Kwak Yeon-soo is a digital editor at The Korea Times creating, editing and curating digital content for the newspaper’s website, mobile app and social media. She previously covered a diverse array of cultural, political and business topics.
Seol Kyung-gu, Lee Ha-nee, Park So-dam to star in espionage action film 'Ghost'
Clockwise from top-left, actors Seol Kyung-gu, Lee Ha-nee, Park So-dam, Seo Hyun-woo, Kim Dong-hee and Park Hae-soo / Courtesy of CJ ENM
By Kwak Yeon-soo
By Kwak Yeon-soo
A much-anticipated spy action thriller has confirmed its full cast lineup, featuring some of most in-demand actors in Korean cinema today.
The Lamp, the production company behind hits “A Taxi Driver” (2017), “Mal-Mo-E: The Secret Mission” (2019) and “Samjin Company English Class” (2020), announced the full ensemble cast and said shooting began Jan. 4.
“'Ghost' is an exhilarating and action-packed feature film with stellar cast who engage in mind games. It will also feature flamboyant sets to recreate the ambience of 1930s Gyeongseong (Seoul's name at the time) and make audiences feel like they're time traveling to that period,” it said in a statement.
Set in 1933 during the Japanese colonization of Korea, “Ghost” will be an espionage action film written and directed by Lee Hae-young. Lee, known to depict tense sequences and multi-layered characters, previously directed the coming-of-age comedy drama “Like a Virgin” (2014) and the action thriller “Believer” (2018).
“Ghost” will tell the story of five people suspected of being a mysterious “ghost,” a spy for an anti-Japanese resistance group. Trapped inside an isolated hotel, the five characters must use their wits to survive and escape while suspecting one another.
Seol Kyung-gu will be starring as Murayama Junji, a Japanese police officer and former soldier who used to be a member of Japan's intelligence agency, but has been demoted to the surveillance and communications bureau. The versatile actor, who starred in “The Merciless” (2016), “Memoir of a Murderer” (2017) and “Birthday” (2018), is set to return to the big screen with Lee Joon-ik's “The Book of Fish” this year.
“Parasite” star Park So-dam will appear as Yuriko, the secretary of a high-ranking official within the Japanese colonial government in Korea despite being Korean. This is her second time working together with director Lee following “The Silenced” (2015), a horror mystery set in 1930s.
Lee Ha-nee, who left a strong impression with audiences for her performance in “Extreme Job” (2019), will play the role of Park Cha-kyung, a communications employee who records coded messages.
Rising star Kim Dong-hee, who rose to fame through Netflix original sereis “Extracurricular” (2020), will play her younger co-worker Baek-ho. Actor Seo Hyun-woo will play Chun Kye-jang, an introverted cryptographer who is talented at decryption, while Park Hae-soo will act as Kaito, the merciless security agent who leads the investigation to single out the “ghost,” or the spy who has infiltrated the Japanese colonial government.
The film's release date is yet to be confirmed.