′Assassination′ expected to attract 10 million in Korea 영화 암살 관객수 100만 돌파 코앞

Still deciding what to do during the long holiday weekend？ With most people in Korea off work for the next three days， those of you with some extra time on your hands might want to head out to the cinema for a film that aims to capture the spirit of Korea′s Liberation Day Kim Ji－yeon reports Set during Japan′s colonial rule of Korea， ″Assassination，″ is about a group of Korean independence fighters who plot against two key figures in the ruling class， a Japanese governor and a Korean collaborator More than 9－million local viewers have seen the film since it opened late last month， and the timing of its release in the run－up to the 70th anniversary of Korea′s liberation from Japan′s colonial rule on Saturday may have helped generate some extra buzz But for some， the director is also a draw The film is the latest by Choi Dong－hoon， who last dominated box offices with his mega hit ″Thieves ″ Choi says he was determined to make this film， even though people advised him against it ″But I really wanted to make this movie so that viewers could understand the reality of what people during that period were confronting ″ The story， set in the 1930s， shows the harsh reality of life in Korea under Japanese colonial rule To be fair， critics say it′s difficult for period films set during the colonial era to garner mass appeal ″When there′s too much focus on historical events， the plot can be difficult to follow If the events aren′t portrayed correctly， the film may be seen as nothing more than shallow entertainment So for producers， movies about Japanese colonization aren′t easy ″ Another challenge for Choi was the cost Despite the box office numbers， the movie isn′t expected to generate a huge profit With a production budget of nearly 16－million U S dollars， it needed 7－million viewers to just break even ″I enjoyed the movie I laughed at some parts and was moved by others ″ If it does reach the 10－million mark， ″Assassination″ will become the 12th Korean movie to do so along with ″Thieves ″ Kim Ji－yeon， Arirang News