A documentary film examining the early life of Rev. Yong-gi Cho, founder of Yoido Full Gospel Church and a central figure in Korean Protestant history, is scheduled for release this September, according to Christian Daily Korea.
The film, titled Young Cho Yong-gi, centers on a pivotal period in the pastor's life: a terminal tuberculosis diagnosis he received in 1955, at age 18, and his subsequent path from despair to faith. The story concludes with his early ministry at a 24-pyeong tent church beside a cemetery in the Daejo-dong neighborhood of Seoul.
Cho would later build Yoido Full Gospel Church into one of the largest congregations in the world. He served as chairman of the Assemblies of God Korea and received two South Korean state honors — a Presidential Commendation in 1982 and the Mugunghwa Order of Civil Merit in 1996 — for his role in Korean evangelism. He died in 2021.
The production team spent more than 900 days gathering research materials. Among the findings, Christian Daily Korea reported, are Cho's 1955 handwritten illness diary and a collection of previously unpublished letters, both preserved in an old cloth wrapping. The film also features a restored audio recording of Cho preaching at age 33 — reconstructed using modern technology after roughly 70 years.
Director Kwon Hyeok-man, known for documentary work on KBS programs including Environmental Special and Tracking 60 Minutes, previously directed the Christian documentary Ilsagakoh. The film includes location shoots across ten countries and a recreation of the original Daejo-dong tent church site.
Actor Yang Dong-geun portrays the young Cho Yong-gi. Yang has appeared in a wide range of projects, including the dramas Moving and Squid Game Season 2 and the film King of Kings. Singer Yoo Yeol provides narration, drawing on experience from documentary projects such as Calling and Documentary 3 Days.
The film does not present an idealized portrait, Christian Daily Korea noted. Its aim is to show the inner struggle of a young man railing against God before becoming a preacher — and to place that personal journey within the broader context of mid-20th-century Korean society and the development of the Korean church.
A launch poster for the film carries the tagline: "A young man who cursed God became a bell that tolled for the age."
