Confidential Assignment

Confidential Assignment (Gongjo) is a 2017 South Korean action comedy directed by Kim Sung-hoon. It was released on January 18, 2017. North Korean detective Im Chul-ryung (Hyun Bin) is sent to South Korea to catch Cha Ki-sung (Kim Joo-hyuk), the boss of a crime organization run by North Korean defectors.

In an unusual inter-Korean arrangement, Chul-ryung is paired with Kang Jin-tae (Yoo Hai-jin), a scruffy South Korean police detective. Each man has private orders and his own agenda. The "joint investigation" of the Korean title turns into a game of watching each other while both sides chase the same dangerous target.

The film combines hard-hitting action with domestic comedy. Chul-ryung is disciplined and has little to say, while Jin-tae is a talkative family man. Their different temperaments, dialects and political backgrounds supply both the humor and the heart of the story.

Under its blockbuster surface, the film suggests that the division between North and South Korea can be bridged at a human level, even when governments stay suspicious of each other. The joint mission starts as a political show, with each side trying to use the other. It becomes real cooperation only once the two men see each other as individuals with families, grief and a sense of honor.

The film's message is hopeful but unsentimental. Trust has to be earned through shared danger, and ordinary people show a solidarity that official structures can't.

As a reunification allegory: the partnership can be read as a hopeful picture of Korean reconciliation, in which ordinary people move past the suspicion of their governments.

The film was released in January 2017 and was a major commercial hit. With more than 7.8 million admissions and about US$57 million earned on a US$8.5 million budget, it became one of the most successful Korean films of that year. It was sold to 42 territories.

It belongs to a line of Korean films that use a North–South partnership as the frame for genre storytelling. It gave that idea a lighter, crowd-pleasing buddy-cop treatment. Its success led to the sequel Confidential Assignment 2: International, which brought the main pair back. It also strengthened Hyun Bin's standing as an action star and gave Im Yoon-ah her film debut.

Audiences in Korea responded strongly, with more than 7.8 million admissions. The film holds a rating of about 6.7 on IMDb.

Praised:

• Hyun Bin's physical, stunt-heavy action performance
• The comic chemistry between Hyun Bin and Yoo Hai-jin
• The witty dialogue
• Kim Joo-hyuk's chilling turn as the villain

Criticized: some viewers found the plot formulaic and predictable, a familiar buddy-cop template. Others thought the political premise was touched on only lightly.

Overall verdict: a well-made, crowd-pleasing commercial blockbuster.