I just watched Assassins. Modern Korean history is truly strange.

I'm leaving my thoughts without any spoilers.
I can see why people call it a leftist film.
Personally, I feel a bit uncomfortable whenever I watch movies dealing with the Park Chung-hee era. Then again, it's an era that cannot be viewed with purely negative eyes.
First of all, watching the actors is quite entertaining.
There are so many cameos; unexpected actors keep appearing.
Yoo Hae-jin is, as expected, a great actor. To be honest, Lee Min-ho's acting was mediocre, but I certainly understood why he was cast.
Good looks are definitely necessary.
I think the casting was well done.
However, after watching the movie, actual history is more interesting than the film itself.
After the assassination attempt on First Lady Yuk Young-soo in 1974, the Chief of the Presidential Security Service changed from Park Jong-gyu to Cha Ji-chul.
Afterward, Kim Jae-gyu became the Director of the KCIA.
And on October 26, 1979, Kim Jae-gyu assassinated Park Chung-hee and Cha Ji-chul.
It is a truly strange history.
Park Chung-hee came to power through a coup, but he was also the figure who laid the foundation for South Korea's industrialization and economic growth.
It is difficult to discuss the economic foundation of present-day South Korea without mentioning the Park Chung-hee era.
However, the story changes after the Yushin Constitution.
While there was the pretext of a security crisis, it effectively created a system for lifelong rule.
At the time, it received significant criticism from abroad regarding human rights suppression and dictatorship issues.
While it cannot be said to be exactly the same as the Kim Il-sung regime, it is true that the world expressed concern and pressure because power was concentrated in one person and long-term rule was institutionalized.
This makes me curious about something.
What if the assassination attempt on First Lady Yuk Young-soo had not happened?
What if Park Jong-gyu had remained the Chief of the Security Service?
What if there had been no conflict between Kim Jae-gyu and Cha Ji-chul?
Would the October 26 incident have ever occurred?
Of course, opinions are still divided on whether Kim Jae-gyu killed Park Chung-hee for democracy as he claimed, or because of a power struggle with Cha Ji-chul.
Personally, I find it a bit uncomfortable to package Kim Jae-gyu as some kind of democratization hero.
Regardless, the death of a dictator did not solve all problems.
The December 12 coup occurred, and a military regime was established again. There was the May 18 uprising, and it wasn't until 1987 that people could finally elect a president through voting.
Thinking about it, the country of South Korea is truly remarkable.
A nation that was completely ruined by war achieved industrialization while facing North Korea, and in the process, underwent massive political upheavals.
We even went through an IMF crisis, but we eventually made it this far.
The leaders and entrepreneurs who led industrialization, the citizens who worked themselves to death, and the people who fought for democratization—it seems like a history that cannot be explained by the contributions of just one side.
I feel this even more when looking at North Korea.
They are the same people and their starting lines were not significantly different, but now they have become a completely different world.
What would have happened if Park Chung-hee had continued to rule?
If the Yushin system had continued into the 1980s and 1990s, would today's South Korea exist?
Of course, one cannot conclude that it would have become like North Korea, but it is certain it would not have become what it is today.
It occurred to me that perhaps the freedom and prosperity we enjoy now might be the result of a much more precarious history than we think.
It is a miracle that South Korea achieved economic growth, but it is also a miracle that it managed to achieve democratization without losing the fruits of industrialization while undergoing those numerous political upheavals.
Watching this one movie has left me with many thoughts.