Despite the fictionalization of the main characters, The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil maintains a high level of realism, which is why it feels like it’s straight from the headlines.
: In the movie, the killer targets random citizens to satisfy a psychopathic urge. In reality, Yoo Young-chul targeted wealthy senior citizens and female massage therapists, bludgeoning his victims with a self-made hammer and dismembering their bodies.
To understand the film’s roots, you have to look at a real person: . He is one of South Korea’s most notorious serial killers, active between September 2003 and July 2004. Known as the "Raincoat Killer" (due to demanding his victims wear a raincoat during the murders) or the "Happy Day" killer (after a message he carved on a victim), Yoo Young-chul confessed to murdering 20 people—mostly wealthy elderly people and female masseuses.
While the characters of the gangster and the cop are largely fictional archetypes, the central engine of the story——is directly inspired by a real-life criminal case from the early 2000s. is the gangster the cop the devil based on true story
While the show is a work of fiction, it's loosely based on a true story. The series is inspired by the life of a notorious Indian gangster named Manya Surve.
While there is no documented case of a high-ranking "mafioso" testifying in court quite like the film's climax, the concept of police using underworld informants or "gangster" resources to track elusive killers is a recurring theme in South Korean true crime history. 🎭 Fact vs. Fiction
While the cinematic team-up between the mob and the police is highly dramatized, the serial killer's methods and the real-life terror he inflicted on South Korea are rooted in the terrifying history of the "Cheonan Serial Killer" case from the mid-2000s. The Real-Life Inspiration: The Cheonan Serial Killer Despite the fictionalization of the main characters, The
The film’s primary inspiration is the prolific serial killer , who terrorized Seoul and surrounding areas in 2003-2004. Known as the “Raincoat Killer” (for wearing a raincoat to avoid blood splatter), Yoo confessed to murdering at least 20 people—mostly wealthy elderly individuals and female masseuses.
Give you a breakdown of the movie's ending (spoiler alert!).
In the real 2005 case, the police caught Cho through traditional investigative work, forensic science, and public tips, rather than a collaborative underworld alliance. To understand the film’s roots, you have to
This line is a direct nod to South Korea's actual legal system. South Korea has maintained a . While courts still sentence the country's most heinous criminals to death, the state does not carry them out, effectively turning a death sentence into permanent life imprisonment. Real-life serial killer Yoo Young-chul was convicted in 2004 and remains alive on death row to this day, knowing his execution will likely never be ordered. Fact vs. Fiction: How Much Was Changed?
. While the specific trio of a mob boss, a rogue detective, and a serial killer forming an alliance is a stylized cinematic concept, the film draws heavy inspiration from real-life crime cases that gripped South Korea in the mid-2000s. The Real-Life Inspiration: The "Raincoat Killer"
The 2019 South Korean action-thriller The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil is marketed as being "based on a true story"
The film utilizes rainy nights as a recurring backdrop for the murders, a trope heavily inspired by the real-life "Rainy Thursday Killer" (Lee Choon-jae), who terrorized the Hwaseong area in the late 1980s. Fact vs. Fiction
The case left a deep scar on the nation's collective memory. Yoo's eventual capture in July 2004 was almost an accident, hinging on a mistake he made with a victim's mobile phone. He was arrested, tried, and on December 13, 2004, he was convicted and sentenced to death. Despite his heinous crimes, South Korea has a moratorium on executions, and Yoo remains on death row in a solitary cell to this day.