A promotional display for "The Assassin" at a movie theater in Seoul. [Yonhap]
A promotional display for "The Assassin" at a movie theater in Seoul. [Yonhap]

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said Tuesday that "creative freedom cannot serve as a get-out-of-jail-free card for irresponsible art," weighing in on the controversy surrounding "The Assassin," a film based on the 1974 shooting of Yuk Young-soo, wife of former President Park Chung-hee.

Oh made the remarks in a Facebook post, saying "historical distortion must not become fuel for box-office success."

"Creative freedom must be respected," Oh wrote, "but art must not become a weapon that reopens historical wounds, layers on unverified narratives, and manufactures new divisions."

He said the death of Yuk "is an irreversible wound for her family and a tragedy etched into modern Korean history," and added that "the anger and sense of betrayal felt by many who remember that pain — and who have now seen this film — must not be taken lightly. Distorting history to damage the reputation of the deceased is a different matter from creative freedom."

Oh also said he was wary of the political world being swept up in the controversy.

"The more politicians pile on and camps clash, the more attention the film receives," he wrote. "Whether intended or not, a historical dispute is being used as a marketing tool."

"I trust the judgment of the public," he added. "People are not so easily swayed by cheap noise that exploits historical wounds and political divisions as box-office fodder."

He also said the filmmakers should at least apologize to the bereaved family for exploiting the pain of losing a mother to a bullet as noise marketing, and should make efforts to correct any situation that could give rise to misunderstanding.

Filmmakers ask audiences to view film 'solely as a work of creative fiction'

Meanwhile, the filmmakers released a statement Monday saying the film "was not made to establish any new historical conclusion or to deny or distort existing facts."

"We conducted extensive research into publicly available records, materials, books and documentaries, and built a single story by combining real events and figures as inspiration with fictional characters and situations," the statement said. "The film does not identify any specific individual as the mastermind behind the incident, nor does it present the hypotheses and dramatic elements in the film as historical fact."

"Given that the work draws on historical events and real figures, a range of interpretations and criticism is possible, and we respect such views," the filmmakers added. "We wish to make clear that the film was not made with any specific political purpose beyond its own creative intent and character. We ask that the work be viewed solely as a product of creative imagination."


yul@heraldcorp.com