Hijack 1971 (2024) is based on a real event, but with significant fictionalisation.
What is true (or based on real history)
The film draws on a real-life hijacking incident involving Korean Air Lines (KAL) in 1969: on 11 December 1969 a domestic YS-11 flight from Gangneung to Seoul was hijacked by a North Korean agent, who forced it to land in North Korea.
According to historical record: 39 of the passengers were eventually released two months later, but some crew and passengers remained in North Korea and never returned.
The filmmakers of Hijack 1971 themselves acknowledge the story is โbased on a true event.โ
What is fictional or dramatized
The specific 1971 hijacking plot depicted in the film - with a bomb, a hijacker demanding to fly to North Korea, a dramatic struggle in-flight, the characters, their backstories, and the heroism of pilots - is not documented in public historical sources as a real event. I couldnโt find solid evidence outside of the filmโs materials that a โ1971 F-27 hijack attemptโ matching the movieโs story occurred.
According to reporting about the filmโs production, some character details (like the hijackerโs personal history, motivations, psychological background) were created or expanded by the filmmakers, to fill in gaps not known from actual historical records.
The depiction of a โ1971 hijack attemptโ seems to be a reconstruction combining the real 1969 hijacking incident with fictional elements (new character names, dramatic plot, bomb threat, rescue attempt) for cinematic tension.
Conclusion - true story, but partly fictionalised
Hijack 1971 draws inspiration from real events - particularly the 1969 Korean Air Lines hijacking to North Korea. However, the dramatic 1971 hijack plot in the film appears to be a creative, fictional reconstruction rather than a faithful historical retelling. So while itโs โbased on a true story,โ it shouldnโt be taken as a strictly accurate documentary of real events.