"They Were Not Death-Row Inmates or Life Prisoners": Film 'Silmido' Revises Its Captions 23 Years Later

[Financial News] An explanatory caption in the film 'Silmido' has been revised to correct its portrayal of the operatives as criminals, including death-row inmates and life prisoners. The Ministry of National Defense said on the 23rd that a new caption was being provided to accurately convey the findings of an investigation showing that most of the actual operatives were ordinary civilians.
The caption revision began at the request of the Silmido victims' bereaved families association. After confirming errors in the existing explanatory caption included in the film, the Ministry of National Defense asked CJ ENM to make revisions last July.
The distributor accepted the ministry's request and has been providing the revised caption since the 4th. Requests for the revision were also sent to online video streaming services so that the same content could be reflected on OTT platforms.
The revised explanatory notice appears before the film begins. The caption includes the following: "The portrayal in the film <Silmido> of the unit's operatives as special criminals, death-row inmates, and life prisoners was a fictionalized setting that differed from historical fact. The Ministry of National Defense Truth Commission on Past History and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) clearly established that there were no death-row inmates or life prisoners among the Silmido unit's operatives, and that most of them were ordinary civilians. We extend our words of consolation to the Silmido unit's operatives and their bereaved families who suffered because of the film <Silmido>."
Previously, a caption stated, "The fictionalized setting is unrelated to other North Korea-bound units or operatives, past or present." However, the film's depiction alone could lead viewers to mistakenly believe that the Silmido unit's operatives had actually been criminals.
Regarding the caption revision, the Ministry of National Defense said, "We expect this measure to help restore the honor of the victims and their bereaved families."
The Silmido unit was established after the so-called January 21 Incident. On Jan. 21, 1968, 31 North Korean armed agents, including Kim Shin-jo, infiltrated Seoul through Bukhansan Mountain with the aim of raiding the Blue House. A special unit for operations into North Korea was organized in response.
In August 1971, 24 operatives protested human rights violations and unfair treatment, killed 18 regular soldiers, then deserted while armed and entered Seoul, where they exchanged fire with the military and police. During the Silmido escape and ensuing clashes, 20 operatives, two police officers, and six civilians were killed. The four surviving operatives were later sentenced to death, and their bodies were secretly buried.
Released in December 2003, the film 'Silmido' became the first Korean movie to surpass 10 million admissions. The film portrayed the Silmido unit's operatives as former death-row inmates and life prisoners, but an investigation by the Ministry of National Defense Truth Commission on Past History found that most of the actual operatives were ordinary civilians.

[email protected] Han Seung-gon Reporter