5th Republic () is a 2005 South Korean drama television series that aired on MBC from April 23 to September 1, 2005, on Saturdays and Sundays at 21:40 (KST) for 41 episodes. It takes place during the 1981–1988 Fifth Republic of South Korea under the dictatorship of President Chun Doo-hwan. It follows his rise to power through a military coup to his downfall after a series of democratic movements, including the Gwangju uprising and the June Democratic Uprising.
It is the fifth installment of the Republic series, which began with the 1st Republic TV series in 1981.
Cast
5th Republic core force Lee Deok-hwa as Chun Doo-hwan Kim Young-ran as Rhee Soon-ja Seo In-seok as Roh Tae-woo Song Ok-sook as Kim Ok-suk Lee Jin-woo as Heo Hwa-pyong Cha Kwang-soo as Heo Sam-soo Lee Jae-yong as Lee Hak-bong Hong Hak-pyo as Chang Se-dong Lee Hee-do as Huh Moon-do Jung Han-heon as Kwon Jung-dal
Key figures in the 10.26 incident Kim Hyung-il as Kim Jae-gyu Jung Ho-keun as Cha Ji-chul Kim Sung-joon as Park Heung-ju Kim Hyuk as Park Seon-ho Shin Dong-mi as Shim Soo-bong Jo Mi-na as Shin Jae-soon
Key figures in the 4th Republic Lee Chang-hwan as Park Chung Hee Lee Jung-gil as Kim Jong-pil Park In-hwan as Jeong Seung-hwa Yang Mi-kyung as Yuk Young-soo
Others in the 4th Republic Na Sung-kyoon as Kim Gye-won Go Jung-min as Park Geun-hye Jeon Su-ji as Park Geun-ryeong Kim Nam-gil as Park Ji-man
Key figures in the 5th Republic Im Dong-jin as Kim Dae-jung Kim Yong-gun as Kim Young-sam
Other People Yoon Seung-won as Jeong Ho-yong Kim Byung-gi as No Shin-young Jung Sun-il as Kim Jae-ik Kim Won-bae as Lee Jong-won Choi Jin-hong as Lee Jong-nam Soon Dong-woon as Lee Won-jo Moon Hoe-won as Hwang Young-shi Lee Jung-hoon as Park Se-jik
People associated with the "3 Kims" Yeon Woon-kyung as Lee Hui-ho Won Jong-rye as Park Young-ok Hyun Sook-hee as Son Myung-soon
12.12 Military Insurrection Choi Bum-ho as Lee Soon-gil Kim Ki-hyeon as Jang Tae-wan Han Young-soo as Ha So-gon Min Wook as Jung Byung-joo Jung Jong-hyun as Yoon Heung-ki
Gwangju Uprising Jung Yoo-chan as Park Nam-sun Son Jong-bum as Lee Chang-suk Uhm Dong-hwan as Kim Sung-hak
National Assembly Im Byung-ki as Lee Yong-goo Kim Ik-tae as Hwang Nak-joo Lee Dae-ro as Lee Boo-young Yang Young-joon as Lee Min-woo Kim Jin-ho as Lee Taek-don
Choi Kyu-ha government Kim Sung-kyum as Choi Kyu-hah Shin Choong-shik as Shin Hyun-hwak Kim Jung-hak as Yoon Sang-won Park Kyu-jum as Choi Kwang-soo Han Chun-il as Ahn Jong-hoon
Others Lee Seung-hyung as Park Chul-un Lee Han-wi as Kim Yong-nam Lee Ki-young as Choi Se-chang Park Pal-young as Kim Shin-ok Kim Yong-hee as Shim Jae-chul Lee Won-yong as Kim Je-jin Lee Chul-min as Kim Dong-gyum Lee Il-woong as Ryūzō Sejima Park Young-tae as Yoon Heung-jung Son Young-soon as Kim Sung-soon Kim Dong-suk as Heo Kyung-man Lee Jong-goo as Yoon Bo-sun Kim Gun-ho as Bang Woo-young Lee Charm as Robert G. Brewster Na Jae-kyun as Kim Ki-suk Han In-soo as Yang Jung-mo Kim Jae-kwon as Kim Geun-soo Lee Suk-goo as Choi Joon-moon Shin Jong-hoon as Jung Dong-nyun
Extended cast, cameos, and special appearances Choi Yoon-joon (ep. 3, 36) Lee Joong-yul (ep. 4) Park Hyung-sun (ep. 6) Yum Jung-goo (ep. 7-9) Maeng Bong-hak (ep. 11) Go Jin-myung (ep. 11) Kim Kwang-in (ep. 23) Baek Yoon-heum (ep. 26) Kwon Kwan-oh (ep. 27, 29) Son Yoo-kyung (ep. 31) Song Seung-yong (ep. 36) Lee Jong-rae Baek Joon-ki Son Min-woo Jung Dae-hong Go Yong-hwa Lee Seung-hoon Kang Chul-sung Joo Hyun
Production Seventeen former politicians and key aides of Chun Doo-hwan's (including Chang Se-dong, his former chief-of-staff; Hur Hwa-pyong, lawmaker; Jeong Ho-yong, former Army Chief of Staff; and Lee Hak-bong, former vice director of the Korea Central Intelligence Agency) attempted to halt the drama in pre-production, and failing that, sent a statement to the producers with claims of historical distortion and threatened legal action unless the script was changed. The production refused, with producer-director Im Tae-woo saying that they tried their best to maintain objectivity by basing their script on historical records and information that they collected for three years, such as Supreme Court rulings, and other hearing documents and news reports at that time.
Reception Critical and public response The Fifth Republic was a politically and socially turbulent era in the country's history, which generated controversy for the drama series.
It was so popular in Japan that even Shinzō Abe watched it and people started cosplaying the characters and even fanzines were created.
In 2023, as the film 12.12: The Day became popular, people became interested in other works, such as this work which dealt with the Coup d'état of December Twelfth.
Music Ahn Ji-hong wrote the music. In the past, he also participated in MBC's drama Republic series, 3rd Republic and 4th Republic. He tried to create powerful music to capture the diverse and ironic aspects of the drama.
The insert songs included "That Person Back Then" () of Sim Soo-bong and "I Love You" () of Lana. Et. Rospo (), which came out during the real-life October 26 incident.
Soundtracks
In particular, the theme song, Deus Non Vult, is taken from the Latin meaning that humans can forgive history, but "God will not." and used the expression as a parody of Deus vult. The powerful sound achieved by combining the choir's thick sound and rapid repetition with brass and metal has a modern feel.
References
External links