Leads of 'Confidential Assignment' are back for more action, with some new faces
![From left, actors Yoo Hai-jin, director Lee Suk-hoon, Im Yoon-ah, Hyun Bin and Jin Seon-kyu pose for a photo at a local press event in the Conrad Seoul in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Tuesday. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2022/08/16/d1e140ea-0b2d-4f1c-ad49-686b58678828.jpg)
From left, actors Yoo Hai-jin, director Lee Suk-hoon, Im Yoon-ah, Hyun Bin and Jin Seon-kyu pose for a photo at a local press event in the Conrad Seoul in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Tuesday. [NEWS1]
The leads of the action film “Confidential Assignment” (2017) — newly-married Hyun Bin, Yoo Hai-jin and Im Yoon-ah — are back in the much-anticipated sequel “Confidential Assignment 2: International,” slated to premiere in local theaters on Sept. 7.
The 2017 film, directed by Kim Sung-hoon, was much beloved by local audiences, reaping over 7.8 million tickets thanks to the chemistry between Hyun Bin and Yoo, who portrayed Im Cheol-ryung, a police detective from North Korea’s special investigation team and Kang Jin-tae, a police detective from South Korea. The cop duo, despite their differences, gradually forge a friendship as they work toward the goal of catching a North Korean criminal who’s fled to South Korea. Im portrayed Park Min-young, Jin-tae’s sister-in-law who developed a crush on handsome Cheol-ryung.
![](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2022/08/16/d1659b8d-2c70-4bbc-acfb-d4c6424ccec4.jpg)
![Scenes from the film. Hyun Bin and Yoo Hai-jin reprise their roles as North Korean and South Korean detective Cheol-ryung and Jin-tae in "Confidential Assignment 2: International." [CJ ENM]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2022/08/16/74802cb2-a666-4635-bd23-63dcbd59968b.jpg)
Scenes from the film. Hyun Bin and Yoo Hai-jin reprise their roles as North Korean and South Korean detective Cheol-ryung and Jin-tae in "Confidential Assignment 2: International." [CJ ENM]
In the sequel, the duo’s confidential assignment has been expanded to a global scale. The pair are joined by Daniel Henney who plays Jack, an FBI agent. Together they must catch Jang Myung-jun, the leader of a North Korean crime cartel. Myung-jun is portrayed by Jin Seon-kyu.
Hyun Bin, who tied the knot with his co-star Son Ye-jin of the global-hit tvN drama series “Crash Landing on You” (2019-20) this March and announced in June that the couple is expecting a baby, returns to the screen for the first time since “Crash Landing on You.”
Hyun Bin says that the biggest difference in his character in the sequel was that Cheol-ryung became more relaxed, as it is no longer his first time working in South Korea.
“Cheol-ryung has grown more used to working with Jin-tae,” he explained. “He’s seen and gotten to know Jin-tae’s family as well, and I believe that he grew more composed through accumulating his own personal experiences [as a cop back in North Korea]. He is [definitely] more bright and relaxed compared to the prior film, when he was more dark and set on revenge because it hadn’t been long since he lost his wife.”
![Daniel Henney is the newly-joining member of the mission as Jack the FBI agent. [CJ ENM]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2022/08/16/29009e9b-c0da-4583-a9ea-41c18a5daf0b.jpg)
Daniel Henney is the newly-joining member of the mission as Jack the FBI agent. [CJ ENM]
Yoo said that his role in the trio was as a mediator.
“The three detectives have very clear, but different goals they want to achieve through this mission,” Yoo said. “Because the personalities of Cheol-ryung and Jin-tae are so strong, Jin-tae’s role falls to mediating.”
Im, who was beloved in the prior film for her comedic chemistry with Jin-tae and Cheol-ryung, becomes more actively engaged in the assignment as she goes undercover with Cheol-ryung. Min-young, who was unemployed in the 2017 film, becomes a beauty YouTuber.
“The biggest difference in Min-young is that she finally gets a job,” Im said. “Another difference is the love triangle that she forms between herself, Cheol-ryung and Jack.”
![Im Yoon-ah's role as Min-young has been expanded as she helps the trio capture the criminal. [CJ ENM]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2022/08/16/6dbd099c-c69f-4dc2-b64d-b1d40686b343.jpg)
Im Yoon-ah's role as Min-young has been expanded as she helps the trio capture the criminal. [CJ ENM]
According to director Lee Suk-hoon, the cinematic universe of “Confidential Assignment” has the potential to continue to expand in the future.
“When the trailer for the sequel was released some time ago, a lot of the comments that I read on YouTube or social media said that the audience was happy to see the actors reprise their characters. I believe that the most critical element in a film turning into a film series is how beloved the characters are. If ‘Confidential Assignment 2’ reaps commercial success, I believe that it can become the drive for a third film, although nothing has been specifically discussed yet.”
BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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