Historical film “12.12: The Day” was selected as Korea’s entry for the 97th Academy Awards’ International Feature Film category, according to the Korean Film Council (Kofic).

Every year, Kofic selects a Korean film to submit to the Academy Awards' International Feature Film category, following a request from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) for a recommendation. "12.12: The Day" was unanimously selected by the Kofic judges as Korea’s entry, according to the council.


“12.12: The Day” was released on Nov. 22, 2023 and follows nine hours of Dec. 12, 1979, when a military coup d’état broke out in Seoul. Directed by Kim Sung-su, the film features veteran actors Hwang Jung-min and Jung Woo-sung.

The film garnered more than 13 million moviegoers, ranking No. 9 in the all-time box office chart for cumulative viewers in Korea for all films. The film also took home the Grand Prize in the film category at the 60th Baeksang Arts Awards this year, alongside the Best Picture Award and Best Male Actor Award for Hwang's performance.

“The dramatic enjoyment provided by the film’s tension, the directing ability to amplify its mise-en-scène from the outstanding performances of the actors and its exceptional insight into history all come together seamlessly, leaving little room for disagreement about ‘the film's overall level of completion,’” a judge who voted on the film’s entry said in a press release on Wednesday.

“We hope that the film’s portrayal of the illusion of charisma and the satire of evil will resonate as a timely metaphor in its thematic aspects, appealing to the Academy Awards.”

The Academy Awards will announce the nominees by the end of the year, according to Kofic, ahead of its ceremony held in March next year.

Kofic submitted director Um Tae-hwa's disaster film "Concrete Utopia" (2023) for this year's Oscars and "Decision To Leave" (2022) the year before that.

BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]