Aahana Swrup
‘Good News’ reimagines the real-life Yodogo Hijacking Incident of 1970 through a dark comedy perspective, charting a tale about absurd schemes that hatch behind the scenes of an international crisis. In the Korean film, the central plot revolves around a Japanese aircraft, Flight 351, which gets hijacked by a group of young “revolutionaries.” This group, populated with young adults, if not the occasional teenager, claims to be a part of the Red Army Faction, a communist organization that believes in the power of armed revolution. Their demands following this hostile takeover are simple and precise: they want the plane to land in the North Korean airport in Pyongyang.
During this time, the head of the Korean Intelligence comes up with the idea of rescuing the 100+ hostages in order to establish their own heroism. As such, the ace up his sleeve, the problem solver known only as Nobody, is charged with the responsibility of putting together an operation to lure the flight into South Korea for negotiations. Naturally, with the story’s progression, the viewers get to learn more about the Red Army Faction hijackers, and the intrigue around their possible basis in reality increases.
The Red Army Faction Was a Real Militant Communist Organization
Despite the numerous creative liberties employed throughout ‘Good News,’ the film retains a very evident and direct connection to a real-life incident. Therefore, the on-screen elements’ parallels to the hijacking of Japan Air Lines Flight 351, aka the Yodogo Hijacking Incident, which took place on March 31, 1970, remain noticeable. The Red Army Faction is one such storytelling element that sustains a tangible counterpart in reality. From 1968 to 1971, the Red Army Faction emerged from a preceding student organization called the Communist League. The group is not to be confused with the similarly christened Japanese Red Army, which was formed as a successor group alongside the United Red Army, following the original organization’s split. The latter was a far-left organization recognized as a terrorist group by Japan and the United States.
The Red Army Faction, a dramatized version of which was portrayed in the film, advocated for an armed uprising against Japanese monopoly and capitalism. Under this ideology, the group committed many criminal acts, including attacks on the police, bank robberies, and more. On March 31, 1970, nine members of the same organization carried out the Yodogo Hijacking Incident under the leadership of Takamaro Tamiya. The latter and his fellow hijackers reportedly took control of the Japanese aircraft using weapons like katanas and a homemade bomb. Furthermore, the leader of the group reportedly proclaimed, “We are ‘Ashita no Joe’!” before taking 129 people, including the passengers and the crew members, hostage. This proclamation was a reference to the popular manga series titled ‘Ashita no Joe’ written by Asao Takamori with Tetsuya Chiba as the illustrator.
The series follows the adventures of a young boxer, which garnered much popularity among young students and working-class citizens. All of these real-life instances are referenced in the Red Army Faction’s portrayal in ‘Good News,’ establishing a direct and intentional connection with the real-life organization. Through these connections, the film highlights the real-life incident that serves as a foundational inspiration for the on-screen tale. This focus on the reality of the hijacking and a lot of the official responses to it plays a significant role in the thematic narrative of the overarching story. Through these references and off-screen similarities, the film underlines the absurdity of real-life politics, employing a satirical take on the pitfalls of international agendas and personal egos in times of international crisis. Yet, even though the Red Army Faction remains connected to the real-life organization, it’s important to remember how aspects of the story’s satirical genre add small but defining fictitious details to the on-screen element.
Read More: Good News Ending Explained: What Does Nobody Give Seo Before Leaving?
