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The President's Last Bang

The President's Last Bang

2005 · Film · South Korea · Black comedy · Drama · Historical

Directed by Lim Sang-soo · 102 min

The film specifically depicts the private atmosphere of the Gungjeong-dong dinner, including Park Chung-hee drinking with women and enjoying Japanese songs. It portrays Director Kim’s emotions and process of reaching his decision, as well as the private conversations of those around him, as black comedy.

B

OVERALL TRUTH BASIS · Fact-based dramatization

The film directly takes as its subject the key real people and events surrounding the October 26, 1979, assassination of President Park Chung-hee, but states that its details and depictions of the characters’ psychology are fictional and uses a black-comedy reconstruction.

October 26 Incident

The incident in which Kim Jae-gyu, director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency, killed President Park Chung-hee and Presidential Security Service chief Cha Ji-cheol, bringing Park Chung-hee's long rule and the Yushin system to an end.

Event details →

FACT / FICTION

Verification 10

Fact / Fiction verification

10 records
FactConfidence High

The October 26, 1979, assassination of President Park Chung-hee, at the center of the film, was a real event.

On screen · Verified record
On screen
During a banquet at Gungjeong-dong, the head of the Central Intelligence Agency shoots the president and the chief of the Presidential Security Service.
Verified record
The film directly takes as its subject the October 26 Incident, in which Kim Jae-gyu, head of the Central Intelligence Agency, shot President Park Chung-hee and Presidential Security Service chief Cha Ji-cheol.
View 2 sources
  • 그때나 지금이나 ‘바보들의 정치판’…그때 그 사람들경향신문 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
  • 10.26의 진실…박정희의 마지막 하루동아일보 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
FactConfidence High

The film does not claim that its details of the October 26 Incident or its depictions of the characters’ psychology are factual.

On screen · Verified record
On screen
At the beginning, the film states that it is based on a true story, but that its details and depictions of the characters’ psychology are fictional.
Verified record
Reports at the time of its 2005 release also explicitly mentioned this notice.
View 1 sources
  • 그때나 지금이나 ‘바보들의 정치판’…그때 그 사람들경향신문 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
DramatizedConfidence High

Kim Bu-jang, played by Baek Yoon-sik, is directly modeled on Kim Jae-gyu, head of the Central Intelligence Agency.

On screen · Verified record
On screen
Kim Bu-jang shoots the president.
Verified record
An introductory report at the time explicitly stated that Baek Yoon-sik was playing Kim Jae-gyu, the former head of the Central Intelligence Agency.
View 1 sources
  • ‘그때 그 사람들’ 백윤식·한석규경향신문 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
FactConfidence High

The October 26 banquet at Gungjeong-dong was attended by Park Chung-hee, Kim Jae-gyu, Cha Ji-cheol, Kim Gye-won, and two women.

On screen · Verified record
On screen
The president, Kim Bu-jang, Chief Cha, the chief of staff, and female guests dine together.
Verified record
Testimony from survivors at the scene—Kim Gye-won, Shim Soo-bong, and Shin Jae-soon—supports this account of who attended the banquet at Gungjeong-dong.
View 1 sources
  • 10.26의 진실…박정희의 마지막 하루동아일보 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
DramatizedConfidence Medium

Testimony from survivors at the scene confirms that the October 26 banquet at Gungjeong-dong included female guests and drinking, but it is not possible to establish that all the specific private behavior and details of the staging shown in the film, such as the Japanese songs, actually took place that day.

On screen · Verified record
On screen
The film gives a detailed portrayal of the private atmosphere of the banquet at Gungjeong-dong, including scenes of Park Chung-hee drinking with women and enjoying Japanese songs.
Verified record
Materials based on testimony from survivors at the scene—Kim Gye-won, Shim Soo-bong, and Shin Jae-soon—confirm the attendance of two women and the drinking. However, the eyewitness testimony currently available does not establish that every specific action shown in the film, such as singing Japanese songs, actually occurred on the day of the October 26 Incident. The film also states that its details and depictions of the characters’ psychology are fictional.
View 3 sources
  • 그때나 지금이나 ‘바보들의 정치판’…그때 그 사람들경향신문 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
  • 법원, 영화 그때 그 사람들 3장면 삭제해야 상영 가능 결정MBC NEWS · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
  • 10.26의 진실…박정희의 마지막 하루동아일보 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
FactConfidence High

In the 2005 domestic theatrical release, three documentary segments totaling 3 minutes and 50 seconds were removed as a result of a court decision.

On screen · Verified record
On screen
An uncut version exists, with actual historical documentary footage inserted before and after the feature film, among other places.
Verified record
Following an injunction decision by the Seoul Central District Court, documentary scenes related to the Buma Uprising, Cardinal Kim Su-hwan’s memorial, and the funeral were removed. Yonhap News reported that the total removed was 3 minutes and 50 seconds.
View 2 sources
  • 그때 그 사람들 다큐 장면 삭제 결정서울중앙지방법원 관련 보도/결정 · Law or judgment · Grade AOpen source →
  • 日 '그때 그 사람들' 무수정판 개봉연합뉴스 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
FactConfidence High

The court did not ban the entire film from being screened; it allowed screenings on condition that the documentary scenes be removed.

On screen · Verified record
On screen
—
Verified record
The Seoul Central District Court partially granted Park Ji-man’s injunction request to ban the screenings and ordered the removal of three documentary scenes.
View 2 sources
  • 그때 그 사람들 다큐 장면 삭제 결정서울중앙지방법원 관련 보도/결정 · Law or judgment · Grade AOpen source →
  • 영화 ‘그때 그사람들’ 다큐 3장면 삭제하라서울신문 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
FactConfidence High

An uncut director’s version was screened in Japan in 2007.

On screen · Verified record
On screen
—
Verified record
Yonhap News reported that the unedited complete version, including the 3 minutes and 50 seconds removed from the domestic release, was shown in Japan.
View 1 sources
  • 日 '그때 그 사람들' 무수정판 개봉연합뉴스 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
DramatizedConfidence High

The precise inner thoughts and motives of Kim Jae-gyu, and the characters’ private conversations immediately before the incident, are areas that involve cinematic interpretation.

On screen · Verified record
On screen
The film portrays Kim Bu-jang’s emotions and decision-making process, as well as the private conversations of those around him, as a black comedy.
Verified record
The film itself states that its depictions of the characters’ psychology are fictional, and the cast also explained that cinematic fiction had been added to the true story.
View 2 sources
  • 그때나 지금이나 ‘바보들의 정치판’…그때 그 사람들경향신문 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
  • ‘그때 그 사람들’ 백윤식·한석규경향신문 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
FactConfidence High

The film is not a documentary but a feature film that reconstructs the October 26 Incident as a black comedy.

On screen · Verified record
On screen
—
Verified record
At the time of its release, the director, actors, and press materials described the work as a black comedy that added fiction to a true story.
View 2 sources
  • ‘그때 그 사람들’ 백윤식·한석규경향신문 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
  • 그때나 지금이나 ‘바보들의 정치판’…그때 그 사람들경향신문 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →

CHARACTER ↔ PERSON

Characters and real people

8 characters

Sources used

  1. 그때나 지금이나 ‘바보들의 정치판’…그때 그 사람들경향신문 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
  2. 10.26의 진실…박정희의 마지막 하루동아일보 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
  3. ‘그때 그 사람들’ 백윤식·한석규경향신문 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
  4. 법원, 영화 그때 그 사람들 3장면 삭제해야 상영 가능 결정MBC NEWS · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
  5. 그때 그 사람들 다큐 장면 삭제 결정서울중앙지방법원 관련 보도/결정 · Law or judgment · Grade AOpen source →
  6. 日 '그때 그 사람들' 무수정판 개봉연합뉴스 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
  7. 영화 ‘그때 그사람들’ 다큐 3장면 삭제하라서울신문 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →