A still from "The Assassins" [Provided by Hive Media Corp]
A still from "The Assassins" [Provided by Hive Media Corp]

"The Assassins," starring Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il and Lee Min-ho, topped the domestic box office over the Chuseok holiday. The film has ignited a fierce debate over alleged historical distortion, with audience ratings splitting sharply along political lines.

According to the integrated ticketing system, "The Assassins" drew about 1.407 million moviegoers over the four-day Chuseok holiday from Thursday through Sunday, claiming the No. 1 spot. The film crossed the 1 million admissions mark on Saturday — just four days after opening — and its cumulative audience stood at roughly 1.566 million through Sunday.

"The Assassins" is a mystery thriller tracing the origins of the 1974 assassination attempt on first lady Yuk Young-soo at the National Theater on Aug. 15 of that year. Yoo plays a detective digging into the case, Park portrays a newspaper city-desk editor in pursuit of the truth, and Lee takes on the role of an ambitious rookie reporter.

Beyond the government's official finding at the time — that the shooting was the act of a lone gunman — the film raises, through some of its characters, the hypothesis that former President Park Chung-hee or the Korean Central Intelligence Agency may have orchestrated the attack. Critics have condemned this as an unfounded conspiracy theory and a distortion of history.

CGV's Golden Egg index, based on verified ticket-buyer reviews, gave the film 92 percent, but its user rating on the Naver portal fell to 2.4 out of 10, starkly illustrating the divide in audience reaction across platforms. Conservative politicians also joined the chorus of criticism, denouncing the film for "slashing a historical tragedy with a biased perspective."

Hong Hye-geol, a broadcaster and former medical journalist, directly attacked the film on his Facebook page Sunday. "The Assassins is uncomfortable," he wrote. "Is it right to insult a deceased person respected or acknowledged by half the population with a forced conspiracy theory, when the bereaved family is still alive?" He added: "A script that would never be tolerated when aimed at one's own side is praised as artistic fiction when directed at the other. That is the height of double standards."

Hong also noted that a 2025 Gallup survey found 62 percent of South Koreans held a positive view of former President Park Chung-hee, and that Yuk remains the most favorably regarded first lady in the country's history.

Director Heo Jin-ho addressed the controversy in a pre-release interview, saying his intent was not to uncover hidden truths but "to capture the inner lives and emotions of people who lived through an era swirling with suspicion and unanswered questions."

Meanwhile, "Tajja: Song of Beelzebub," directed by Choi Guk-hee and starring Byun Yo-han and No Jae-won, finished second over the holiday with about 710,000 admissions. "The Intern," a Hollywood remake directed by Kim Do-young and starring Choi Min-sik and Han So-hee, came in third with about 455,000 moviegoers, while Christopher Nolan's "Odyssey" placed fourth with about 364,000, bringing its cumulative total to about 11.78 million admissions. Lee Chang-dong's "Possible Love," his first film in eight years, ran for a limited engagement ahead of its Netflix premiere on Nov. 6 and drew about 93,000 moviegoers to finish fifth. As of 9 a.m. Monday — the first day after the holiday — the Japanese animated film "Chiikawa the Movie: Secret of Mermaid Island" had surged to the top of real-time advance bookings with a 38.3 percent share, representing about 162,000 pre-sold tickets.


shee@heraldcorp.com