Awards and festivals

Film description

In January 1987 a 22-year-old college student dies during a police interrogation. Under the orders of Director Park, the police request the body to be cremated in order to destroy evidence. Public Prosecutor Choi, who was on duty on the day of the incident, denies the request and calls for an autopsy. The police continues to try to cover up the truth, but after the coroner's check, a journalist following the case reports that the death was a result of torture. Director Park attempts to end the case by arresting two detectives including inspector Cho. While in prison he reveals the truth to one of the guards, who embarks on a dangerous mission to relay the information to an opposition politician through his niece. In the meantime the journalist's report ignited series of protests that only grow stronger...

Director Jang Joo-hwan combines several plots based on various characters' points of view, attempting to convey a multidimensional overview of the events that lead to June Democratic Uprising - protests which in consequence ended the authoritarian regime in South Korea. "1987: When The Day Comes" resonates with the 2017 impeachment of Park Geun-hye, daughter of Park Chung-hee, general who seized power in 1961 and became the president of South Korea till his assassination in 1979. Jang Joo-hwan's film revisits the past and comments the present, becoming an important title in the history of Korean cinema.

Maja Korbecka