YMMV / A Taxi Driver

• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • After the film's success, the son of the real Kim Sa-bok revealed that he had died of liver cancer in 1984. The film ends with Hinzpeter sending a video message pleading with Kim to meet him once last time, unaware that Kim had been dead for quite some time.
  • In the film, Kim admits that he became an alcoholic as the result of the death of his wife, but quit drinking to be there for his daughter. After the film was released, the real Kim's son revealed details about his late father's life. In reality, Kim became an alcoholic after the uprising, possibly due to the trauma of witnessing the massacre, and had died only four years later of liver cancer, which may have resulted from his drinking.
• Jerkass Woobie: Man-seob is a stereotype of taxi drivers being grumpy, impatient jerks only interested about their pay, but the fact that he's had a hard life gives him a reason to be that way. His wife has died, leaving him a single dad to a daughter who is bullied by the landlord's son, it drove him to alcoholism for a while and he's really trying to get by.
• Tear Jerker:
  • While spending the night in Gwangju, Man-seob decides to confess to Peter his problems:
    Man-seob: You know... I earned some money in Saudi Arabia. But my wife got sick and I spent it all on hospital bills. At the end, my wife insisted that I buy that taxi. And the doctor said so, too, so I should look after our daughter. We could have tried more meds, but I didn't argue. That's the kind of guy I am. The rest have to go on living, right? Because after my wife died, I got drunk every day. (Tears begin to stream down his face) One day I woke up, and she was crying, holding onto her mom's old clothes. (He starts sobbing) She must have missed her so much. I quit drinking that day. I'm the only one she has left.
  • Later, Man-seob is guilt-ridden about going back to Seoul, knowing that they need him in Gwangju, but he can't abandon his daughter.
    Man-seob: I'm sorry, Eun-jung...
• Values Dissonance: Jae-sik's Squee reaction to the picture of Kim's daughter plays differently in the East and West. To the intended Korean audience, this is partially a Pet the Dog moment for Jae-sik, establishing him as a nice, wholesome guy who likes kids. In the West, however, an adult man taking such intense pleasure in looking at the picture of a child comes across as weird at best and very suspicious at worst.

---