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5th Republic

2005 · 1 season

A tense, intricate political drama that immerses you in a dark chapter of history, demanding attention and leaving a heavy emotional weight.

Created by
林泰佑
Genres
Drama
Overview
5th Republic is a controversial political drama about the Fifth Republic of South Korea, one of the most turbulent times in modern Korean history. The 41-episode television series covered the key aspects of the period from President Park Chung-hee's assassination to general Chun Doo-hwan's military coup and his bloody rise to power, as well as the ensuing conflicts between the pro-democratic movement and Chun's military regime and the behind-the-scenes power struggles that ultimately led to Roh Tae-woo's presidential succession in 1987. Given the sensitive nature of the subject matter, 5th Republic tread a fine line between fact and fiction, and faced many challenges even before the start of the production - one of which was pressures from actual political figures who threatened to sue the network for defamation if the script was not modified. Moreover, there was concern over the possible glorification of the drama's lead character Chun Doo-hwan played by Lee Deok-hwa whose strong charisma helped draw in big audience during the drama's initial broadcast on MBC in 2005.

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Created by
林泰佑
Genres
Drama
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How it feels

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Tone
  • tensestrength 3 of 3
  • darkstrength 2 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • politics
  • power
  • corruption
  • betrayal
  • justice
Places
  • big city
  • military
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • serialised
  • ensemble
  • true story
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action4
Horror1
Humour2
Realism9
Romance1
Tension8
Darkness7
Complexity8
Emotional weight8

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Cast

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Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
drama
Created by
林泰佑
Starring
Lee Duck-hwa, Seo In-seok, Lee Jae-yong, Lee Jeong-kil, Kim Yong-geon, Song Ok-suk, Kim Yeong-ran, Kim Byeong-gi
Length
1 seasons, 41 episodes, 50 min each
Network
MBC
Country
South Korea
Languages
Korean

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