The True Story Behind Netflix Dark Comedy Good News

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Like many great historical black comedies, the film *Good News* is based on a true story. It depicts the 1970 hijacking of a Japanese plane by young members of a radical political group called the Red Army Faction. However, this isn’t a typical, intense thriller about the event. Director Byun Sung-hyun quickly establishes a satirical tone, glossing over the beginning of the hijacking to instead focus on a passenger who simply sleeps through the initial announcement. Don’t expect *Air Force One*; this film is deliberately different.

I’ve seen a lot of movies tackling situations like the one in ‘Good News,’ and honestly, they often get bogged down in the mechanics of the event itself – every single detail of the hijacking. At the Busan International Film Festival, I was telling TIME that it feels like we’ve seen that all before. When I was actually writing the hijacking sequence for this film, it started to feel like I was writing a movie I’d seen a hundred times. That’s when I had a thought: what if we just skipped over the hijacking *process* entirely and started the story *after* it had already happened?

The earplug scene is just one instance of how *Good News* cleverly avoids typical dramatic tension, instead highlighting the overwhelmed and often ineffective responses of governments and agencies around the world. The film takes significant creative liberties with history, developing fictional characters to explore not only the details of a decades-old plane hijacking, but also the frustrating and often ridiculous nature of current political events.

Byun explains that creating the script and filming the movie was incredibly draining. He felt overwhelmed by the constant negativity in the news and wanted to tell a more nuanced story through a complex character. He didn’t want a simple, direct narrative.

In the fictionalized Korean drama *Good News*, Mr. Nobody (played by Sul Kyung Gu, known from *Hyper Knife*) – a mysterious operative who handles sensitive issues for the government – observes that truth and lies aren’t always what they seem. He says even the truth can be deceptive, and lies can reveal something true. He shares this thought with Seo Go-myung (Hong Kyung from *Weak Hero Class 1*), an Air Force lieutenant who often represents how the audience is experiencing the story – essentially, he’s the character we see things through.

Throughout much of the energetic film *Good News*, Go-myung, like the audience, is shocked by the self-serving inaction of mid-level officials from Japan, South Korea, and the United States. These government, military, and intelligence agency employees all try to avoid taking responsibility for a potential international scandal, passing the blame onto others. The most heartfelt moments of the film come from Go-myung’s conversations with Nobody, who pretends to be indifferent but actually cares deeply about saving lives – a contrast to the manipulative bureaucrats he deals with.

The inspiration behind Good News

Before settling on a specific story, Byun knew he wanted to create a film in the style of recent dark comedies like Bong Joon-ho’s *Parasite* and Ruben Östlund’s *Triangle of Sadness*. Following his action thriller *Kill Boksoon*, he decided to try his hand at a politically charged, darkly humorous movie.

Byun explained to TIME that, like many people around the world, he’s struck by how strange current political events are. He realized while making his dark comedy that real life is often more unbelievable than anything you could invent.

Byun first discovered the story of the 1970 hijacking a few years ago while watching a TV show about it. He immediately thought it was an unbelievable story that would make a great movie. When years went by and no one made that film, he decided to make it himself, envisioning it as a dark comedy.

He began by thoroughly researching news reports and interviews from that period, using the actual events as the basis for a contemporary story. He explains, “I was particularly interested in exploring what happened in the aftermath of those events.”

The real story behind the movie

What really happened on Japanese Airline Flight 351? The movie *Good News* gets the main facts right. As shown in the film, the domestic flight was hijacked soon after leaving Tokyo. While the movie changes who the hijackers were, they were actually a small group of Communist militants, one of whom was a teenager. The group was inspired by the boxing manga series *Ashita no Joe*.

The hijackers, known as the Red Army Faction, aimed to start an armed revolution in Japan against those they saw as the ruling class. They planned to use Japan as a base to eventually overthrow the United States and its allies. When police pressure increased in Japan, the group began looking for a new location to train and plan their revolution.

The initial idea was to fly to Cuba to continue planning and training, but the plane, a Boeing 727, couldn’t travel that distance. So, the hijackers changed their destination to North Korea, another Communist country. They landed in Fukuoka, Japan, where they were allowed to refuel after releasing 23 passengers – women, children, and elderly individuals. Remarkably, the pilots were given a map of Korea, ripped from a middle school textbook, to help them navigate.

Using only a map for guidance and without a way to reach Pyongyang Airport, the pilots flew towards the restricted airspace dividing North and South Korea. Guided by a radio voice claiming to be from Pyongyang, they landed believing they were in the North Korean capital. In reality, they were at Seoul’s Gimpo Airport, where South Korean authorities had created a convincing deception. They’d replaced South Korean flags with North Korean ones, hired actors to play North Korean soldiers and welcoming citizens, and even arranged for a local children’s choir to perform traditional songs.

Despite their efforts, the hijackers discovered they’d been fooled. Just like in the movie, Japan’s Vice Minister Shinjiro Yamamura bravely offered himself as a hostage in place of the others, and the hijackers accepted. They successfully flew to Pyongyang, where they were granted asylum. Two days later, the plane, the minister, and the pilots all returned safely to Haneda Airport in Tokyo.

The film *Good News* deliberately uses fictional names for all the people involved in the actual event – politicians, hijackers, and pilots alike. This emphasizes that the movie isn’t a historical account, but a dramatized and reimagined version of what happened.

The ending of Good News, explained

As the movie reaches its most intense moment, a plane sits on the runway at Gimpo Airport in Seoul. Denji (played by Kasamatsu Show), the central figure in the rebellion, has stabbed himself and issued a demand to the authorities: either they let him and his group leave, or he’ll trigger a bomb on the plane, killing all passengers, if he bleeds out or noon arrives first.

The First Lady of South Korea, portrayed by Jeon Do-yeon (known for her role in *Kill Boksoon*), announces that her husband has authorized the hijackers to fly away if they free the passengers. But when Go-myung relays this offer to the hijackers, they don’t believe him or the governments he represents. They remember that Go-myung had previously tricked them by posing as Pyongyang on the radio, leading their plane to Seoul.

Things were looking really hopeless, and honestly, it was awful seeing the politicians just abandon the airport – total panic, like everyone was trying to save themselves. The whole movie builds to this point where it’s down to one guy, Nobody, and whether he can play both sides – convincing Japan’s Deputy Minister, Shinichi Ishida, *and* Seo Go-myung to do what he needs them to. It all rests on his ability to read them and get them to believe *him*.

Go-myung, frustrated with the politicians’ inaction, races towards the plane. He intends to spend the remaining time before the bomb detonates trying to persuade the hijackers to free the passengers and fly to Pyongyang. Though he stumbles and falls during his attempt, his bravery inspires Ishida to volunteer himself in exchange for the hostages’ release.

Unlike most plane hijacking stories, “Good News” has a surprisingly positive outcome. No one is hurt, the hijackers end up in North Korea, and a Japanese government official is hailed as a hero upon his return home. Plus, a man known only as Mr. Nobody – believed to be a former North Korean citizen who had been under the control of South Korea’s intelligence services – finally receives a South Korean residency card.

Go-myung is frustrated because South Korea is downplaying its involvement, seemingly to appease the United States. The U.S. and Soviet Union are trying to improve relations, and increased conflict in Korea would jeopardize those talks. According to official reports, Go-myung played no part in rescuing the passengers of Japan Airline Flight 351, despite his efforts. As a result, he won’t receive any recognition or a promotion, and the public will only learn part of the story.

Mr. Nobody attempts to comfort him by sharing his beliefs. He previously quoted a made-up person named Truman Shady, saying, “Sometimes the truth is hidden, but that doesn’t make what we already know false.” The truth is, there is no Truman Shady—those words actually came from Mr. Nobody himself. He pretends they’re from someone else, perhaps to avoid taking credit for such a thoughtful idea, but they’re still his own.

Mr. Nobody reminds Go-myung that the moon doesn’t need a name to be real, and its importance isn’t dependent on anyone noticing it. He emphasizes that Go-myung’s actions were valuable in and of themselves. Nobody then gives Go-myung a watch, similar to the one his father received after being injured in the Vietnam War. The watch face glows softly, like the moon. Though Go-myung might not be famous, he succeeded in saving the passengers on the plane, and within the context of their story, that’s what truly matters.

Even if Go-myung doubts Mr. Nobody’s honesty, the movie suggests he *is* sincere. When Mr. Nobody receives his residency card, he chooses the name Choi Go-myung, showing he was profoundly affected by Seo Go-myung’s kindness.

Byun hopes audiences will be left with something to ponder after seeing his film. He doesn’t want to dictate how people should react, but he does hope the movie will stick with them, prompting at least a moment of reflection about its meaning, even if just for a day.

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2025-10-18 00:07