The Attorney
The Attorney
Jin-woo’s arrest, torture, and trial unfold dramatically. The case leads Song Woo-seok to become a human rights lawyer. It was directly inspired by the 1981 Busan Burim case and former President Roh Moo-hyun’s time as a lawyer, but Song Woo-seok, Jin-woo, and others are pseudonymized and dramatized characters.
OVERALL TRUTH BASIS · Fact-based dramatization
It drew direct inspiration from the 1981 Busan Burim case and former President Roh Moo-hyun’s years as a lawyer, but characters such as Song Woo-seok and Jin-woo are pseudonymized and dramatized.
Burim case
It drew direct inspiration from the 1981 Busan Burim case and former President Roh Moo-hyun’s years as a lawyer, but characters such as Song Woo-seok and Jin-woo are pseudonymized and dramatized.
FACT / FICTION
Verification 8
Fact / Fiction verification
8 recordsThe Attorney is a 2013 film directed by Yang Woo-seok.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- —
- Verified record
- This is confirmed in the work’s production and press materials.
View 2 sources
- ‘천만영화’, <변호인> 부산 제작기씨네21 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
- 영화 '변호인', 논란 속 흥행 고공행진연합뉴스 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
The film’s central courtroom narrative is based on the Burim case, which took place in Busan in 1981.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- The story centers on the process of defending young people who were tortured in a National Security Act case.
- Verified record
- The Burim case is confirmed as a major real-life basis for the film.
View 2 sources
- ‘천만영화’, <변호인> 부산 제작기씨네21 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
- 영화 '변호인', 논란 속 흥행 고공행진연합뉴스 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
Song Woo-seok is a pseudonymized character strongly inspired by former President Roh Moo-hyun’s early years as a lawyer.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- Song Woo-seok becomes a human rights lawyer as a result of the case.
- Verified record
- The film is not a biographical portrayal of a real person under his actual name; pseudonyms and dramatization were used.
View 2 sources
- ‘천만영화’, <변호인> 부산 제작기씨네21 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
- 영화 '변호인', 논란 속 흥행 고공행진연합뉴스 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
Jin-woo and the specific courtroom dialogue and events do not correspond one-to-one with actual records.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- Jin-woo’s arrest, torture, and trial unfold dramatically.
- Verified record
- The film is based on an actual case, with cinematic characters and dialogue and a compressed timeline added.
View 2 sources
- ‘천만영화’, <변호인> 부산 제작기씨네21 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
- 영화 '변호인', 논란 속 흥행 고공행진연합뉴스 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
It is appropriate to regard the work as a fact-based adaptation rooted in actual events and people.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- —
- Verified record
- The actual Burim case and inspiration from real people are central, but substantial dramatization is also present.
View 2 sources
- ‘천만영화’, <변호인> 부산 제작기씨네21 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
- 영화 '변호인', 논란 속 흥행 고공행진연합뉴스 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
The work’s real-life and historical background includes the “Burim case.”
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- It drew direct inspiration from the 1981 Busan Burim case and former President Roh Moo-hyun’s years as a lawyer, but characters such as Song Woo-seok and Jin-woo are pseudonymized and dramatized.
- Verified record
- It drew direct inspiration from the 1981 Busan Burim case and former President Roh Moo-hyun’s years as a lawyer, but characters such as Song Woo-seok and Jin-woo are pseudonymized and dramatized.
View 2 sources
- ‘천만영화’, <변호인> 부산 제작기씨네21 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
- 영화 '변호인', 논란 속 흥행 고공행진연합뉴스 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
Jin-woo in the film is a character modeled on Song Byeong-gon, a victim of the Burim case, and details and the narrative were adapted to fit the film’s dramatic structure.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- A character in the film.
- Verified record
- It is appropriate to distinguish him as a fabricated, composite, or dramatized character.
View 2 sources
- ‘천만영화’, <변호인> 부산 제작기씨네21 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
- 영화 '변호인', 논란 속 흥행 고공행진연합뉴스 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
Song Woo-seok in the film is a character connected to a real person.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- A character in the film.
- Verified record
- Whether the character is based on a real person and whether the character’s actions in the film are factual should be judged separately.
View 2 sources
- ‘천만영화’, <변호인> 부산 제작기씨네21 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
- 영화 '변호인', 논란 속 흥행 고공행진연합뉴스 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
CHARACTER ↔ PERSON
Characters and real people
송우석
Fictionalized real personBased on a real personRoh Moo-hyun →
진우
Fictional composite characterSources used
- ‘천만영화’, <변호인> 부산 제작기씨네21 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →
- 영화 '변호인', 논란 속 흥행 고공행진연합뉴스 · Major news · Grade BOpen source →