''Operation Chromite'' () is a 2016 South Korean

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by John H. Lee and based on the real-life events of the

Battle of Inchon The Battle of Incheon (), also spelled Battle of Inchon, was an amphibious invasion and a battle of the Korean War that resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favor of the United Nations Command (UN). The operation involved so ...

, although it presents a fictionalized version of the historical

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

/US military intelligence operation " Trudy Jackson", conducted before the actual landing operation. It was released on 27 July 2016 in South Korea.

Plot

In 1950, just a few months after North Korean forces have overrun most of South Korea, an American-led UN coalition is deployed to Korea to aid the struggling South Koreans. General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

devises a secret plan to attack behind enemy lines at the port city of

Incheon Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...

. The risky strategy is opposed by leaders of the other military branches, forcing MacArthur to devise a clandestine operation to gather essential information from within occupied Incheon by coordinating a weeklong South Korean intelligence operation known as "X-Ray". The linchpin of this top-secret incursion, Captain Jang Hak-Soo of the

South Korean Navy The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN; ko, 대한민국 해군), also known as the ROK Navy or South Korean Navy, is the naval warfare service branch of the South Korean armed forces, responsible for naval and amphibious operations. The ROK Navy inc ...

Intelligence Unit (a former

North Korean army The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) is the military force of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). Under the '' Songun'' policy, it is the central institution of North Korean society. Currently, WPK General ...

officer who defected to South Korea after seeing his father executed in front of him by his fellow communist officers), and seven members of the X-Ray unit disguise themselves as a

Korean People's Army The Korean People's Army (KPA; ) is the military force of North Korea and the armed wing of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK). Under the ''Songun'' policy, it is the central institution of North Korean society. Currently, WPK General Sec ...

inspection unit and infiltrate the North Korean command center in Incheon, coordinated by the Soviet-trained commander Lim Gye-Jin, a protégé of

Kim Il-Sung Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

. Their prime objective is to determine the placement of North Korean defenses (such as mines and artillery) and the tactical characteristics of the Incheon harbor (notorious for swift currents and major tidal surges), and secure a lighthouse crucial to the landing's success. Immediately suspicious of Jang's "inspection mission", Lim attempts to impede his comrade's investigation and orders his staff to monitor the new arrivals closely. The U.S. command relays MacArthur's orders to obtain navigation charts showing naval mine placements in the harbor and prepare a strategy to assist the coalition forces with landing an amphibious assault in a narrow two-hour window between tides. When contacts within the South Korean military intelligence unit known as KLO (Korean Liaison Office, predecessor to present-day South Korean Headquarters of Intelligence Detachment, or HID) warn Jang that time is running out to successfully complete the mission, he pushes his group to extremes. Meanwhile, in Tokyo, MacArthur prepares ''

Operation Chromite The Battle of Incheon (), also spelled Battle of Inchon, was an amphibious invasion and a battle of the Korean War that resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favor of the United Nations Command (UN). The operation involved s ...

'', an invasion force of 75,000 UN troops and over 200 warships, to imminently depart for the Korean Peninsula.

Cast

Lee Jung-jae Lee Jung-jae (; born December 15, 1972) is a South Korean actor and filmmaker. Considered one of the most successful actors in South Korea, he has received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Cr ...

as Jang Hak-soo *

Lee Beom-soo Lee Beom-soo (born January 3, 1970) is a South Korean actor. He is well known for his role in ''Singles'', ''Giant'', '' On Air'', '' Surgeon Bong Dal-hee, ''as well as in'' History of a Salaryman.'' Lee enrolled in the Department of Theater ...

as Lim Gye-jin *

Liam Neeson William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Tony Awards. In 2020, he was placed 7th on ''The I ...

as General

Jin Se-yeon Jin Se-yeon (born Kim Yoon-jung on February 15, 1994) is a South Korean actress. Some of her notable television dramas are ''Bridal Mask'' (2012), ''Doctor Stranger'' (2014), ''Flowers of the Prison'' (2016), ''Grand Prince'' (2018) among othe ...

as Han Chae-seon *

Jung Joon-ho Jung Joon-ho (; born October 1, 1970) is a South Korean actor, who gained fame in the 2000 series, Women Like You, (왕추). His recent hits are '' Last Scandal'' (내 생애 마지막 스캔들) and ''IRIS''. Jung Jun-ho has a passionate interes ...

as Seo Jin-chul *

Kim Byeong-ok Kim Byeong-ok (born October 11, 1960) is a South Korean actor. A veteran supporting actor, he is best known for his role as Mr. Han in '' Oldboy''. Career In 2015, he was featured in a controversial Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: En ...

as Choi Suk-joong *

Park Chul-min Park Chul-min (born January 18, 1967) is a South Korean actor. Career Park Chul-min began acting in his high school drama club at Chosun University High School, and though he majored in Business Administration at Chung-Ang University, he spent ...

as Nam Ki-sung *

Jon Gries Jonathan Gries ( '; born June 17, 1957) is an American actor, writer, and director. He is best known for the role of Uncle Rico in '' Napoleon Dynamite '' for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male, an ...

Hoyt Vandenberg Hoyt Sanford Vandenberg (January 24, 1899 – April 2, 1954) was a United States Air Force general. He served as the second Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and the second Director of Central Intelligence. During World War II, Vandenberg was t ...

* Gil Geum-sung as Chun Dal-joong * Shin Soo-hang as Kang Bong-po * Kim Hee-jin as Ryu Jang-choon * Jung Min-ji as Ok Gil-ryun * Naya as Yeo Ga-soo * Lee Choong-goo as Hwa-gyoon * Sung Hyuk as Song Sang-deuk *

Go Yoon Go Yoon (born Kim Jong-min; September 12, 1988) is a South Korean actor. He is perhaps known for his roles in the television series ''Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created an ...

commando Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...

* Jang Joon-hak as Yang Pan-dong *

Sean Richard Dulake Sean Richard Dulake (born June 9, 1984) is an American actor and director. Early life Dulake was born on June 9, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, to a British father and Korean mother. He studied theatre arts and business at Boston University. H ...

as Lt. Col. Edward L. Rowny * Justin Rupple as

Alexander Haig Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. (; December 2, 1924February 20, 2010) was United States Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan and White House Chief of Staff under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Prior to and in between these c ...

* Jin Yong-ok as Jo In-gook * Park Jung-won as Ri Kyung-shik * Yang Bum as Ham Kwang-suk * Lee Hae-joon as Ji Jin-pyo *

Josie Bissett Jolyn Christine Heutmaker (born October 5, 1970), known professionally as Josie Bissett, is an American actress. She is known for her role as Jane Mancini on the television series '' Melrose Place'' (1992–1999), and for her television film app ...

Jean MacArthur Jean Marie MacArthur ( Faircloth; December 28, 1898 – January 22, 2000) was the second wife of U.S. Army General of the Army Douglas MacArthur. Early life and education Born Jean Marie Faircloth in Nashville, Tennessee, she was the dau ...

* Yoon Suk-jin as Do Hong-gyoo * Kim Joong-hee as Joo Hyun-pil * Yun Da-yeong as Gye Eun-sook * Kim Se-jung as Uhm Gi-soon *

Park Sung-woong Park Sung-woong (born January 9, 1973) is a South Korean actor. Following his acting debut in '' No. 3'' in 1997, Park has starred in several movies and television series, notably as a gangster in ''New World'' (2013) and a serial killer in '' T ...

as Park Nam-chul ( cameo) *

Kim Sun-a Kim Sun-a (; born October 1, 1973) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her titular role as Kim Sam-soon in the popular television series '' My Lovely Sam Soon'' (2005). Other notable series include '' City Hall'' (2009), '' Scent of ...

as Kim Hwa-young ( cameo) *

Kim Young-ae Kim Young-ae (; 21 April 1951 – 9 April 2017) was a South Korean actress. Career Kim Young-ae began her acting career when she joined MBC's 3rd Open Recruitment in 1971. She made her acting debut in the TV police procedural ''Chief Inspe ...

as Na Jung-nim ( cameo) *

Choo Sung-hoon , also known as and by his nickname Sexyama, is a Japanese mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and judoka who won the gold medal at the 2001 Asian Judo Championships, 2001 Asian Championships for South Korea and for Japan at the ...

as Baek San ( cameo) *

Lee Won-jong Lee Won-jong (born January 1, 1966) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Film Television series Variety shows Theater *''Blind'' (2010) *''The Masked Hut Murder Case'' (2022) - Nobuhiko Awards *2002 SBS Drama Awards: Best Supporting Act ...

Kim Il-sung Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

( cameo) * Jung Kyung-soon as Jung Sun-sil ( cameo)

English dubbing

* Song Sang-deuk -

Sean Chiplock Sean Edward Chiplock (born June 21, 1990) is an American voice actor who is known for voicing English versions of Japanese video games and anime. Based in Los Angeles, Chiplock is known as the voice of Rean Schwarzer from '' The Legend of Heroe ...

* Darrel Delfin

Reception

The film was number-one on its opening at the South Korean box office, grossing . with around seven million tickets sold . It grossed worldwide. In the United Kingdom, it was 2017's best-selling

foreign language film World cinema is a term in film theory that refers to films made outside of the American motion picture industry, particularly those in opposition to the aesthetics and values of commercial American cinema.Nagib, Lúcia. "Towards a positive de ...

home video Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...

, above ''

Your Name is a 2016 Japanese animated romantic fantasy film produced by CoMix Wave Films. It depicts a high school boy in Tokyo and a high school girl in the Japanese countryside who suddenly and inexplicably begin to swap bodies. The film was commissi ...

'' in second place. On review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 40% based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 5/10. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 50 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Extended cut

A South Korean release of the Blu-Ray version put the extended cut at 141 minutes.

Sequel

''The Battle of Jangsari 9.15'', a sequel to the film ''Chromite'', was released in 2019, the second part of a trilogy. The film covers a later small attack at Jangsari, intended to draw North Korean attention from Inchon.

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Operation Chromite 2016 films 2016 war drama films 2016 drama films CJ Entertainment films Drama films based on actual events Films about Douglas MacArthur Films set in 1950 Films set in North Korea Films set in Incheon Films set in Pyongyang Films set in Tokyo Films shot in South Korea Korean War films South Korean spy films South Korean war drama films Spy films based on actual events War films based on actual events Films about the Republic of Korea Armed Forces Films about navies Cultural depictions of Douglas MacArthur Films about the Korean People's Army 2010s South Korean films