The film depicts the story of Carmen, a Chilean middle-aged woman who transforms from a housewife in a relatively wealthy household into a resistance member against Augusto Pinochet, who overthrew the socialist government and ruled Chile for 17 years. During Pinochet's regime, Chileans who were classified as left-wing, such as union members and students, were arrested and tortured during this period. More than 3,200 people are known to have been killed or disappeared.
The Chilean Embassy and Hanyang University held the screening of 1976 at the university's research center on September 11. "This is an opportunity to open spaces for dialogue, memory and creativity," Chilean Ambassador to South Korea Mathias Francke said during his welcome speech. The envoy added: "After the film screening, students from both countries will sit together to exchange ideas and points of view, and learn lessons so these things never happen again here, in Chile or anywhere in the world."
After watching the film, Seoul National University Asia Center's visiting scholar Min Won-jung led a 20-minute discussion in front of the students. "I think it was a great opportunity to learn about the differences in the two countries' perception towards dictatorship," the historian told Aju Korea Daily.
The scholar said Pinochet had similar features to Park Chung-hee, South Korea's ex-president who took office through a military coup in 1961. Although Park accomplished rapid economic growth, he is heavily criticized for imposing extremely harsh military authoritarianism, before he was assassinated in 1979 by Kim Jae-kyu, the head of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA).
"As a Chilean living outside of Chile, it's an honor to share these ideas with Korean students at Hanyang University," said Claudia Patino, an Ewha Womans University graduate. The international student from Chile said she was invited to the film event with her friends involved in the Chilean Students Association in South Korea.
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