Collider is thrilled to reveal an exclusive clip for the upcoming Korean spy thriller, Hunt. First premiering at Cannes earlier this year, the film stars Emmy winner Lee Jung-Jae (Squid Game) and marks the actor’s directorial debut. Jung-Jae plays a KCIA Foreign Unit Chief named Park Pyong-ho tasked with finding a spy within the ranks of the South Korean government after a high-ranking North Korean official requests asylum during the 1980s.
The new 1-minute and 34-second clip sees Pyong-ho arriving at the Washington Grand Hotel, where the President of South Korea and military dictator, Chun Doo-hwan, is staying. Outside the building and a protest has formed. The protestors in the crowd hold up signs that include phrases such as “We Want Democracy,” “Chun=Devil,” and “Chun is NOT Our President.” The group of protestors also chant “Drive him out!” Inside the hotel is Domestic Unit chief Kim Jung-do (Jung Woo-Sung) is seen inside the hotel directing traffic as they try and ensure the President’s safety. The protestors rise an effigy of the President above the crowd and light it on fire as Pyong-ho enters the building with his partner and KCIA Foreign Unit’s ace agent, Bang Joo-kyung (Jeon Hye Jin). Once inside, Pyong-ho is berated by Jung-do, who blames him and his Foreign Unit for not dispersing the crowd.
This confrontation between these two characters is just a small snippet of the overall conflict of the film. Both Pyong-ho and Jung-do are dead set to find the truth as they are both assigned to investigate the other’s unit for this spy known as Donglim, after a leak that threatens national security occurs. The two become advisories as they both try and track down the spy within the other’s organization, with both of them starting to accuse each other as they both fail to find the mole anywhere else in their units.
Who Else is Part of Hunt?
Having first premiered in South Korea in August 2022, Hunt is the first time that Jung-Jee, who made history earlier this year by being the first Asian actor to win the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Seong Gi-hun in the highly popular Squid Game series at Netflix, will be serving as the director on a project. The film is adapted from a screenplay penned by Jo Seung-Hee. The cast that joins Jung-Jee, Woo-Sung, and Hye Jin includes Heo Sung Tae, Go Youn Jung, Kim Jong Soo, and Jung Man Sik. Jung-Jee will next appear in the upcoming Star Wars Disney+ series The Acolyte set during the era of the High Republic and starring alongside Amandla Stenberg, Jodie Turner-Smith, Manny Jacinto, and Charlie Barnett.
Hunt will release in theaters and on demand internationally on December 2, 2022. You can check out the brand-new exclusive clip as well as read the film’s official synopsis down below.
After a high-ranking North Korean official requests asylum, KCIA Foreign Unit chief Park Pyong-ho (LEE Jung Jae) and Domestic Unit chief Kim Jung-do (JUNG Woo Sung) are tasked with uncovering a North Korean spy, known as Donglim, who is deeply embedded within their agency. When the spy begins leaking top secret intel that could jeopardize national security, the two units are each assigned to investigate each other. In this tense situation where if they cannot find the mole, they may be accused themselves, Pyong-ho and Jung-do slowly start to uncover the truth. In the end, they must deal with an unthinkable plot to assassinate the South Korean president…