King of Clones (2023) on Netflix
PG-1320231h 25mDocumentary
In 2004, Hwang Woo-suk and Moon Shin-yong announce that they cloned human embryos, research they say could one day treat disease. The claim sets off a fierce debate over bioethics.
- Netflix4.0/5
- IMDb6.1/101,030 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes100%
Plot summary
The documentary examines Hwang Woo-suk, whose cloning of cows and pigs made him a prominent scientist in South Korea. In 2002 he begins human cloning research with Moon Shin-yong, an obstetrician who specializes in in-vitro fertilization. Their collaboration leads to a 2004 announcement of cloned human embryos, and the possibility of treating disease, which sets off a debate on bioethics; both men say the work is therapeutic and oppose reproductive cloning. Among the people profiled is interventional radiologist Alexander Ruebben, who was distraught over the death of his French bulldog Csillo and had the pet cloned. Hwang describes grief as the catalyst for cloning.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about King of Clones (2023)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Director Aditya Thayi wrote to Hwang Woo-suk for nine months before getting access to him; Hwang says he receives about 50 interview requests a month from news organizations and turns them all down.
- Aditya Thayi traces the film back to anxiety he felt while waiting for the birth of his child, and to growing up in India in the 1980s, when industrial disasters harmed children's health.
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