In this blog post, I’ll examine the historical events and thoughts on modern politics that the movie ‘Gwanghae: The Man Who Became King’ brought to mind, while correcting and editing them to align with current facts.
The movie ‘Gwanghae: The Man Who Became King’ was a huge box office hit, drawing over 10 million viewers. I had wanted to see it, but I lacked the courage to go alone, and my busy schedule at the time meant I ultimately never got around to watching it. However, hearing about the film’s success brought back a memory from my military service. Back then, whenever a thought suddenly came to mind, I would jot it down in a notebook, and fortunately, I had kept that notebook until I was discharged. When I opened that notebook for the first time in a long while, the memories came flooding back as vividly as if it had happened just yesterday, even though three or four years had already passed.
Anyone who has completed their military service will remember that back then, there was a period about once a year when we underwent intensive ideological training. As part of that training, we visited the tomb of Prince Inpyeong, located near our base, to learn about Korean history, and toured the tomb and the commemorative stele. From the explanatory text in front of the stele, I learned that Prince Inpyeong was the third son of King Injo of Joseon and a prince who had been taken hostage by the Qing Dynasty following the Second Manchu Invasion.
This naturally led me to wonder: Why did the Byeongja War break out? Why did the Humiliation of Samjeondo occur? As a soldier on active duty at the time, I didn’t know the clear answers to these questions. The unit I served in had poor facilities—I couldn’t access the internet, and there weren’t enough relevant books—so I had no way to satisfy my curiosity. Eventually, I drew on the knowledge of Korean history I’d learned in middle and high school, as well as what I’d encountered through the media over the years, to formulate my own answers and jot them down in a notebook.
The Second Manchu Invasion was a war in which the Qing Dynasty invaded Joseon. The background is as follows. After the Imjin War, the Ming Dynasty’s national power was gradually declining, while Nurhaci—who had unified the Jurchen tribes to establish the Later Jin—was rapidly expanding his influence, centered on Manchuria. Drawing on his growing national power, Nurhaci began to pressure the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming, finding it difficult to cope, requested military aid from Joseon.
Since the Ming Dynasty had supported Joseon during the Imjin War and the Jeongyu War, and the two nations maintained a suzerain-vassal relationship at the time, it was difficult for Joseon to easily refuse the Ming’s request. King Gwanghae was the ruler of Joseon at the time. Although the royal court and King Gwanghae were fully aware that the Later Jin’s power had already grown considerably, they ultimately dispatched a relief force led by General Gang Hong-rip in response to the Ming’s request.
However, King Gwanghae issued secret instructions to Kang Hong-rip. He was told not to engage in reckless combat but to assess the local situation and decide on the army’s course of action accordingly. After personally assessing the battlefield situation, Kang Hong-rip determined that the Later Jin’s military strength was far greater than expected and that the Ming Dynasty would find it difficult to repel them; consequently, he ultimately surrendered to the Later Jin.
Meanwhile, however, a major political upheaval occurred in Joseon: the Injo Restoration. This was the event in which the Westerners faction ousted King Gwanghae and installed King Injo as the new monarch. Subsequently, Joseon effectively abandoned its previous policy of neutrality—which had pursued pragmatic diplomacy between the Later Jin and the Ming Dynasty—and adopted a foreign policy centered on the Ming Dynasty.
However, the initiative in the war subsequently shifted to the Later Jin, and Joseon’s national strength was insufficient to cope with the situation. Nevertheless, the Joseon court continued its policy of strongly containing the Later Jin, and ultimately, this foreign policy led to the tragic outcomes of the Second Manchu Invasion and the Humiliation of Samjeondo.
It was precisely because of this history that memories of my military service came flooding back as I watched the film’s box office success. King Gwanghae’s pragmatic diplomacy toward the Later Jin, King Injo’s foreign policy, and the war that resulted from them were naturally interconnected. At the time, my training log contained my own reflections on how the Republic of Korea should view its relationships with neighboring major powers, based on these historical facts.
King Gwanghae’s approach—calmly assessing the political situation of neighboring countries and attempting to overcome national crises through pragmatic calculations—still holds significance today. Conversely, we need to reflect on the history in which emotional judgments and miscalculations regarding the international situation ultimately led to the desecration of our territory and the humiliation at Samjeondo. I believe it is important for the Republic of Korea, too, to adopt an approach centered on national interests—making realistic and rational judgments rather than approaching relations with specific countries emotionally—while simultaneously considering both national security and diplomatic interests.
There was another reason why memories of that time came to mind following the film’s box office success. Unlike King Gwanghae, who sought to pursue pragmatic diplomacy between the Later Jin and the Ming Dynasty, I recalled King Injo’s different choices and their consequences, and I assumed the film would also unfold against this historical backdrop. However, it was only after hearing an explanation from a friend who had seen the film that I realized my assumption was wrong. This is because the film depicted a court jester, standing in for King Gwanghae, performing the role of the king and pushing for the implementation of the Daedong Law.
Based on my general knowledge, I only remembered that the Daedong Law was a system that had been expanded and established nationwide during the reigns of King Yeongjo and King Jeongjo, so I looked up the relevant information again. Upon reviewing the records, I found that the Daedong Law actually began in 1608—immediately after King Gwanghae’s accession to the throne—when it was first implemented in Gyeonggi Province following a proposal by Han Baek-gyeom, Vice Minister of Revenue, and an endorsement by Prime Minister Yi Won-ik. Subsequently, over the course of several reigns, the system’s implementation gradually expanded, eventually becoming firmly established nationwide.
The Daedong Law, which levied taxes based on land area, appears to be a relatively reasonable system by today’s standards. However, at the time, it provoked strong opposition from the yangban class, who held existing vested interests, and it actually took a long time for the system to be expanded nationwide. Considering this, it is understandable why the scenes in the movie depicting the push for the Daedong Law resonated so deeply with audiences.
The reason audiences were so enthusiastic about the film was likely not merely due to the historical event itself. It is highly probable that many people naturally connected the film to the current state of South Korean society. In other words, since many citizens today remain concerned about issues such as taxes, welfare, and the distribution of wealth, they likely felt that the story in the film resonated with reality.
At that time, people looked to the Gini coefficient to assess the state of wealth distribution in the country. However, it is now widely recognized that it is difficult to evaluate a nation’s distribution status based solely on the Gini coefficient. While the Gini coefficient is a representative indicator of the degree of income inequality, it is necessary to separately examine factors such as the difference in inequality before and after the implementation of tax and welfare systems, as well as the degree of asset inequality.
According to data from that time, South Korea’s Gini coefficient based on market income was not exceptionally high by international standards; however, there was ongoing discussion regarding asset inequality and the redistributive effects of tax and welfare policies. Since then, these issues have continued to be studied, and the wealth gap—encompassing not only income but also real estate and financial assets—has been identified as a social problem.
In particular, the Gini coefficient for wealth is significantly higher than that for income, and research findings consistently show that the concentration of wealth is relatively severe. Furthermore, the extent to which income inequality is mitigated through tax and welfare policies serves as an important criterion for policy evaluation. In this regard, the reason why the “Daedong Law” depicted in the film continues to attract widespread attention today is likely because the themes of a fair tax system and the redistribution of wealth remain ongoing social challenges.
At the time, there were reports that leading presidential candidates had watched the film ‘The Man Who Became King’. I believed that the image of a leader desired by the film, its audience, and the public at large aligned with the responsible ruler portrayed by Gwanghae in the movie. The candidates at the time were each presenting welfare and economic policies as their key campaign pledges and discussing various measures to alleviate social inequality.
However, the president I want—and perhaps the one many citizens hope for—is not simply someone who proposes a variety of welfare policies. He or she must be a leader equipped not only with the ability to actually implement policies but also with the capacity to soberly analyze and realistically assess the domestic and international environment facing South Korea. I believe it is more important to have an attitude that thoroughly examines the effects and side effects of policies and implements them responsibly, rather than pursuing policies merely to gain popularity or making campaign promises designed to win the support of specific social classes.
Through the movie ‘The Man Who Became King’, we can reflect anew on the realistic diplomatic acumen and reformist spirit demonstrated by King Gwanghae in history. Of course, since the film is a work of fiction based on historical facts, there are differences from actual history; however, it conveys a meaningful message regarding the sense of responsibility and realistic awareness that a leader must possess.
The next president must be able to view the various challenges facing the Republic of Korea and Korean society with a cool, rational perspective. He or she must be a leader capable of comprehensively considering issues such as shifts in the international landscape, security concerns, economic growth, social inequality, and the balance between welfare and fiscal policy to prepare for the nation’s future.
