Confidential Assignment, featuring actor Hyun Bin and Im Yoon-a of Girls’ Generation fame, may not aim to make a political statement, but it is the latest example of how cinematic depictions of North Korea have evolved with the politics of the time
North Korea may have made some disconcerting strides in developing missiles and nuclear weapons, but for many South Koreans, that is the least of their problems. The economy is slowing and the nation is in the grip of a political scandal involving the president and a shady confidante. So what better time to invest in a big-budget film partially set in the North, with a plot in which the estranged neighbours find a way to work together?
That’s just what director Kim Sung-hoon has done with Confidential Assignment , a fast-paced action flick playing to packed houses in South Korean theatres. The film’s Korean language title translates as “cooperation”, a concept recently unheard of between the two sides.
Confidential tells the story of Rim Cheol-ryeong, a no-nonsense North Korean detective dispatched to Seoul to track down the head of an organisation that produces counterfeit US currency.
While on his mission, he is paired with Gang Jin-tae (played by Yu Hae-jin), a bumbling South Korean detective who would rather drink and pal around than get to work. Initially, Gang and Rim clash over how to carry out the investigation, but eventually grow to trust each other.
Confidential has had a strong run, topping the box office for two consecutive weekends while bringing in more than US$47 million at the box office, according to the Korean Film Council, and rising to the number one position over the Lunar New Year holiday weekend.
Producers hedged against the possibility of a North Korea-themed story falling flat by stocking up on star power. Rim is played by Hyun Bin, a sharply handsome leading man. Occasionally trying to break Rim’s conversation is Gang’s flirtatious sister-in-law, played by Im Yoon-a, a member of the hugely successful K-pop group Girls’ Generation, in her big-screen debut.
And for most moviegoers it’s this star-studded cast, rather than the North Korean angle or its questionable plot, that provides the film’s biggest draw.
