the film “Harbin,” which depicts the assassination attempt of Ahn Jung-geun, has been sold to 117 countries, including Japan, and Sungkyunkwan University professor Seo Kyung-duk called the export to Japan “very encouraging.”
On the 17th, Professor Seo stated on his SNS, “As Korean cultural content spreads widely, it is now evidence that people around the world are becoming interested in Korean history,” and added, “I sincerely hope that this film will achieve global success and play a significant role in properly conveying the history of Korea and Northeast Asia.”
According to the distributor CJ ENM, “Harbin” has already been screened to local audiences in the United States, Indonesia, and Malaysia, and is set to be released at the end of this month in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and Taiwan. It will be introduced in other countries gradually.
Professor Seo also mentioned that three years ago, after the musical film “Hero,” which also dealt with the story of Ahn Jung-geun, was released, there was controversy on Japanese social media where Ahn Jung-geun was labeled a “terrorist.” He noted, “Japanese netizens at the time made absurd claims such as ‘Ahn Jung-geun is a terrorist,’ ‘Korea making a film about a terrorist,’ and ‘Severing diplomatic ties based on this film.'”
He recalled that former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, in 2014, referred to Ahn Jung-geun as a “terrorist who assassinated Japan’s first Prime Minister and was sentenced to death” when a memorial hall for Ahn was opened in China. Professor Seo criticized this as an outcome of the Japanese government’s failure to implement correct historical education.