''26 Years'' () is a 2012 South Korean film based on the popular 2006

manhwa Manhwa () is the general Korean term for comics and print cartoons. Outside Korea, the term usually refers to Korean comics. Modern Manhwa has extended its reach to many other countries. These comics have branched outside of Korea by acce ...

serialized online by manhwaga Kang Full. It is the fictional story of five ordinary people (a sports shooter, a gangster, a policeman, a businessman, and head of a private security firm) who band together in order to assassinate the man responsible for the massacre of innocent civilians in Gwangju in May 1980.

Plot

The story deals with one of the most tragic and critical events in South Korean history. On May 18, 1980, in the city of

Gwangju Gwangju (; ), formerly romanized as Kwangju, is South Korea's list of cities in South Korea, sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated Special cities of South Korea, metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home ...

, state troops were ordered to open fire on civilians, killing and wounding thousands. Former president

Chun Doo-hwan Chun Doo-hwan (; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean politician, army general and military dictator who served as the fifth president of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. Prior to his accession to the presidency, he was the cou ...

is believed to have given the order, and although he is not named explicitly in the film, the target of the assassination attempt is clearly meant to represent Chun, who was convicted in 1996 of crimes related to the Gwangju Massacre, but later pardoned by President

Kim Dae-jung Kim Dae-jung (, ; 6 January 192418 August 2009) was a South Korean politician, activist and statesman who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. Kim entered politics as a member of the new wing of the Democratic Pa ...

. 26 years later in 2006, five people who consider themselves as some of the biggest victims of the massacre, plot a top-secret project to exact revenge by assassinating the man responsible. Kwon Jung-hyuk is a newly recruited policeman who lost his family in the massacre; he is now responsible for the cars that have access to the target's house. Kwak Jin-bae is a young gangster from an organized crime group whose father was also killed. Olympic sharpshooter Shim Mi-jin, a

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

from a large company and the director of a private security firm are also involved. As a former president, "that man" lives under police protection in an affluent district of

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, but through a combination of ingenuity, skill, and well-placed money they are able to draw within shooting distance of their target.

Cast

Jin Goo Jin Goo (; born July 20, 1980) is a South Korean actor. He won Best Supporting Actor at the Grand Bell Awards and Blue Dragon Film Awards for his role in Bong Joon-ho's 2009 film noir, noir thriller (genre), thriller ''Mother (2009 film), Mother ...

- Kwak Jin-bae (gangster) * Han Hye-jin - Shim Mi-jin (shooter of national team) * Lim Seul-ong - Kwon Jung-hyuk (policeman) * Bae Soo-bin - Kim Joo-ahn (lobbyist) * Lee Geung-young - Kim Gap-se (chairman of a company) * Jang Gwang - " that man" (ex-president) *Jo Deok-jae - Ma Sang-ryul * Kim Eui-sung - Chief Choi * Ahn Suk-hwan - Ahn Soo-ho *

Lee Mi-do Lee Mi-do (; born 25 May 1982), birth name Lee Eun-hye, is a South Korean actress. Career In 2012, she started working in TV, while remaining active in the world of movies. Her notable TV credits include '' The Queen of Office'' (2013) and '' ...

- Kwak Jin-bae's mother *Kim Min-jae * Jung Hee-tae as Teo Mi-neol

Production

Kang Full's

webtoon Webtoons () are a type of episodic digital comics that originated in South Korea usually meant to be read on smartphones A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allo ...

illustrated the brutal suppression by the dictatorial administration of the time, putting emphasis on the overcoming of interpersonal and societal barriers. In 2008, the film was originally set to be directed by

Lee Hae-young Lee Hae-young (born 1973) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. Lee wrote and directed his debut feature ''Like a Virgin (film), Like a Virgin'' (2006) (with director Lee Hae-jun), which won several awards for Best New Director and B ...

based on his own adapted screenplay titled ''29 Years'', with Ryoo Seung-bum,

Kim Ah-joong Kim Ah-joong (; born October 16, 1982) is a South Korean actress, model and singer. She is best known for playing the main character in the romantic comedy '' 200 Pounds Beauty''. Education Kim graduated from Korea University with a master's d ...

Chun Ho-jin Chun Ho-jin (; born September 9, 1960) is a South Korean actor. Early life Chun studied chemistry at Inha University but dropped out to pursue acting. His father was among the first generation of professional wrestlers in the country. Career ...

, and

Byun Hee-bong Byun Hee-bong (; born Byun In-chul; 8 June 1942 – 18 September 2023) was a South Korean film, television and voice actor. In 1963, he embarked on his voice acting career by making his debut in the first season of DBS Donga Broadcasting. He fu ...

cast in the lead roles. But the production came to a halt once investors pulled out from funding the film ten days before filming began because of its controversial politically sensitive content, and rumors were rife that the pressure had originated from the conservative government. After nearly four years of languishing in pre-production limbo due to financial difficulties, online donations poured in from 15,000 individuals amounting to (US$646,000), with singer Lee Seung-hwan contributing another (US$923,000), toward the film's (US$4,246,000) production cost. Another investor was television personality Kim Je-dong. The

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...

enabled the production to finally begin filming Lee's script with a new cast and director on July 19, 2012. Filming wrapped on October 10, 2012. The film's ending credits roll for more than 10 minutes, as they include all 15,000 donors' names. Director Cho Geun-hyun said at the movie's press conference, "When one does something terribly wrong and hurts others, they should at least apologize. And even if he or she chooses not to, they should be punished for what they've done. This is common sense, not some political idea."

Box office

The film debuted at the top of the box office, selling 1,108,714 tickets in only a single week on release. It reached 2.5 million admissions in mid-December 2012, resulting in a total of nearly 3 million in January 2013.

Awards and nominations

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Baeksang Arts Awards The Baeksang Arts Awards (), also known as the Paeksang Arts Awards, are awards for excellence in film, television and theatre in South Korea. The awards were introduced in 1965 by Chang Key-young, the founder of the newspaper ''Hankook Ilbo'', ...

*Nomination - Best New Actor - Im Seulong *Nomination - Best New Director - Cho Geun-hyun

Buil Film Awards *Nomination - Best Actor -

*Nomination - Best Supporting Actor - Jang Gwang *Nomination - Best New Director - Cho Geun-hyun

Blue Dragon Film Awards The Blue Dragon Film Awards () is an annual awards ceremony that is presented by ''Sports Chosun'' (a sister brand of the ''Chosun Ilbo'') for excellence in film in South Korea. The Blue Dragon Film Awards considers only blockbusters and popula ...

*Nomination - Best New Actor - Im Seulong 2014 Golden Cinema Festival *Special Jury Prize -

References

External links

* * * *
''26 Years'' original webtoon
at Daum {{DEFAULTSORT:26 Years (film) 2012 films 2012 action thriller films South Korean action thriller films Films about the Gwangju Uprising Films about politicians South Korean films about revenge Films set in 1980 Films set in Seoul Films set in Gwangju Films shot in Daejeon Films based on South Korean webtoons Films based on works by Kang Full Chungeorahm Films films 2010s Korean-language films Films directed by Cho Geun-hyun Live-action films based on comics Manhwa adapted into films 2010s South Korean films 2000s manhwa