“Humint” director Ryoo Seung-wan: “I want to turn theaters back into playgrounds for audiences”

[Financial News] As the film industry has shrunk in size, only around 20 Korean films are expected to be released this year, about half the number before COVID-19. Considering that annual admissions peaked in the 200-million range before the pandemic and have since been cut in half to the 100-million range, analysts say this is not entirely surprising.
Looking at the major lineup, sequels to proven hits and new works by star directors stand out. Kicking things off is “Humint,” directed by Ryoo Seung-wan, who previously helmed the film "Veteran" (2015) and Exit (2019).■ “Humint,” uniting Ryoo Seung-wan and Zo In-sung, targets the Lunar New Year holiday“Humint” is a film in which Ryoo Seung-wan teams up once again with Zo In-sung and Park Jung-min following Smugglers (2023). At the production briefing held on the 12th at Lotte Cinema Konkuk University in Gwangjin District, Seoul, Ryoo said, “After working on Smugglers, I wanted to make a film that put Zo In-sung and Park Jung-min front and center,” adding, “These two actors are the starting point of this movie.”
A humanistic spy action film, “Humint” is set in Vladivostok, Russia, and follows characters with conflicting agendas whose paths collide. The production captured the chilly atmosphere of the city through on-location shooting in Latvia.
The title “Humint” is an espionage term referring to information gathered through people, that is, human intelligence. Zo In-sung plays Section Chief Cho, a black operative with the National Intelligence Service (NIS) who tracks international crime. In Vladivostok, he recruits North Korean restaurant worker Chae Seon-hwa (Shin Se-kyung) as a new informant.
Park Jung-min plays Park Geon, a team leader with the State Security Department who is dispatched to Vladivostok to investigate a missing-person case that occurred near the border. While clashing with Section Chief Cho, he also experiences emotional turmoil over Chae Seon-hwa.
Ryoo said confidently, “Audiences will get to see a side of Park Jung-min they’ve never seen before.”
Shin Se-kyung returns to the big screen for the first time in 12 years since Tazza: The Hidden Card (2014), playing Chae Seon-hwa, a woman who makes bold choices in order to survive.
Speaking about Shin Se-kyung, Ryoo said, “She’s an actress with a very photogenic image and a captivating voice,” adding, “This time I was really impressed by how diligent she was. Her command of the Pyongyang dialect was especially outstanding, and she managed to carry that nuance even when her character sings.”
Park Jung-min, referring to Shin Se-kyung’s eye acting, praised her by saying, “The energy that comes from her eyes is on another level,” and, “It was like magic the way she drew her scene partners’ focus, and it helped my performance a great deal.”■ “I want to turn theaters back into playgrounds for audiences”Set in an exotic seaside city, the film weaves together intense emotional performances from its intricately entangled characters with gritty action. Known for his acclaimed action direction, Ryoo presents distinctly different action styles for each character in “Humint.” Zo In-sung dominates the screen with the restrained movements and gunplay befitting an NIS agent, as well as dynamic sequences that make full use of his tall frame. Park Jung-min, meanwhile, showcases a unique style of action that contrasts with his previous image, including a memorable entrance throwing darts.
Park Jung-min recalled, “After watching I, the Executioner together with Zo In-sung, I started to worry because the action was more intense than I had expected.”
In fact, he said that from the very first shoot in Latvia, they jumped straight into a staircase action sequence, and that Ryoo personally rolled down the stairs to demonstrate the moves.
“He even pulled off moves that looked impossible,” Park said, looking back. “There was no way I could hold back after seeing that.”
Ryoo added, “There were a lot of moments during filming that made me flinch,” hinting that he is very satisfied with how the action scenes turned out.
Asked what viewers should look out for in “Humint,” Ryoo picked “fun and tension,” and expressed his hope by saying, “I want to turn theaters back into playgrounds for audiences.”
Park Jung-min also said he is looking forward to the theatrical release, adding, “It’s a film that starts off chilly and ends in a way that’s both lonely and fiery, so I think it suits this cold weather even better.”■ New films from Na Hong-jin, Yoon Je-kyoon, and Yeon Sang-ho also on the wayThis summer will see the release of Hope, a new film from Chungmuro star director Na Hong-jin. It is his first feature in 10 years since The Wailing (2016), and tells the story of a mysterious presence that appears in a harbor village near the Demilitarized Zone. The cast includes Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, and Jung Ho-yeon, along with Hollywood actors Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander.
Director Yoon Je-kyoon’s International Market 2 is also returning after 11 years. A sequel to the 10-million-admission hit Ode to My Father, it portrays the rapidly changing Korean society, as well as intergenerational conflict and communication, through the story of a father, Seong-min (Lee Sung-min), who has lived his life for his family, and his son Se-ju (Kang Ha-neul), who led the democratization movement in the 1980s.
Director Choi Kook-hee’s Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub is also part of the lineup. Based on the fourth part of the original Tazza: The High Rollers comic series, the film stars Byun Yo-han, Noh Jae-won, and Japanese actress Ayaka Miyoshi.
Colony is a large-scale blockbuster that Yeon Sang-ho is presenting six years after Peninsula. It follows a group of survivors trapped inside a building sealed off due to a mysterious infection, as they fight for their lives against infected beings that evolve in unpredictable ways. The film stars Jun Ji-hyun, Koo Kyo-hwan, Ji Chang-wook, Shin Hyun-been, Kim Shin-rok, and Go Soo.


jashin@fnnews.com Shin Jin-ah Reporter