Managing Attorney Noh Jong-eon | Ilgan Sports 「Noh Jong-eon Culture in Culture」 Column

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The narrative of a 'loser' that resonated with 12 million viewers

In the column, Managing Attorney Noh Jong-eon analyzes why director Jang Hang-jun's film 'The Man Who Lives with the King,' which surpassed 12 million cumulative viewers, received such overwhelming public empathy. The film portrays the solidarity between King Danjong (Park Ji-hoon), who was stripped of his throne by his uncle and exiled to Yeongwol, village chief Eom Heung-do (Yoo Hae-jin), who takes him in, and the villagers. The reason is that Danjong's frustration and isolation deeply connect with the universal emotions of modern people living in an era of intense competition.

Heungseon Kim, the system; Danjong, the individual

According to Managing Attorney Noh Jong-eon's column, Heungseon Kim, who drove Danjong to the brink in the film, symbolizes the ruthless established system itself, one that pursues only victory and profit. The structural reality of modern society is not much different. Despite an individual's sincerity or legitimate qualifications, countless people are pushed aside before the cold logic of capital and the system. Young people and marginalized groups driven to the brink project themselves onto Danjong, exiled to Yeongwol, amid a sense of structural helplessness.

True comfort comes from those who 'make room beside you'

Managing Attorney Noh Jong-eon points out that the real reason this film gives audiences deep comfort is not Danjong's tragedy itself, but the attitude of those around him in exile. Village chief Eom Heung-do and the villagers do not mock or despise the fallen king who has lost all power. Rather, they accept his wounds as they are, quietly make room beside him, and in the end risk their lives to recover his body. This stands in contrast to a cynical reality in which personal failure is dismissed as incompetence or lack of effort and then ridiculed.

How do we deal with the wounds of the defeated?

Managing Attorney Noh Jong-eon closes the column like this. Even in the legal field that handles disputes, we often witness a social system that is generous to winners and harsh to losers. Society cannot advance simply by glorifying the achievements of winners. True human progress depends on how our community deals with the wounds of the defeated. The world constantly creates new winners, and we ourselves can be pushed into Danjong's position at any time. What we need now is not a stronger winner, but a social foundation that stops viewing others' failures lightly and fully embraces the wounds of defeat.

**「Noh Jong-eon Culture in Culture」** is serialized regularly in Ilgan Sports. Managing Attorney Noh Jong-eon of Law Firm Jonjae explains social themes in popular culture based on his on-site experience.