Very insightful historical film about the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA); during the presidency of Park Chung-hee 40 days before his assassination in 1979. I think this political drama portrayed very well the political crisis during that time in South Korea; rule of law and civil rights being gravely threatened in the country; the whole political situation escalating dramatically and ending with the assassination of South Korean President Park Chung-hee - by the director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency, Kim Jae-gyu. A controversial figure, Kim Jae-gyu is portrayed by the actor Lee Byung-hun as a very dignified gentleman with high moral values who feels compelled to kill his long-time benefactor, President Park, to end Park's 18-year military dictatorship; so as to uphold democratic values in the country. According to this historical film, the CIA and the U.S. Ambassador to Korea during that time could have done perhaps a bit more to support the director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency, Kim Jae-gyu; instead of pressuring him to do something drastic - Kim Jae-gyu ultimately being pushed into resolving this extremely difficult political situation by himself. In the wake of the "Koreagate" scandal - where political relations between the United States and South Korea were very shaky - this must have been indeed a very difficult time for all parties concerned. But perhaps the US government and the CIA could have shown a bit more empathy and understanding towards the Korean leaders during that time; also in view that Korea was still a young democratic nation during that time.
Review of The Man Standing Next
