Is the Korean Movie Hijack 1971 (2024) Based on a True Story?

The Korean movie Hijack 1971 is a 2024 action-thriller film based on a true story. Starring Ha Jung-Woo and Yeo Jin-Goo in lead roles, it revolves around a true event where a hijacker forced a South Korean domestic flight to land in North Korea. The characters are based on real-life people; however, their names have been changed.

Jung-Woo plays South Korean Air Force pilot Tae-In. After an incident, he retires and joins a commercial airline as a co-pilot. One day, a regular domestic aircraft journey turns into a nightmare when a passenger, Yong-Dae (Yeo Jin-Goo), bombs the flight and hijacks it. Captain Gyu Sik (Sung Dong-Il) loses one eye, forcing Tae-In to take over the plane.

Yong Dae demands to take the flight to North Korea, where his brother resides. Tae-In and flight attendant Ok Soon (Chae Soo-Bin) try their best to protect the passengers while dealing with the hijacker’s demands.

Hijack 1971 real story: What happened?

The Korean movie Hijack 1971 is based on a real-life event that happened on December 11, 1969. Korean Air Lines YS-11 flying from Gangneung Airbase in Gangneung (Gangwon) to Gimpo International Airport was hijacked. To protect the lives of the passengers, the pilots were forced to take the flight to North Korea.

Two months after the incident, North Korea released 39 South Korean passengers. However, four crew members and eight passengers, along with the aircraft, did not return. In The New York Times report, North Korea stated that the retired South Korean Air Force officers voluntarily flew to their land. Also, it mentioned that the eight passengers voluntarily chose to stay back.

At that time, South Korea’s Public Information Minister, Shin Bum-Shik, demanded the release of the remaining crew and passengers. But the request went in vain. Moreover, the South Korean police suspected two people among the passengers, but they were those who stayed back in North Korea. Meanwhile, the heart-wrenching story will be shared with the world through the film.

Hijack 1971 is filmmaker Kim Sung-Han’s directorial debut. Speaking about making a movie on a real-life event, he said, “Because this event actually happened to real people, I aimed to faithfully depict it.”

Meanwhile, the film was released in South Korea on June 21, 2024. It will hit theaters in the US on Friday, July 5, 2024.

Sushmita Sen

Sushmita is a Contributing Writer at ComingSoon. As an entertainment journalist, she has covered Hollywood, Bollywood, Reality TV shows, and Celebrity interviews. Currently, she covers Korean Entertainment. When not working, Sushmita enjoys painting and binge-watching K-dramas or classic American series like FRIENDS and Grey’s Anatomy.