Millions of protesters called "terrorists"

Many were horrified when Park Geun-hye took office as South Korea's president in 2013: How could a dictator's daughter come to power in a democratic era? Geun-hye's father, Park Chung-hee, seized power in the country through a military coup in 1961 and ruled with authoritarian methods until he was assassinated by his own intelligence chief in 1979.

However, in addition to military state of emergency and unscrupulous repression by political opponents, Park Chung-hee had also brought economic growth to a South Korea that was still struggling to rise after the Korean War. Many therefore hoped that his daughter – who, because of his mother's early death, had become the first lady under his father – could restart the country's economy.

30 000 South Korean participated in the first so-called Candlelight Demonstration 29. October 2016, and finally 2 millions attended.

Instead, Geun-hye ended up as the centerpiece of one of the biggest political and economic scandals in South Korea's history and is now serving a 24 year in prison at the Seoul Detention Center for abuse of power, bribery, coercion and leakage of state secrets.

Although the scandals surrounding her presidential office began rolling already from the spring of 2014, it took another three years before parliament decided to remove her from office and start a court case. And this happened only because, in unprecedented numbers, the citizens had walked the streets in protest against the government.

The latest countdown

The documentary Light and Candle, Write a History – Candlelight Revolution, which had its world premiere at the Busan International Film Festival in October, documents the mass demonstrations that brought the president to a fall. 30 South Koreans participated in the first so-called Candlelight Demonstration on October 000, 29, and for the next protest march there were ten times as many. For the fourth demonstration, nearly two million citizens – in the capital of Seoul alone – defied the biting winter cold to demand Park Geun-hye's departure.

Flying above the crowds, a camera captures the breathtaking sight of millions of candles in the dark streets of winter. In an impressively coordinated countdown, all their lights go out at the same time, a moment later to be turned on again in a wave that starts from the center and continues out of Seoul's long, straight main streets.

Anger at the government had simmered for a long time. In particular, it was ignited by the tragic shipwreck in which the ferry "Sewol" sank in April 2014, on its way to the island of Jeju, with 476 passengers on board – most of whom were students on an excursion. Although the ferry did not sink completely until after several days, and was close to shore, only 172 people were rescued – not by the Coast Guard, but by small fishing boats and merchant vessels.

The parents of the students on board were furious at the failure of the authorities and the attempts to cover up the reasons why the rescue operation had been so poor. The whole thing was a scandal involving political corruption, including bribery, which was supposed to hide the fact that the ferry owner had deliberately circumvented security procedures to save money.

Protests merge

In other words, the students were sacrificed in a relentless political economy in a South Korea where billionaires systematically enjoy impunity. However, the citizens were no longer willing to accept this situation. Light a Candle, Write a History shows how the demands of the Sewol families for truth and justice merge with other social protests in the country. Workers at SsangYong Motor had, among other things, demonstrated for a decade against wrongful dismissals and lack of rights, and frustrated citizens from all parts of society who had put their trust in Park Geun-hye felt betrayed by her government.

President Park Geunhye is now serving a 24-year prison sentence for abuse of power, bribery, coercion and leakage of state secrets.

During 2016, it emerged that the president had helped his friend and mentor, shaman and cult leader Choi Soon-sil, enrich himself. Park Geun-hye had also let Choi read confidential material and influence government policy. It also turned out that the controversial seven hours after the Sewol shipwreck, in which Park Geun-hye had been absent, had agreed to a secret meeting between the president and the cult leader.

During the mass demonstrations in downtown Seoul, which took place from autumn 2016 to spring 2017, Park Geun-hye's support among the population fell to five percent, but even with such support, the opposition waited to demand her resignation – which says something about the extent of the elite. control of South Korea's political leadership.

The president responded to the protests by calling the millions of protesters "terrorists" and comparing them to IS. Meanwhile, she and her Saenuri party were also busy criminalizing political opponents, preparing for the imposition of a military state of emergency and rewriting the country's history books to improve her father's regime's image.

Everything about the old?

When representatives of the ruling party warned the citizens that "a coming storm would extinguish their lights", the citizens replied bravely: A storm will not extinguish our lights – it will cause the flame to spread. Then the civil protests added another demand: imprisonment not only of the president but also of the business owners who helped her hold on to power long after her democratic mandate had ended.

Flying over the crowds, a camera captures the breathtaking view of millions of candles in the winter-dark streets of Seoul.

In a historic victory, Park Geun-hye was removed from office on March 10, 2017, the same day that the "ferry" Sewol was finally salvaged, and the survivors were able to have their dead handed over and an investigation into the causes of the sinking set in motion. When Parliament's decision to sue Park Geun-hye was announced, citizens danced in the streets, embracing each other and sharing tears of joy.

Light a Candle, Write a History makes it appear as if the civic mobilizations heralded radical changes – but the sad fact is that much is now left to the old. Business owners have largely retained their practical impunity, and relatives of the drowned students are still waiting for the truth, The fired SsangYong Motor workers, and many others with them, are still fighting for justice in a country where economic growth has a high price for the majority of the population.

The documentary does not explain how – on an organizational level – it was possible to get such a large and mixed crowd together in the mass demonstrations that took place in Seoul, but it clearly shows that the candles were mobilized by people who otherwise rarely claim a political voice. Time will tell what forces these historical events have unleashed.