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5th Republic
First aired on Apr 23, 2005
90%

Genres: Drama

5th Republic is a controversial political drama about the Fifth Republic of South Korea, one of the most turbulent times in modern Korean history. The 41-episode television series covered the key aspects of the period from President Park Chung-hee's assassination to general Chun Doo-hwan's military coup and his bloody rise to power, as well as the ensuing conflicts between the pro-democratic movement and Chun's military regime and the behind-the-scenes power struggles that ultimately led to Roh Tae-woo's presidential succession in 1987. Given the sensitive nature of the subject matter, 5th Republic tread a fine line between fact and fiction, and faced many challenges even before the start of the production - one of which was pressures from actual political figures who threatened to sue the network for defamation if the script was not modified. Moreover, there was concern over the possible glorification of the drama's lead character Chun Doo-hwan played by Lee Deok-hwa whose strong charisma helped draw in big audience during the drama's initial broadcast on MBC in 2005.

Featured Cast: click image to view more
Lee Duck-hwa | Chun Doo-hwan
Seo In-seok | Roh Tae-woo
Lee Jae-yong | Lee Hak-bong
Lee Jeong-kil | Kim Jong-pil
Kim Yong-geon | Kim Young-sam
Song Ok-suk | Kim Ok-sook