A Taxi Driver

A Taxi Driver (Korean: 택시운전사) is a 2017 South Korean political action drama film directed by Jang Hoon and written by Eom Yu-na, with Song Kang-ho starring in the lead role, alongside Thomas Kretschmann, Yoo Hae-jin, and Ryu Jun-yeol. Based on a real-life story, the film follows a taxi driver from Seoul who unintentionally becomes involved in the events of the Gwangju Uprising in 1980. It draws on the experiences of German journalist Jürgen Hinzpeter of the ARD and his interactions with driver Kim Man-seob (based on Kim Sa-bok). As little was known about Kim at the time of production, many details of his life and the events outside Gwangju were dramatized. Hinzpeter's films revealed to the world that the South Korean government was carrying out mass killings against protestors in Gwangju, a city that was placed under curfew and cut off from the rest of the country. The film was released on 2 August 2017 in South Korea. The film was positively received by critics, who praised its distinctive portrayal of the Gwangju Uprising, its emotional impact, and the depiction of the relationship between the main character and Hinzpeter. It was also selected as the South Korean entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards. The film was a notable commercial success: it was the second highest-grossing South Korean film of 2017, and currently stands as the sixteenth highest-grossing South Korean film in history.