Film 'Humint': Fall for Jo In-sung, Get Drunk on Park Jung-min... Ryu Seung-wan’s Spy Action Movie

[Financial News] Director Ryu Seung-wan’s new film "Humint" has topped overall advance ticket sales ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays, signaling a strong box-office run.
Opening on the 11th, "Humint" ranked No. 1 on the Korean Film Council’s integrated ticketing system on the 9th with a 40% reservation rate. Word of mouth has helped, from director Bong Joon-ho calling it "action master Ryu Seung-wan’s breathless spy masterpiece" to actor Im Yoon-ah praising it as "‘Humint,’ a box-office gold medalist that delivers both action and romance."
Led by Jo In-sung, Park Jung-min, Shin Se-kyung, and Park Hae-joon, "Humint" unfolds in Vladivostok, where the narratives of South and North Korean operatives clash with brutal action. It is a gripping action thriller that highlights the actors’ appeal; while it looks like a conventional spy film on the surface, at its core are compassion and love.■ Ryu, the master of action, returns with a spy action melodramaTrue to Ryu’s reputation as a master of action, "Humint" opens with a powerful sequence featuring Jo In-sung, whose long limbs make his dynamic fight scenes especially striking. Section Chief Cho (Jo In-sung), a black operative with the National Intelligence Service tracking an international crime ring in Southeast Asia, heads to Vladivostok after following a clue left behind by an informant who died during one of his humint operations. There, he recruits North Korean restaurant worker Chae Sun-hwa (Shin Se-kyung) as his new human source.
Meanwhile, Park Geon (Park Jung-min), a team leader with North Korea’s Ministry of State Security, arrives in Vladivostok to investigate a series of disappearances near the border. As he clashes with North Korean Consul General Hwang Chi-seong (Park Hae-joon), who is suspected of being behind the case, the way he looks at Chae Sun-hwa (Shin Se-kyung) suggests there is more to his feelings than meets the eye.
Jo In-sung anchors the narrative with mature, nuanced expressions and dazzling action. Park Jung-min, who cemented his "nation’s best guy friend" image last year with his "Good Goodbye" performance alongside singer Hwasa at the Baeksang Arts Awards, once again sets hearts racing as he convincingly conveys a man’s true feelings through nothing but his eyes and gestures. His rough action in his entrance scene—throwing darts at a human target—offers a very different kind of charm from Jo In-sung’s.
Park Hae-joon, who became the "nation’s dad" through the drama *Crash Course in Romance*, makes a strong impression as a brazen villain who openly flaunts his hunger for power and desire. Shin Se-kyung, standing at the center of all the conflict, brings a weighty presence that sends powerful ripples through the film.
The action in "Humint" is both fast and heavy-hitting. From bare-knuckle fights and car chases to a circular staircase brawl reminiscent of *Veteran 2*, and a climactic gun battle that closes the film, there is no shortage of spectacle. Rather than chasing cheap thrills, these sequences build cinematic excitement by steadily tightening the tension.
The melodrama unfolds indirectly, without a single overt skinship scene. Emotions that have been carefully layered through glances and small actions finally erupt in a searing release at a dramatic moment, when a desolate wind howls through the silence.■ Jo In-sung, his third collaboration with Ryu Seung-wanHaving previously worked with Ryu Seung-wan on *Escape from Mogadishu* and *Smugglers*, Jo In-sung is teaming up with the director for the third time in "Humint." At a press screening and media Q&A held on the 4th, he revealed, "I decided to join the project just from hearing the story, even before reading the script," underscoring the deep trust between them.
He went on, "When I work with the director, it starts less from the script itself and more from the question of how we’re going to create this piece together," adding, "On set, we keep talking, exchanging ideas, and revising things to fit the situation. That process itself is the core of the work."
Jo also shared that he underwent real training at the National Intelligence Service to prepare for the action scenes. "It was a short time, but I visited the NIS and received firearms training and basic instruction," he said. "From how to grip a handgun and move along a route, to one-handed shooting and where to focus your gaze when you’re holding a gun versus when you’re not, they gave very detailed explanations."
Ryu Seung-wan added, "A military affairs journalist advised us from the pre-production stage, almost like a tactical instructor," explaining, "We designed infiltration scenarios, character positioning during firefights, and how impacts would realistically land, all to be as close to reality as possible." He continued, "The assistant directors constantly checked the number of shots fired and when magazines should be changed, and we calculated the bullet count for every cut," emphasizing how much care went into the process.
As for the film’s genre, Ryu said it is hard to rank the importance of action versus melodrama. "If you watch it with a romantic partner, the melodrama may resonate more; if you watch it with friends, the action might hit harder," he noted. "If the relationships between the characters aren’t built up carefully, no matter how big the action is, it’s hard for it to have emotional impact. In the end, both aspects were equally important."
On the perception that the film connects to his earlier work *The Berlin File* (2013), Ryu said, "There are points where it touches the ending and narrative of *The Berlin File*, so we made use of that setup," but stressed that "it’s a different story from *The Berlin File*." He added, "Based on a first draft I wrote right after finishing *The Berlin File*, the film evolved into the story it is now, which really brings out the charms of Jo In-sung and Park Jung-min," and noted, "In particular, Jo In-sung’s presence allowed us to push Park Jung-min’s melodramatic arc in a much bolder direction."
This is Park Jung-min’s first full-fledged attempt at melodrama. Asked how he felt watching his own romantic performance, he replied, "It felt less awkward than I expected, and I liked that." He went on, "As a person, it’s a decision you could never easily make, but as a character, being able to push that choice all the way through is the real joy of acting." Speaking about working with Shin Se-kyung, he said, "We were meeting for the first time, but she opened up to me very quickly," expressing his gratitude.


jashin@fnnews.com Shin Jin-ah Reporter