'Humint' takes Ryoo Seung-wan's espionage playbook to Vladivostok

The action hitmaker reunites with Zo In-sung for another high-stakes thriller shot in the Baltics

From left: Actors Zo In-sung and Shin Se-kyung, director Ryoo Seung-wan, and actors Park Jung-min and Park Hae-joon pose at a press conference for "Humint" at Lotte Cinema Konkuk University in Seoul on Monday. (Yonhap)

Korea's holiday box office belongs to crowd-pleasers -- the kind of films that bring entire families into multiplexes and sweep them up in pure, uncomplicated fun. This year, box office stalwart Ryoo Seung-wan is betting that his brand of propulsive espionage action flick still fits the bill, with a 23.5 billion won ($16 million) production to back it up.

"Humint" sends intelligence operatives from North and South Korea crashing into each other in Russia's Far Eastern port city of Vladivostok. If that sounds like a natural extension of Ryoo's filmography, you're not wrong -- his 2013 "The Berlin File" ended with a character boarding a train headed there.

This one picks up the thread, and brings along a familiar face, too. Zo In-sung, now on his third collaboration with Ryoo after "Escape from Mogadishu" and "Smugglers," joked about becoming the director's go-to guy at Monday's press conference at Lotte Cinema Konkuk University. "There are actors who've worked with him way more," Zo said. "I'm still waiting for my turn."

Zo In-sung stars in "Humint" (Next Entertainment World)

Ryoo's playbook isn't exactly subtle. His action flicks grab you from frame one with gritty bare-knuckle brawls, pulpy genre instincts, and just enough political edge to keep the adrenaline rush going. His "Veteran" cop saga remains his commercial peak: 13.4 million admissions for the 2015 original, another 7.5 million for last year's sequel.

Opposite Zo's South Korean intelligence officer is Park Jung-min as a dead-eyed North Korean operative. All clenched fury and brutal physicality, the role marks a departure from the gregarious presence that made Park a meme sensation at last year's Blue Dragon Awards, where his antics on stage went viral overnight.

Park Jung-min stars in "Humint" (Next Entertainment World)

Park described Ryoo's hands-on approach to action with a mix of awe and bemusement. "He'd show up and just start twisting my wrist -- 'This is how you do it.' From a distance it looked like an uncle messing with his nephew." He did learn plenty, though. It's the same raw, desperate energy Ryoo built his name on -- the zippy stunt work of cult classics like "Die Bad" and "Dachimawa Lee" that made him Korea's go-to action guy.

Zo seconded the director's exacting standards. "He demonstrates every move himself. The Latvian crew was shocked." Once Ryoo finishes the rehearsal, holding back isn't an option. "You don't get the OK otherwise."

The production spent months in Riga, Latvia, where the cast bonded over homesickness and home cooking. Zo made chicken stew; Shin Se-kyung took care of the fried rice. "Overseas shoots get lonely," Zo said. "But you grow closer to one another."

For Shin, who plays a North Korean restaurant worker caught between the operatives, the film marks her first big-screen gig in over a decade. The 36-year-old has been keeping busy on YouTube, posting lifestyle vlogs and the occasional travel diary.

Ryoo praised Shin's command of the North Korean accent that runs heavy through her lines. "She nailed it down to the smallest details. Even when she sings, you hear it in the lyrics." Her English proved useful too -- she ended up serving as an impromptu interpreter between the Korean cast and local crew.

Shin Se-kyung stars in "Humint" (Next Entertainment World)

Asked about the film's romantic throughline between Park and Shin, Ryoo played coy while hyping it up. "Probably not less than 'Berlin,'" he said, nodding to that film's love line between Ha Jung-woo and Jun Ji-hyun. Park offered a hint: "You'll see someone unravel because of another person. I've never really shown that."

Whether "Humint" can jolt a sluggish domestic market remains to be seen. But if past form is any indication, Ryoo's films seem like the best shot at a blockbuster hit Korean cinema has at the moment, even if you walk out realizing there wasn't much there.

Ryoo seemed ready to let the work speak for itself. "I'd rather not hype my own film," he said. "Screen it in a few weeks and you tell me why people should watch."

"Humint" opened on Feb. 11.