[HanCinema's News] "The King's Letters" Cleared of Plagiarism Allegation

"The King's Letters" released on July 24th as originally scheduled following a court ruling which stated that it was difficult to see the film as an infringement on the copyright of the non-fiction book 'The Road to the Korean Alphabet'. The court ruled that, aside from being based on the same historical event, the book and the movie did not have any obvious actionable similarities.

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"The King's Letters" was to be the first major domestic blockbuster of the summer season, starring Song Kang-ho in the lead role as King Sejong, the departed Jeon Mi-sun as his queen, and Park Hae-il as a monk critical to the development of the Korean alphabet. However, the lawsuit and the ensuing uncertainty about whether "The King's Letters" would be screened at all likely damaged its box office prospects.

However, even outside of that problem reception to "The King's Letters" has been poor. In spite of a media campaign wherein various famed South Korean directors praise the movie, the movie has been struggling to attract an audience. Its tickets sales currently rank second, only barely ahead of the May release 'Aladdin' and well behind the more recent 'Lion King' remake.

Written by William Schwartz

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"The King's Letters" is directed by Jo Cheol-hyeon, and features Song Kang-ho, Park Hae-il, Jeon Mi-sun, Kim Jun-han, Cha Rae-hyung, Yoon Jung-il. Release date in Korea: 2019/07/24.