1987 | 1987: When the Day Comes
개봉 Released
감독 Directed by
역사배경 History
주연 Cast
2017.12.27
장준환 Jang Joon-hwan
전두환 정권 Chun Doo-hwan regime
6월 민주 항쟁 June Democratic Struggle
이한열 열사 Lee Han Yeol
김윤석 Kim Yoon-seok
하정우 Ha Jung-woo
유해진 Yoo Hae-jin
김태리 Kim Tae-ri
박희순 Park Hee-soon
이희준 Lee Hee-joon
Set in 1987 and based on a true story, 1987: When the Day Comes focuses on the events that led up to the June Democratic Uprising in Korea, triggered by the death of a student protester during police interrogation which the authorities conspire to cover up.
On January 13, 1987, activist Park Jong-chul, the president of the student council in the linguistics department of Seoul National University, was detained by police. While under interrogation, Park refused to confess the whereabouts of one of his fellow activists. During the interrogation, authorities used waterboarding techniques to torture him, leading to his death through asphyxiation on January 14.
The police attempted to cover up the incident as an accidental death caused by shock, making an unheard-of and ludicrous assertion that they had only slammed the desk with a “bang” and the student had collapsed with an “ugh”. The efforts of many people to uncover the truth about his death, however, brought to light the fact that Park had been tortured to death and the existence of the Namyeong-dong Anti-Communist Investigation Office as well.
On June 9, student groups nationwide took to the field and mobilized on campuses across the country, in preparation for the planned mass protests on June 10. Lee had been taking part in a Yonsei University gathering in front of the school gates to call for volunteers for the June 10 rally. At 2 p.m., Yonsei University student Lee Han-yeol was seriously injured when a tear gas grenade penetrated his skull.
A photograph was captured of him injured, blood trickling down his nose and mouth and being carried away by a fellow student. Although Han was not one of the famous leaders of the democracy movement, this photo was widely-circulated, quickly becoming a symbol of the subsequent protests over the weeks that followed. The death of another student became the last straw for the people, bringing more protesters into the streets.
He eventually died of his wounds on July 5, after the regime had agreed to the people's demands. Over 1.6 million citizens participated in his national funeral, held on July 9. He was buried at May 18th National Cemetery.
In 2005, the Lee Han-yeol Memoral Hall was established in Yonsei University to honor the life of Lee Han-yeol, with the actual clothes and shoes he wore on exhibit.
Dried blood is still visible on the folded t-shirt and pants Lee wore on the day he was struck by the tear gas grenade. One of his blood stained sneakers with its rubber ends now mostly crumbled away was placed next to his clothing in a glass box.
When Lee was being carried away to the hospital, another student picked up his shoe, thinking “wake up, you need your sneakers to be able to go home”, and followed him to the emergency room. The shoe was passed to Lee’s family when they arrived from Gwangju later in the day, leaving us with the shoe we see today in memorial of Lee.
