‘I am a Netflix employee,” says actor Park Hae-soo

In Shenyang, China, where global intelligence activities are ferociously taking place, it is reported that the Black Ops team of the South Korean National Intelligence Service on clandestine operations has been making false reports to the headquarters in Korea for months. Han Ji-hoon, starred by actor Park Hae-soo, a prosecutor who was demoted while investigating on the head of a conglomerate, is dispatched to Shenyang as a special inspector to look into the details. He is shocked by the sight of the team members, headed by Ji Kang-in, who is nicknamed as Yaksha, starred by actor Seol Kyung-gu, waging a spy war, by fair means or foul, with agents from around the world.

At the online press conference held on Tuesday, Na Hyun, director of the Netflix original series “Yaksha: Ruthless Operations,” scheduled to be released worldwide on Friday, said that he chose Shenyang as the city of the movie for its proximity to North Korea, fraught with tension, which makes it fit for the background of a spy action movie. The actual shooting took place in Taiwan and South Korea.

The yaksha is a ghost in the mythology of India that devours humans and a god who protects the righteous from the wicked at the same time. Actor Seol Kyung-gu, who performed Ji Kang-in, the personification of the yaksha, a binary natural spirit, described his character as a “reckless and violent” yet “sacrifices his life for justice.” “I thought Ji Kang-in was a very attractive character beyond my ability to impersonate, so I asked the director to soften up the attractiveness of Ji,” said Seol with a smile.

Actor Park Hae-soo, who rose to global stardom through the Netflix mega-hit “Squid Game,” described the movie as an “action movie that allures both the eyes and ears of the movie,” and humorously likened himself as a “Netflix employee,” pointing his frequent emergence in a number of Netflix original series. The director used 36 guns and 7,700 bullets to create realistic action scenes. Enticing action film staged in exotic locations is like a Hong Kong film or a Hollywood movie rather than a Korean film.

Park Hae-soo performed Han Ji-hoon, who emphasizes law and order, tones down the movie that might seem unrealistic because of its captivating action. Unlike Sang-woo in Squid Game, who was sober and serious, Park shows restrained comedy performance through Han Ji-hoon. “I would be grateful if I could play a role in drawing overseas viewers to the film,” said Park.


Hyo-Ju Son hjson@donga.com