Kingmaker: Whose Life Is It Anyway?

I've been trying to figure out why Byun Sung-hyun historical drama Kingmaker decided against being a biopic about the early political days of eventual Korean president Kim Dae-jung and his unorthodox strategist Uhm Chang-rok. Why are we instead watching a film about a fictional Kim Woon-beom (Sul Kyung-gu) and his sidekick Seo Chang-dae (Lee Sun-kyun)? Why indeed are so many of the main characters based on real-life figures but renamed as if they were someone else? Was there a fear of lawsuits related to defamation of character? Was there too much conjecture and not enough fact?

Whatever the reasons, don't them distract you. In truth, the less you know about South Korean politics from the 1970s, the more Kingmaker may captivate your attention. For the story this movie tells is a fascinating one: an election campaign in which idealism is catapulted by clever trickery despite unfavorable odds. Theft, misdirection, and betrayal all come into play as Kim struggles to put forth his populist, socialist agenda and loosen the dictatorial grip the current regime held on the country. Kingmaker has you rooting for the underdog and searching the American political landscape for a national figure akin to NYC's recently elected Zohran Mamdani. But given the backroom scheming that's able to manipulate a republic the sie of New Jersey, you know it's a big dream for the USA.