After President Park's assassination, martial law is declared. Security commander Chun Doo-hwan and the officers who follow him stage a coup. Lee Tae-shin, a stubborn commander of the Capital Garrison Command who believes that soldiers should not take political action, fights against Chun Doo-hwan. As the conflict between the two men grows, the military leaders postpone their decisions, and the Minister of Defense disappears. In this chaos, spring in Seoul, which everyone longs for, heads in an unexpected direction.
Director Kim Sung-su revealed at the press conference that he was a senior in high school at the time of the Coup d'état of December Twelfth and was living in Hannam-dong, Seoul, where the incident occurred. He left his house and was walking around the neighborhood, and when he heard a gunshot from the Army Chief of Staff's official residence, he went there, but the soldiers controlled it. He was scared because he heard gunshots all night and he couldn't get close, but he was full of curiosity and questions at the time because he couldn't figure out what was going on,[12] which led him to make this film.[13]
In the film, similar pseudonyms are used instead of the real persons' names and, although it is based on real events, there are also fictional elements.[13][14][15]
As of December 3, 2023[update], 12.12: The Day has grossed $34.2 million with a running total of 4.66 million tickets sold.[17] It became the biggest film of 2023 in Korea, when it grossed $90.5 million by end of December 2023.[18] By the end of February 2024, it has grossed over $97 million.[3]
Public response
The film is set sometime in the 1980s, but Korean spectators consisted mostly of younger people (in their 20s and 30s) rather than middle-aged people (e.g. in their 40s and 50s).[19] There was even a heart rate challenge among them, where people would check their heart rate using their smartwatches while watching the movie, then take a picture of it and upload it on social media to express heightened stress or righteous anger while watching the film.[20][21]
As a consequence of the growing popularity of the film, Korean audiences showed an increasing interest in other film works with historical dimension, such as 5th Republic,[22] which focuses on the Korean Coup d'état of December Twelfth.[23]
Critical response
A review for Screen Daily indicated that the film was "also entirely accessible to viewers with little knowledge of South Korean politics."[24] "It's not often that a movie that's both so historically accurate and entertaining comes around, which makes 12.12 especially laudable.", wrote The Escapist.[25] Other reviews praised the production.[26][27][28]
Accolades
Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination
^ abLee, Ha-neul (October 16, 2023). 황정민·정우성 '서울의 봄', 12·12 군사 반란 속 일촉즉발 상황...11월 22일 개봉 [Hwang Jeong-min and Jung Woo-sung's '12.12: The Day', a close call amid the 12/12 military rebellion... Released on November 22nd]. 10Asia (in Korean). Retrieved October 16, 2023 – via Naver.
^[영화는실화다] 영화 '서울의 봄'_ 12·12 군사 반란 [[The movie is a true story] Movie '12.12: The Day'_ December 12 Military Uprising]. YTN (in Korean). November 24, 2023 – via Naver.
^'서울의 봄' 김성수 감독 "연출 제안받고 '이게 나한테? 운명이다' 싶었다" [인터뷰①] ['12.12: The Day' Director Kim Seong-soo "When I received the offer to direct, I thought, 'This is for me? It's fate.'" [Interview ①]]. ChosunBiz (in Korean). November 15, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
^"내 심박수 봄?" ...영화 서울의봄 SNS 챌린지 열풍 ["Do you see my heart rate?" ...Film 12.12: The Day SNS Challenge Craze]. Kookmin Ilbo (in Korean). November 28, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023 – via Naver.
^"12·12 다룬 '서울의 봄'과 '제5공화국' ...뭐가 같고 뭐가 다른가" ['12.12: The Day' and '5th Republic', both of which were covered on Coup d'état of December Twelfth... What's the same and what's different?]. Ilyo Shinmun (in Korean). November 29, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
^Lee, Seung-hoon (May 7, 2024). '무빙'→'서울의 봄' 대상..'파묘'는 4관왕 [제60회 백상예술대상][종합] ['Moving' → 'Seoul Spring' Grand Prize..'Buried Grave' wins 4 awards [60th Baeksang Arts Awards] [Comprehensive]]. Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on May 7, 2024. Retrieved May 7, 2024 – via Naver.
^Hwang, So-young (April 8, 2024). 60회 맞은 '백상예술대상' TV·영화·연극 후보 공개 [60th 'Baeksang Arts Awards' TV, Film and Theater Candidates Revealed]. JTBC News (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 8, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2024 – via Naver.
