[Field Report] 1987: When The Day Comes

The movie 1987: When The Day Comes is set in 1987, where the country was under military regime by the president. This movie reflects upon the ruthless history that occurred in Korea which caused many innocent deaths due to political issues. This provoked more anger among the public, leading to a larger protest organized by university students.The two main sights the I focused on is where the main protests took place: Yeonsei University and Seoul City Hall. 

The first sight I visited was the main entrance of Yensei University. It is where the protest was initiated and took place by students of this university. As you see in the Fig 1, the two black and white structure indicates the entrance to the university and also a line of demarcation where the violence takes place. In the movie, the only safe place for students who were planning on demonstration was inside their university where no political restriction nor surveillance takes place. Therefore, upon entering the university, students were free of political suppression and could explore the true meaning of democracy.  On the other hand, outside the boarder line, people were faced with strict political oppression, where they could not express their opinion freely about the political situation in Korea. Nowadays, as there is no political oppression, the entrance of the university does not pose any other meaning than being an entrance. As you can see in Fig 2, there are much more buildings compared to the movie scene as well as industrial development clearly seen in the photo. Outside the university, the sight was changed with many restaurants and bars where students from this university visits everyday. This clearly shows the contrast of how the meaning of entrance to Yeonsei university was represented in the movie and in present days.

Fig 1. (10f125e13ab6c05c64d87b1e84fba42f.jpeg)

Fig 2.

Second sight I visited was the Seoul City Hall where the larger demo took place initiated by the demo at 

Yensei University in the movie. Looking at Fig 3, we can see that the space in front of the city hall is filled 

with people participating in the demo in order to drag the corrupt government down. City Hall in the movie, 

is represented as the place where the government is using to effectively suppress the pubic. Therefore, this 

building was symbolized as a place of authority and violence with enclosed community. In contrast, the 

Seoul City Hall in present day is a symbol of democracy, open to the public, where the government works to 

make sure that people do have their freedom to express their opinions.

Fig 3. (https://asiamedia.lmu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/1987-fullsize.jpg)

Fig 4

In conclusion, the two places in the movie were represented as borderlines of demo where people went 

against the strict oppression from the government. The purpose of presenting these places as explained above 

is to emphasize the feeling of being oppressed by armed force and to highlight the effect of regaining 

freedom (it is also based on true story).

DaEun Lee, 3035829522