The Seoul Guardians

Directed by
Jong Woo Kim, Shin Wan Kim, Chul Young Cho
Duration
70 min.
Year
2026
Language
Korean
Age rating
Från 15 år
Tip from Cineville: Asiatiska Filmfestivalen

At 10:28 p.m. on December 3rd, 2024, in Seoul, the President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol declares the martial law. It is a self-coup carried out in an attempt to break through a political crisis. A decree banning all political activities and public assemblies is announced, and martial law troops move toward the National Assembly to seize control.

Meanwhile, citizens rush to the National Assembly to block the troops, while lawmakers break through police’s barricades at the main gate, climb over the walls to attend the session that lifts the martial law. Large numbers of elite troops are deployed by helicopter and armored vehicles, launching a sudden assault on the National Assembly building. People begin to block the troops’ advance, instinctively invoking the memory of the Gwangju Democratic Uprising 45 years earlier, one of the deepest traumas in South Korea’s history.

The Seoul Guardians was shot in the heat of the moment, drawing the viewer right into the heart of the turmoil, where tension grips everything. It offers a striking record of contemporary history, bearing witness to the crucial role of citizens in a democratic society.

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