'You Are the Nation' Director Lee Seung-jun: "The Joseon Incident Is Not a Film to Judge"[Comprehensive]

'Your Country' Opens May 25
Directed by Lee Seung-jun, Director of Documentary 'Memory of Absence'
A Message for Those Still Trapped in the Tunnel

'You Are My Country' still/photo by Et9 Film

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Iseul] "'I did not make the film to judge the 'Cho Kuk incident.'"(Director Lee Seung-jun)

"I heard a certain figure sneer, saying, 'Haven't the people been watching documentaries for the past three years?' If documentaries record facts, haven't they only shown half of the story so far? We covered the other half. While it might be possible to forcefully inject a specific message in a striking way to squeeze tears or provoke curses, the film did not do that."(Participant Park Hyo-seok)

The documentary film 'You Are Cho Kuk,' which captures the conflict surrounding the appointment of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, has been unveiled. Directed by Lee Seung-jun, who won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film in Korea for the Sewol ferry disaster documentary 'Absent Memory,' the film takes us back to August 2019.

On the afternoon of the 10th, at the press screening of 'You Are Cho Kuk' held at CGV Yongsan in Ichon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Director Lee said, "We included interviews with former Minister Cho Kuk that he has never given anywhere else," adding, "Rather than observing someone, we focused on listening to their stories and thoughtfully sharing them persuasively."

Opening on the 25th, 'You Are Cho Kuk' covers the 67 days from August 9, 2019, when Cho Kuk was nominated as Minister of Justice, to October 14, when he resigned. Interest has been high even before its release. The production company Kelvin Klein Project held a crowdfunding campaign starting on the 25th of last month for the screening project, attracting over 42,000 participants and raising more than 2.194 billion KRW in donations. This is 4,300% of the 50 million KRW goal.

Director Lee said, "I was surprised when I read the book 'Cho Kuk's Time' last summer. Previously, I was not someone who had a deep interest or knowledge of the so-called 'Cho Kuk incident.' Through the book, I could understand the feelings of former Minister Cho and those who testified in the trial," adding, "I carefully examined parts that mainstream media did not cover and sought to get closer to the truth through that process."

The film was screened at the 23rd Jeonju International Film Festival on the 1st and was made available to the press that day. Director Lee, with a trembling voice, said, "I got choked up during the premiere in Jeonju and the second official event. Meeting the reporters today makes me even more nervous," adding, "I worked hard on this."

'You Are Cho Kuk' begins with scenes of former Minister Cho Kuk spending his daily life at home. It depicts the conflict surrounding his appointment as Minister of Justice in chronological order. Scenes of passing through a long, dark tunnel and flickering lights attached to the tunnel are repeated. Creative Producer Yang Hee said, "We used the tunnel as a metaphor. We watched the 'Cho Kuk incident' from summer to winter of 2019. Now we live our daily lives, but there are still people living in the tunnel."

She continued, "Those who were summoned by the prosecution and testified as witnesses simply because they knew Cho Kuk or were somewhat close to him are still trapped in pain," adding, "We wanted to show that the tunnel will soon end and bright light awaits."

"Now that time has passed, people just want to know 'Guilty or not guilty?' I hope we can reflect on why we have been calling for prosecution reform and why we ran to Seocho-dong holding candles. Through Cho Kuk and the people, I wanted to shed light on the essence."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.