History lecturer Choi Tae-sung [Newsis]
History lecturer Choi Tae-sung [Newsis]

Amid a growing controversy over historical distortion surrounding the film "The Assassin," history lecturer Choi Tae-sung has made his related video private.

As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, a video about "The Assassin" that Choi posted on his YouTube channel "Choi Tae-sung 2TV" on Sept. 22 had been set to private, according to Star Today. The video had accumulated about 320,000 views as of Monday.

Choi has not publicly explained why he made the video private, but observers suggest he may have been concerned about getting caught up in the backlash over the film's alleged historical distortions.

Film critic Lee Dong-jin had also made his review of "The Assassin" private. The production team behind the YouTube channel "B tv Lee Dong-jin's Paiakia" said Tuesday that they had set the review, uploaded on Friday, to private "as the debate surrounding the film continues." YouTuber Jimovie, who has about 4.17 million subscribers, also made his related video private.

"The Assassin" is based on the shooting of Yuk Young-soo on Aug. 15, 1974. The film uses cinematic imagination to reconstruct various allegations surrounding the incident, but controversy has erupted over the line between historical fact and fiction as it explores the possible existence of accomplices and the potential involvement of the then-ruling government.


husn7@heraldcorp.com