biggest questions in my life. When working on this film, I wanted the audience to experience the moment as if they were there themselves. We decided that realism and immersion were the most critical aspects of telling this story effectively.
Asian A.V. Club: You set up the film over that fateful evening of the coup, giving the audience an almost real-time experience. Once you decided on that format, did it make it easier for you to tell this story?
Kim Sung Soo: I guess the biggest goal of making this film was that I wanted the audience to really be able to experience what I had experienced in a way. So many things happen in a short time and simultaneously in so many places. In order to express that to the audience, I wanted to take them back to the same places that were integral to the events of the night. I thought the best way for the young audience to really engage with the film is that they would feel like they’re actually there.
We didn't really focus on capturing the best angles, but instead we really tried to enhance the realism and immersion of it. In the early stages of production, my production designer Jang Geun-young, told me that I apparently said that if he couldn’t make the audience feel like they were actually there that night, then we probably failed. (laughs) No pressure.
Everyone I worked with on my production team, who’ve been with me for over 10 years, prioritized creating a real, lived-in experience, in order to transport viewers to that night and make them feel like participants in those events.
Asian A.V. Club: Not only did you reunite your Asura co-stars Jung Woo-sung and Hwang Jung-min as the main adversaries, but you brought on a lot of actors that you’ve worked together before. Did it help to have a familiar group to manage such a large cast?
Kim Sung Soo: All the actors had such dedication and worked so hard. A lot of the actors are stage actors because I knew that with every shot, they could perform down to the smallest details of the situation. And because we were filming during the pandemic, everybody was really focusing on making the best film possible. When I was editing the film, I could tell that even down to the smallest roles, everyone was putting the effort to recreate this era. And, you know, these are really well-known actors, so I was so impressed with the sincerity and the focus of their work.
Asian A.V. Club: Political thrillers tend to appeal to an older audience, but your film really brought in younger viewers. Now that the film has broken records and is officially the 4th highest grossing film in South Korean history, have you figured out what the magic sauce was of your film that resonated with so many people?
Kim Sung Soo: Yeah, I have no idea how it did so well in Korea. (laughs) But one thing I can tell you is that during pre-production, we were really concerned if we would be able to engage with the young audience especially since this happened 45 years ago. It’s a story of basically old soldiers sitting and fighting on the phone.
Of course we set out to make an entertaining movie and if they really enjoyed it, they would be interested in the real history and events that inspired it. But even when the film was really doing well. I wasn't sure why it was doing really well.
There’s an old saying in Chungmuro [a road in Seoul that is considered the heart of the Korean film industry]: If you dedicate your life to film, the ‘God of Cinema’ will reward you with one joyful success. As you know, working on film is not a great life in a way. You're not wealthy or anything like that. I feel like all the people who have worked on this film were somewhat old, perhaps this film was our reward.
Asian A.V. Club: You come from a generation of filmmakers that have really put Korean cinema on the global map, when you meet the next gen of younger filmmakers, what kind of advice do you have for them?
Kim Sung Soo: Regarding the younger generations, I don’t think our generation can act as mentors to them. They grew up in a completely different environment and are part of what I call the ‘video generation.’ They think, express, and learn through video in ways we never could. They’re far more optimized for visual storytelling than we are, and they don’t necessarily need our advice. In fact, they’re so talented that it’s becoming harder for our generation to keep up and stay relevant.
Asian A.V. Club: Oh I totally disagree! The younger gen still has much to learn from directors like you! Thank you so much for talking to us.
Kim Sung Soo: Thank you.
[UPDATE] Remember we said we’d get back to the recent emergency martial law incident on December 3rd by President Yoon Suk Yeol? Well his ill-advised decree lasted only hours and within days found himself locked out of power with a dozen members of his OWN party turned against him.
Almost instantly streaming views of the film 12.12: The Day went up 1000% and social media has gone to town with parody posters and memes.
Director Kim, alongside other filmmakers, producers, and organisations, called for the president’s immediate resignation. At the 11th Korea Film Producers Association Awards, where he won Best Director, Kim made the following statement: “A year after the release [of 12.12: The Day], the deranged president staged a ridiculous pro-government coup and I watched young people run out to vote for impeachment. As a movie director, I was worried what kind of stories I should tell, but I feel excitement as a storyteller in a new era for a new audience.”