A Taxi Driver

A Taxi Driver
Theatrical release poster
Hangul
택시운전사
Hanja
택시運轉士
RRTaeksi unjeonsa
MRT'aeksi unjŏnsa
Directed byJang Hoon
Written byEom Yu-na
Produced byPark Un-kyoung
Han Seung-ryeong
Starring
CinematographyGo Nak-seon
Edited byKim Sang-bum
Kim Jae-bum
Music byJo Yeong-wook
Production
company
The Lamp
Distributed byShowbox
Release date
  • 2 August 2017 (2017-08-02)
Running time
137 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguagesKorean
English
German
Budget₩15 billion
(~US$13.8 million)
Box officeUS$87.1 million

A Taxi Driver (Korean택시운전사) is a 2017 South Korean political action drama film directed by Jang Hoon and written by Eom Yu-na, with Song Kang-ho starring in the lead role, alongside Thomas Kretschmann, Yoo Hae-jin, and Ryu Jun-yeol.

Based on a real-life story, the film follows a taxi driver from Seoul who unintentionally becomes involved in the events of the Gwangju Uprising in 1980. It draws on the experiences of German journalist Jürgen Hinzpeter of the ARD and his interactions with driver Kim Man-seob. As little was known about Kim at the time of production, many details of his life and the events outside Gwangju were dramatized. Hinzpeter's films revealed to the world that the South Korean government was carrying out mass killings against protestors in Gwangju, a city that was placed under curfew and cut off from the rest of the country.

The film was released on 2 August 2017 in South Korea. The film was positively received by critics, who praised its distinctive portrayal of the Gwangju Uprising, its emotional impact, and the depiction of the relationship between the main character and Hinzpeter. It was also selected as the South Korean entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards. The film was a notable commercial success: it was the second highest-grossing South Korean film of 2017, and currently stands as the fifteenth highest-grossing South Korean film in history.