Marathon
Marathon
Cho-won, a young man with autism, takes on the challenge of completing a marathon and achieving a sub-three-hour time. With his mother's support and guidance from Coach Jung-wook, who came to the school through community service, Cho-won runs toward the finish line at his own pace.
OVERALL TRUTH BASIS · Fact-based dramatization
A work directly inspired by the lives and achievements of actual marathoner Bae Hyeong-jin and his mother, Park Mi-gyeong, but with the coach, specific conflicts, and scenes cinematically reconstructed.
Bae Hyeong-jin achieves a sub-3 marathon time
An actual achievement in which Bae Hyeong-jin, an autistic person, completed a full marathon in under three hours.
FACT / FICTION
Verification 12
Fact / Fiction verification
12 records<Marathon> is a 2005 film inspired by the actual story of Bae Hyeong-jin and his mother, Park Mi-gyeong.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- —
- Verified record
- An interview with director Jeong Yun-cheol and interviews with the actual mother and son confirm this.
View 2 sources
- 자폐아 마라토너 이야기 <말아톤>씨네21 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
- 영화 말아톤 실제 인물 박미경·배형진 모자 인터뷰월간조선 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
Yun Cho-won is a character directly inspired by Bae Hyeong-jin.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- Cho-won, a young man with an autism-related disability, takes on a marathon.
- Verified record
- Materials from the director and the actual person confirm the direct inspiration relationship.
View 2 sources
- 자폐아 마라토너 이야기 <말아톤>씨네21 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
- 영화 말아톤 실제 인물 박미경·배형진 모자 인터뷰월간조선 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
Gyeong-suk is primarily inspired by Bae Hyeong-jin’s mother, Park Mi-gyeong.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- The mother discovers her son’s running and supports him.
- Verified record
- Interviews with the actual mother and son confirm their family experiences.
View 1 sources
- 영화 말아톤 실제 인물 박미경·배형진 모자 인터뷰월간조선 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
Bae Hyeong-jin’s achievement of a sub-3 marathon time is real.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- Cho-won’s sub-3 finish is the film’s goal and ending.
- Verified record
- Bae Hyeong-jin’s actual marathon achievements are confirmed by multiple articles.
View 2 sources
- 영화 말아톤 실제 인물 박미경·배형진 모자 인터뷰월간조선 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
- 말아톤 주인공 다시 뛴다문화일보 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
The setup involving Jeong-uk, a former marathoner who becomes a coach, and community service is a dramatic device, not a direct recreation of the true story.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- Jeong-uk comes to the school to perform community service and becomes Cho-won’s coach.
- Verified record
- The actual story centers on Bae Hyeong-jin and his mother, while the coach character and conflict structure are elements of the feature-film narrative.
View 2 sources
- 자폐아 마라토너 이야기 <말아톤>씨네21 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
- 말아톤TVING · Other · Grade BOpen source →
The work’s basic production year and title information are cross-checked against film databases.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- —
- Verified record
- The work’s identifying information is compared against independent sources.
View 3 sources
- 말아톤 영상도서관 상세정보한국영상자료원 · Official record · Grade AOpen source →
- <말아톤>, 섬세한 연출력과 연기가 자아내는 감동씨네21 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
- 자폐아 마라토너 이야기 <말아톤> - 정윤철 감독 인터뷰씨네21 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
The actual events and people the work draws on are not treated as being at the same factual level as its dramatic reconstructions.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- —
- Verified record
- The event basis and scene-level adaptation must be assessed separately.
View 3 sources
- 말아톤 영상도서관 상세정보한국영상자료원 · Official record · Grade AOpen source →
- <말아톤>, 섬세한 연출력과 연기가 자아내는 감동씨네21 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
- 자폐아 마라토너 이야기 <말아톤> - 정윤철 감독 인터뷰씨네21 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
Even for a character based on a real person, dialogue and private relationships are not established as fact without separate evidence.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- —
- Verified record
- A person’s real-life existence is distinguished from the factuality of their actions in the film.
View 3 sources
- 말아톤 영상도서관 상세정보한국영상자료원 · Official record · Grade AOpen source →
- <말아톤>, 섬세한 연출력과 연기가 자아내는 감동씨네21 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
- 자폐아 마라토너 이야기 <말아톤> - 정윤철 감독 인터뷰씨네21 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
The work’s historical background and the protagonist’s individual story are separate units of verification.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- —
- Verified record
- Even if the historical setting is factual, individual scenes do not thereby become factual.
View 3 sources
- 말아톤 영상도서관 상세정보한국영상자료원 · Official record · Grade AOpen source →
- <말아톤>, 섬세한 연출력과 연기가 자아내는 감동씨네21 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
- 자폐아 마라토너 이야기 <말아톤> - 정윤철 감독 인터뷰씨네21 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
The possibility of time compression, character composites, and changes to the order of events is examined separately.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- —
- Verified record
- Narrative editing in a feature film may differ from the actual chronology.
View 3 sources
- 말아톤 영상도서관 상세정보한국영상자료원 · Official record · Grade AOpen source →
- <말아톤>, 섬세한 연출력과 연기가 자아내는 감동씨네21 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
- 자폐아 마라토너 이야기 <말아톤> - 정윤철 감독 인터뷰씨네21 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
The work’s true-story and historical background includes the motif of a true story about a marathoner with a developmental disability.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
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- Verified record
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View 1 sources
- 국사편찬위원회 한국사데이터베이스 - 말아톤국사편찬위원회 한국사데이터베이스 · Government source · Grade AOpen source →
Bae Hyeong-jin is a real person known as the actual protagonist of the film <Marathon>.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- —
- Verified record
- Bae Hyeong-jin’s role is described as that of a marathoner.
View 1 sources
- 국사편찬위원회 한국사데이터베이스 - 말아톤국사편찬위원회 한국사데이터베이스 · Government source · Grade AOpen source →
CHARACTER ↔ PERSON
Characters and real people
경숙
Fictionalized real personBased on a real personPark Mi-gyeong →
윤초원
Fictionalized real personBased on a real personBae Hyeong-jin →
정욱
Fictional composite characterSources used
- 자폐아 마라토너 이야기 <말아톤>씨네21 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
- 영화 말아톤 실제 인물 박미경·배형진 모자 인터뷰월간조선 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
- 말아톤 주인공 다시 뛴다문화일보 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
- 말아톤TVING · Other · Grade BOpen source →
- 말아톤 영상도서관 상세정보한국영상자료원 · Official record · Grade AOpen source →
- <말아톤>, 섬세한 연출력과 연기가 자아내는 감동씨네21 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
- 자폐아 마라토너 이야기 <말아톤> - 정윤철 감독 인터뷰씨네21 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
- 국사편찬위원회 한국사데이터베이스 - 말아톤국사편찬위원회 한국사데이터베이스 · Government source · Grade AOpen source →