A Resistance
A Resistance
This 2019 film follows Yu Gwan-sun during her imprisonment at Seodaemun Prison after her trial. It depicts solidarity among the women in Cell No. 8 and dramatizes the guards’ use of an informant to uncover her role in the prison resistance.
OVERALL TRUTH BASIS · Fact-based dramatization
The film is directly based on key historical facts: Yu Gwan-sun’s arrest and trial after the Aunae Manse Movement, her imprisonment at Seodaemun Prison, the March 1, 1920 prison independence protest with the women independence activists in Women’s Prison Block Cell No. 8, the torture, and her death in prison on September 28, 1920. By contrast, individual conversations and conflicts inside the cell, the Japanese guards’ use of an informant, and the specific process by which Yu Gwan-sun pretends to comply while preparing a prison protest are not verifiable scene by scene in historical records and are considered cinematic reconstructions.
Yu Gwan-sun’s Imprisonment at Seodaemun Prison and the Prison Independence Protest
The period during which Yu Gwan-sun was imprisoned at Seodaemun Prison after the March First Movement, held a prison independence protest, and died in 1920.
The 1919 Independence Demonstration at Aunae Market
An independence demonstration at Aunae Market involving Yu Gwan-sun and local figures. Thousands of people took part, and the Japanese colonial authorities’ violent suppression caused numerous casualties, including Yu Gwan-sun’s parents, while Yu Gwan-sun was arrested as the leader.
The 1920 Prison Independence Protest at Seodaemun Prison on the First Anniversary of the March First Movement
A prison independence protest held at Seodaemun Prison on March 1, 1920, the first anniversary of the March First Movement, by Yu Gwan-sun and other prisoners. Many prisoners joined in, and the effects of the protest extended beyond the prison walls.
FACT / FICTION
Verification 14
Fact / Fiction verification
14 recordsA Resistance (Hanggeo: Yu Gwan-sun iyagi) is a 2019 South Korean feature film directed by Cho Min-ho. Its official English title is A Resistance, and it has a running time of 105 minutes.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- —
- Verified record
- The KOFIC KoBiz film database lists it as a 2019 release directed by Cho Min-ho, with a running time of 105 minutes and South Korean production.
View 1 sources
- A Resistance (2019)KOFIC KoBiz · Specialist database · Grade AOpen source →
The film’s protagonist, Yu Gwan-sun, was an actual independence activist who led the 1919 independence demonstration at Aunae Market.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- The film portrays Yu Gwan-sun as a historical figure.
- Verified record
- The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs’ biographical records and the Encyclopedia of Independence Activists record that Yu Gwan-sun led the Aunae Manse Movement.
View 2 sources
- 유관순 독립유공자 공적정보국가보훈부 공훈전자사료관 · Government source · Grade AOpen source →
- 유관순 - 독립운동인명사전독립기념관 한국독립운동정보시스템 · Encyclopedia · Grade AOpen source →
During the Aunae Manse Movement, Japanese colonial forces violently suppressed the demonstration, causing numerous casualties, including Yu Gwan-sun’s parents, and Yu Gwan-sun was arrested as its leader.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- The film’s prison narrative begins with Yu Gwan-sun’s arrest after the Aunae Manse Movement.
- Verified record
- The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs’ biographical records document the violent suppression of the Aunae demonstration on April 1, 1919, the deaths of Yu Gwan-sun’s parents, and her arrest.
View 1 sources
- 유관순 독립유공자 공적정보국가보훈부 공훈전자사료관 · Government source · Grade AOpen source →
Yu Gwan-sun was sentenced to 5 years in prison by the Gongju District Court, after which the Gyeongseong Court of Appeals finalized a 3-year sentence, and she was imprisoned at Seodaemun Prison.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- The film centers on Yu Gwan-sun’s imprisonment at Seodaemun Prison after her trial.
- Verified record
- The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs’ biographical records and the Encyclopedia of Independence Activists confirm a 5-year sentence at the first trial, a 3-year sentence on appeal, and imprisonment at Seodaemun Prison.
View 2 sources
- 유관순 독립유공자 공적정보국가보훈부 공훈전자사료관 · Government source · Grade AOpen source →
- 유관순 - 독립운동인명사전독립기념관 한국독립운동정보시스템 · Encyclopedia · Grade AOpen source →
Actual women independence activists, including Gwon Ae-ra, Sim Yeong-sik, Im Myeong-ae, and Sin Gwan-bin, were imprisoned alongside Yu Gwan-sun in Women’s Prison Block Cell No. 8 at Seodaemun Prison.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- The film presents Women’s Prison Block Cell No. 8 as a central setting where several women independence activists live together.
- Verified record
- Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs materials explicitly state that Gwon Ae-ra, Sim Yeong-sik, Im Myeong-ae, and Sin Gwan-bin were imprisoned in the same Women’s Prison Block Cell No. 8 as Yu Gwan-sun.
View 1 sources
- 서대문감옥 여옥사 8호 감방의 여성독립운동가들국가보훈부 공훈전자사료관 · Government source · Grade AOpen source →
On March 1, 1920, Yu Gwan-sun and other prisoners held a prison independence protest at Seodaemun Prison to mark the first anniversary of the March First Movement.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- The prison independence protest in the latter part of the film takes the actual March 1, 1920 demonstration as a central motif.
- Verified record
- The prison independence protest on March 1, 1920 is confirmed by the National Archives of Korea, the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, and the Encyclopedia of Independence Activists.
View 3 sources
- 유관순한국민족문화대백과사전 · Encyclopedia · Grade AOpen source →
- 제99주년 3·1절 기념식 특별전시 자료국가기록원 · Government source · Grade AOpen source →
- 유관순 - 독립운동인명사전독립기념관 한국독립운동정보시스템 · Encyclopedia · Grade AOpen source →
The prison independence protest was not Yu Gwan-sun’s individual action alone; it was a collective demonstration that drew a response from other prisoners and reverberated beyond the prison walls.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- The film depicts resistance inside the cell spreading to other prisoners and the crowds outside.
- Verified record
- The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture records that approximately 3,000 prisoners joined in, crowds gathered outside the prison, and tram service was paralyzed.
View 1 sources
- 유관순한국민족문화대백과사전 · Encyclopedia · Grade AOpen source →
After the prison independence protest, Yu Gwan-sun was again subjected to severe torture, and her health deteriorated during her imprisonment because of the lasting effects of torture and her injuries.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- The film depicts the prison protest and the severe torture that followed as major scenes.
- Verified record
- The Encyclopedia of Independence Activists and materials related to the National Archives confirm that torture and abuse continued after the prison protest.
View 2 sources
- 유관순 - 독립운동인명사전독립기념관 한국독립운동정보시스템 · Encyclopedia · Grade AOpen source →
- 제99주년 3·1절 기념식 특별전시 자료국가기록원 · Government source · Grade AOpen source →
Yu Gwan-sun died in prison at Seodaemun Prison on September 28, 1920.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- The film uses Yu Gwan-sun’s imprisonment and death as the historical axis of its ending.
- Verified record
- The Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and the Encyclopedia of Independence Activists record her date of death as September 28, 1920.
View 2 sources
- 유관순 독립유공자 공적정보국가보훈부 공훈전자사료관 · Government source · Grade AOpen source →
- 유관순 - 독립운동인명사전독립기념관 한국독립운동정보시스템 · Encyclopedia · Grade AOpen source →
Kim Hyang-hwa, played by Kim Sae-byeok in the film, was an actual independence activist who led the March First independence movement in the Suwon area and was arrested and imprisoned.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- KOFIC’s official cast information lists Kim Sae-byeok’s role as Kim Hyang-hwa.
- Verified record
- Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs materials explain that Kim Hyang-hwa led the independence movement centered around the Suwon Gisaeng Association and was arrested and imprisoned.
View 2 sources
- A Resistance (2019)KOFIC KoBiz · Specialist database · Grade AOpen source →
- 김향화 - 독립의 영웅국가보훈부 나라사랑배움터 · Government source · Grade AOpen source →
The individual conversations, conflicts, and process of solidarity among the prisoners in Women’s Prison Block Cell No. 8 are based on actual people and a real prison setting, but cannot be confirmed as matching historical records scene by scene.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- The film dramatizes prison life and solidarity through the conversations and relationships among the women in Cell No. 8.
- Verified record
- Official materials confirm that they were imprisoned in the same cell, but no direct records confirming the individual conversations and specific conflicts have been found.
View 2 sources
- 서대문감옥 여옥사 8호 감방의 여성독립운동가들국가보훈부 공훈전자사료관 · Government source · Grade AOpen source →
- A Resistance (2019)KOFIC KoBiz · Specialist database · Grade AOpen source →
The specific plot in which the Japanese side persuades another prisoner to discover that Yu Gwan-sun is at the center of the resistance appears in the official synopsis, but the use of an informant in the same manner is not confirmed by historical records.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- The KOFIC synopsis describes how a Japanese official uses a prisoner to discover that Yu Gwan-sun is leading the resistance.
- Verified record
- Yu Gwan-sun’s resistance and torture in prison are confirmed, but this specific process of persuasion and informing is not directly confirmed in the available historical records.
View 2 sources
- A Resistance (2019)KOFIC KoBiz · Specialist database · Grade AOpen source →
- 유관순 - 독립운동인명사전독립기념관 한국독립운동정보시스템 · Encyclopedia · Grade AOpen source →
The specific strategy in which Yu Gwan-sun pretends to comply with the Japanese side while secretly preparing another independence protest is best understood as a cinematic reconstruction.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- KOFIC’s official synopsis explains that Yu Gwan-sun pretends to obey while preparing another independence protest.
- Verified record
- The 1920 prison independence protest itself is historical, but no direct historical records confirming this same strategy of feigned compliance have been found.
View 2 sources
- A Resistance (2019)KOFIC KoBiz · Specialist database · Grade AOpen source →
- 제99주년 3·1절 기념식 특별전시 자료국가기록원 · Government source · Grade AOpen source →
The torture scenes in the film are based on the historical fact that Yu Gwan-sun was subjected to severe torture and abuse, but the sequence, locations, dialogue, and specific acts of torture cannot all be assumed to reproduce the records exactly.
On screen · Verified record
- On screen
- The film directly depicts repeated torture of Yu Gwan-sun.
- Verified record
- Torture and its lasting effects are confirmed in multiple official and research materials, but evidence substantiating every detail of the film scenes is limited.
View 2 sources
- 유관순 - 독립운동인명사전독립기념관 한국독립운동정보시스템 · Encyclopedia · Grade AOpen source →
- 유관순 독립유공자 공적정보국가보훈부 공훈전자사료관 · Government source · Grade AOpen source →
CHARACTER ↔ PERSON
Characters and real people
권애라
Historical personBased on a real personGwon Ae-ra →
김향화
Historical personBased on a real personKim Hyang-hwa →
유관순
Historical personBased on a real personYu Gwan-sun →
임명애
Historical personBased on a real personIm Myeong-ae →
Other related people
Sim Yeong-sik
Independence activistSin Gwan-bin
Independence activistSources used
- A Resistance (2019)KOFIC KoBiz · Specialist database · Grade AOpen source →
- 유관순 독립유공자 공적정보국가보훈부 공훈전자사료관 · Government source · Grade AOpen source →
- 유관순 - 독립운동인명사전독립기념관 한국독립운동정보시스템 · Encyclopedia · Grade AOpen source →
- 서대문감옥 여옥사 8호 감방의 여성독립운동가들국가보훈부 공훈전자사료관 · Government source · Grade AOpen source →
- 유관순한국민족문화대백과사전 · Encyclopedia · Grade AOpen source →
- 제99주년 3·1절 기념식 특별전시 자료국가기록원 · Government source · Grade AOpen source →
- 김향화 - 독립의 영웅국가보훈부 나라사랑배움터 · Government source · Grade AOpen source →