The film The Attorney depicts the oppressive representation of South Korea’s governance and flawed judicial system. The storyline centers on Chun Doo-hwan’s governance of South Korea. Most of the film outlines what became termed as the Burim Case, through which the main character Song Woo-seok redefined how those accused are represented in the court system. Analyzing the political situation, underlying themes, and the fictionalization of particular aspects of the film, one gains a comprehensive understanding of Korean politics.
Chun Doo-hwan’s rise to power sets the political tension that Song Woo-seok seeks to undermine in the film. Chun Doo-hwann’s predecessor Park Chung Hee “established tight control over society, the economy, and the …show more content…
He declared himself president and was formally elected to that office. Political problems remained, and opposition to Chun’s authoritarian rule intensified” (Hayes, 2012, p. 133). The audience is able to identify Song Woo-seok’s motivation to take the case of the accused students with this underlying political oppression. This sets up the essential conflict in the film.
As the civil oppression of the Chun governance ensues, Song started on the path to become a lawyer in Busan. Song was already in disadvantageous situation coming into the profession with only a high school education. Many of those already in the field came from prestigious universities with elitists attitudes. This is how Song makes a name for himself. Song took on the work of real estate transactions that were previously restricted to notaries. Song lacking this elitist attitude, allowed him to become fairly wealthy, while others in his field began to ostracize Song from the profession. Other lawyers originally thought that this work was beneath their stature. Song “thinks mostly of supporting his family and putting ever more distance between himself and his impoverished childhood. He’s also devoted to the …show more content…
The producers of the film attempted to take a neutral political stance. The Attorney “smartly positioned itself, saying in the opening of the movie that it is based on a true story but is a work of fiction. It kept its distance from being the biography of the late president Roh” (HOO-NAM, JU-RI, & YOON-SEOK, 2014). The film accurately represents the political oppressive nature of the civil society. The Gwangju massacre not explicitly mentioned in the film, its rippling influence is highlighted throughout. The film displayed several scene of mass gathering revolts that were put down government forces. The city of Gwangju one of the economically poorest in the nation, “Universities were shut down and political speech banned. Protests began breaking out around the country. The military shot back by assaulting men, women, and children, regardless of age, whether they were protesting or not” (Alice, 2015). This lead to over one hundred killed and thousands injured. The scenes from the film draw direct parallels of the tightening grip of the authoritarian leader. As the film reaches its conclusion, the final verdict is never revealed. Further research into the case reveals that “32 years later, the defendants in the so-called Burim Case - which came to public attention when it became the subject of the movie ‘The Attorney’, which was seen by around 11 million people - finally escaped the
Chun Doo-hwan’s rise to power sets the political tension that Song Woo-seok seeks to undermine in the film. Chun Doo-hwann’s predecessor Park Chung Hee “established tight control over society, the economy, and the …show more content…
He declared himself president and was formally elected to that office. Political problems remained, and opposition to Chun’s authoritarian rule intensified” (Hayes, 2012, p. 133). The audience is able to identify Song Woo-seok’s motivation to take the case of the accused students with this underlying political oppression. This sets up the essential conflict in the film.
As the civil oppression of the Chun governance ensues, Song started on the path to become a lawyer in Busan. Song was already in disadvantageous situation coming into the profession with only a high school education. Many of those already in the field came from prestigious universities with elitists attitudes. This is how Song makes a name for himself. Song took on the work of real estate transactions that were previously restricted to notaries. Song lacking this elitist attitude, allowed him to become fairly wealthy, while others in his field began to ostracize Song from the profession. Other lawyers originally thought that this work was beneath their stature. Song “thinks mostly of supporting his family and putting ever more distance between himself and his impoverished childhood. He’s also devoted to the …show more content…
The producers of the film attempted to take a neutral political stance. The Attorney “smartly positioned itself, saying in the opening of the movie that it is based on a true story but is a work of fiction. It kept its distance from being the biography of the late president Roh” (HOO-NAM, JU-RI, & YOON-SEOK, 2014). The film accurately represents the political oppressive nature of the civil society. The Gwangju massacre not explicitly mentioned in the film, its rippling influence is highlighted throughout. The film displayed several scene of mass gathering revolts that were put down government forces. The city of Gwangju one of the economically poorest in the nation, “Universities were shut down and political speech banned. Protests began breaking out around the country. The military shot back by assaulting men, women, and children, regardless of age, whether they were protesting or not” (Alice, 2015). This lead to over one hundred killed and thousands injured. The scenes from the film draw direct parallels of the tightening grip of the authoritarian leader. As the film reaches its conclusion, the final verdict is never revealed. Further research into the case reveals that “32 years later, the defendants in the so-called Burim Case - which came to public attention when it became the subject of the movie ‘The Attorney’, which was seen by around 11 million people - finally escaped the