“‘Namtaeryeong’ was different from previous protest sites where, as a woman and a local resident, I had felt marginalized. I wanted to capture the new generations that have ushered in a changed democracy.”

After the illegal martial law of 12·3, where did the women in their 20s and 30s who appeared at the protests calling for the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk-yeol come from, and with what mindset did they take to the square? Director Kim Hyun-ji follows that question in the documentary film <Namtaeryeong>. On the 28th of last month at the Kyunghyang Shinmun offices in Jung-gu, Seoul, we spoke with Director Kim and Kim Hu-ju, operator of the X account ‘Hyangyeon’. Kim said, “Rather than seeing the film as political, please watch it with the thought, ‘So this is the spirit with which the ‘MZ’ generation came out into the square; perhaps this is what the next democracy will look like.’”

<Namtaeryeong> was screened as the closing film of the 27th Jeonju International Film Festival on the 8th. The film is a documentary centered on Namtaeryeong on December 21, 2024, when a standoff between farmers and police occurred. That day, 17 tractors belonging to the Korean Peasants League (Jeonnong) heading to Seoul were blocked by police at Namtaeryeong in Seocho-gu, Seoul. This was because the court prohibited the tractors from entering Seoul. Footage of police violently suppressing farmers spread rapidly on X. Before long, citizens, led largely by women in their 20s and 30s, began to gather at Namtaeryeong. The confrontation between police and citizens on the solstice night, when temperatures neared minus 20 degrees Celsius, remained a symbolic event that showcased the political agency of women of the ‘MZ generation’.

The film goes beyond merely recording that day, capturing how the space called Namtaeryeong brought change to Korean democracy and to each individual. It weaves together posts by X account holders active during the impeachment phase with interviews. Anonymous operators of accounts such as ‘Hyangyeon’, ‘Estelle News Account’, ‘Introvert Flag’, and ‘Queer Organism Ssangdonam’ bravely stood before the camera to document Namtaeryeong. Referring to the platform by its former name ‘Twitter’ rather than X and calling themselves ‘Twitterians’, they say, “Although we went to the protests out of anger, our lives changed as we collided with people on the ground.”

Director Kim, a producer at Gyeongnam MBC, also won a Baeksang Arts Awards prize for educational programming in 2023 with the documentary <Adult Kim Jang-ha>. When conceiving a work related to the illegal martial law of 12·3, the focus was on a “story a regional producer could tell.” Kim said, “I was not in Seoul on the day of martial law, and even if I made something, I thought others would do a much better job,” adding, “I wanted to tell the story of Namtaeryeong as experienced by the farmers I saw every day in Jinju, and the story of the ‘Twitterians’ who drew people there.” The film also includes the solidarity of the ‘Wasp Comrades’ organized after Namtaeryeong and the Metalworkers’ Union Geotonggo chapter. Kim laughed, saying, “Broadcasters in Seoul probably would not cover Jinju farmers well, so I did a lot of it.”

“That day I was moved watching the ‘Twitter’ timeline. People who used to stan idols were crying while singing the farmers song, and someone who used to talk about baseball was donating to Jeonnong. I wanted viewers to experience through the film that such varied facets can exist in one person.”

Kim Hu-ju, who appears in the film as an interviewee, is a young pear farmer in Asan, South Chungcheong Province. On ‘Twitter’, he is better known as the account ‘Hyangyeon’, which shares protest information. On the day dubbed the ‘Namtaeryeong Great Battle’, he is regarded as a key figure who called women in their 20s and 30s to the scene through his social media. Kim said, “At the time there were few people who were both women in their 20s or 30s and farmers, so I thought I might serve as a bridge between them,” adding, “I now consider myself an activist, not just someone who shares posts on social media.” He also led the ‘Namtaeryeong Archiving Symposium’, which collected records from the time of the ‘Namtaeryeong Great Battle’ last year.

As an activist, Kim also took part as a fellow in the Korean Pavilion exhibition ‘Space of Liberation: Fortress and Nest’ at the 61st Venice Biennale, alongside novelist Han Kang and singer Lee Lang. He contributed an essay to the anthology unpacking the Namtaeryeong experience through the concept of a “space of liberation” and is presenting a ceramic work that metaphorically evokes native seeds collected and preserved by the Korean Women Peasants Association.

Kim called Namtaeryeong “a place where a new solidarity was born.” Kim said, “Through Namtaeryeong, the younger generations came to believe that even if something is not their own issue, they can stand in solidarity if they care, and for those who have long been in the movement, it created an opportunity to feel less isolated and to meet the new generation and change,” adding, “I hope we keep the memory of solidarity well into the future.”

He added, “Because it was a spontaneous event, some might think someone was a hero, but I hope it is remembered as a ‘democracy of comrades’ as each of us recalls it, in which ordinary citizens changed the world.” In other words, he does not want ‘Namtaeryeong’ to remain a hero narrative. To this, Director Kim added, “The spirit of Namtaeryeong lies in the attitude of ‘I will take note’ of someone no matter how much you dislike them or do not know them,” and, “Going forward, I hope we recognize one another’s existence, accept even if we are a little lacking, and keep talking.”

Near the end of the interview, Director Kim described ‘Twitter-ness’ as “telling stories that are desperate and harrowing, yet with humor.” Kim added, “I hope the film offers many moments to chuckle along with ‘Twitterians’ who get angry while laughing.” The documentary <Namtaeryeong>, rendered with humor like the writings of ‘Twitterians’, opens in theaters on the 20th.