Korea‘s first blockbuster, ‘Shiri’, directed by Kang Je-gyu and starring Han Suk-kyu, Choi Min-sik, Song Kang-ho, and Kim Yun-jin, has confirmed its 4K remastered theatrical release on March 19 and has released a poster and trailer.

‘Shiri’ is a breathtaking espionage story about special agent Yoo Joong-won (Han Suk-kyu) of the nation’s top secret intelligence agency OP and his colleague Lee Jang-gil (Song Kang-ho) as they fight against everyone, including North Korea‘s 8th Special Corps captain Park Moo-young (Choi Min-sik), a spy sent from the South, and a spy within the country.

Released in 1999, the film is considered the starting point of the Korean film renaissance and a film that changed the box office landscape. It captivated both the public and critics by sweeping the Grand Prize in the Film category, Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor at the 35th Baeksang Arts Awards, and the Director Award and Most Viewed Korean Film Award at the 20th Blue Dragon Film Awards.

The two posters for ‘Shiri’, which has returned in a 4K remastered version to meet a new audience, feature the best actors in South Korea to date: Han Suk-kyu, Choi Min-sik, Song Kang-ho, and Kim Yun-jin.

The trailer that was also released heightens the tension with a scene where special agents from the national secret intelligence agency OP, Yoo Joong-won, and Lee Jang-gil, confront the North Korean 8th Special Corps, ‘Park Moo-young’, at the scene of an imminent incident. The lines “Information is leaking”, “At this point, it seems like the internal spy has been revealed” create a deep sense of immersion by implying not only the spy from the South, but also the existence of a hidden internal spy. Here, the heartbreaking voice and expression of ‘Yoo Joong-won’’s lover ‘Lee Myung-hyun’ stimulate curiosity about the sad relationship between the two characters.


Reporter Seungmi Lee smlee@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.