The Assassin(s): Korea's Hit Film Caught in a Backlash Storm

Hur Jin-ho's political thriller The Assassin(s) has become the most argued-over movie in South Korea: a fast-burning box-office smash that also sits at the center of a fierce fight over history, politics, and how far criticism of a film is allowed to go.

Released on September 23, 2026, the film dramatizes the August 15, 1974 shooting at the National Theater of Korea's Liberation Day ceremony that killed first lady Yuk Young-soo. The official investigation concluded the attack was carried out on North Korean orders; the movie instead suggests that domestic power figures may have been involved. That creative choice is what turned a period thriller into a national argument.

The numbers tell one story. The Assassin(s) crossed two million admissions within eleven days of release, making it the ninth Korean film of 2026 to reach that mark, as reported by Aju Press. It briefly lost the daily box-office lead, then reclaimed it at the start of October. In the advance ticket-sales race, it held 16.9 percent against the Chiikawa movie's 25.7 percent — a contest covered on our movies beat. You can follow more film coverage at the GenZ NewZ movies topic page.

How The Assassin(s) Became a Political Flashpoint

The cast is a heavyweight lineup: Yoo Hai-jin plays detective Cheol-gu, Park Hae-il plays city editor Jae-hwan, and Lee Min-ho plays rookie reporter Young-il. Audiences showed up immediately — over the four-day Chuseok holiday the film drew 1.407 million viewers and topped Tazza: Beelzebub's Song, according to Korea Portal.

The political backlash began almost as fast. On September 28, conservative politicians accused the production of distorting the 1974 record, and the film slipped to number two at the box office the next day. Its distributor, Hive Media Corp, answered on September 29 that the movie is a work of fiction, shaped by cinematic imagination around a real event from 1974, as stated by the company — and that the film points the finger at no one in particular, as reported by allkpop.

The production company also swatted away a separate rumor that the film was bankrolled from abroad. According to Zapzee, the company said there was "absolutely no Chinese capital" involved in either the production or the investment. By then the controversy had already started costing the film its promotional calendar: cast and crew events were canceled amid the heat.

On October 3, the Producers Guild of Korea weighed in, saying criticism of a work must not become threats against the people who made it. The guild's message was direct — stop attacking creators — as reported by Kbizoom. For the filmmakers, the statement was a rare piece of institutional backup after weeks in which the dispute had shifted from the script to the individuals behind it.

Why the Fight Matters Beyond One Movie

Three positions now define the standoff. The producers insist The Assassin(s) is a work of fiction with no political agenda, built on cinematic imagination rather than a claim about who ordered the 1974 shooting. Conservative critics say that framing distorts an official historical record and amounts to taking sides. The guild holds a third line: debate the film all you want, but do not harass the people who made it.

The harassment question got sharper on October 4. Portal giant Naver said it had detected automated abuse in the reactions attached to online reviews of The Assassin(s) and referred the matter to the police, according to KpopAngel. The same report described a protest staged outside the home of the film's lead actor — the moment the controversy moved from comment sections to someone's front door.

That escalation is what makes The Assassin(s) more than a box-office story. Canceled press and fan events shrink the space where artists can talk about their work. Bot-driven review manipulation poisons the public record of how audiences actually felt. And personal protests against individual actors cross the line the guild drew: the dispute is no longer about a film's version of history, but about whether creators can work without intimidation.

Ironically, the film's international profile keeps rising while the domestic fight rages. Screenings in Toronto sold out, and The Assassin(s) is set to open the Singapore International Film Festival on October 21, 2026. A movie accused at home of distorting history will soon be introduced abroad as a flagship of Korean cinema — a split-screen ending no one scripted.