''Ransomed'' () is a 2023 South Korean

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

film directed by Kim Seong-hoon, starring

Ha Jung-woo Kim Sung-hoon (born March 11, 1978), better known as Ha Jung-woo (), is a South Korean actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. One of the highest grossing actors in South Korea, Ha's starring films have accumulated more than 100 mil ...

and

Ju Ji-hoon Ju Ji-hoon (born May 16, 1982) is a South Korean actor and model. His first leading role was in the 2006 hit drama ''Princess Hours''. His other notable works include ''The Devil'', ''Antique'', ''Mask'', '' Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds'' ...

. It was released theatrically on August 2, 2023. It was also invited at the

28th Busan International Film Festival 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

in 'Korean Cinema Today - Panorama' section and was screened on October 5, 2023.

Premise

Set in 1987, the buddy action film revolves around diplomat Lee Min-jun (Ha Jung-woo) and local taxi driver Kim Pan-su (Ju Ji-hoon) who went to Lebanon to rescue a missing colleague. At the time, the

Chun Doo-hwan Chun Doo-hwan (; or ; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean Republic of Korea Army, army general and military dictator who ruled as an unelected Political strongman, strongman from 1979 to 1980 before replacing Choi Kyu-hah ...

government was covering it up to avoid bad press for the upcoming

1987 South Korean presidential election Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 16 December 1987. They marked the establishment of the Sixth Republic, as well as the end of the authoritarian rule that had prevailed in the country for all but one year since its founding in ...

and the bid for

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

. The ransom asked by the terrorists was 2.5 million U.S. dollars. The public will not know the full details until

declassification Declassification is the process of ceasing a protective classification, often under the principle of freedom of information. Procedures for declassification vary by country. Papers may be withheld without being classified as secret, and even ...

in 2047.

Cast

Main

as Lee Min-jun, a diplomat who volunteers for an unofficial operation to rescue a fellow diplomat who has gone missing *

as Kim Pan-su, a Korean taxi driver in Lebanon who accompanies Min-jun

Supporting

Kim Eung-soo Kim Eung-soo (; born February 12, 1961) is a South Korean actor. Kim lived in Japan for seven years, where he studied filmmaking at the Japan Institute of the Moving Image. Filmography Film Television series Variety show Web sh ...

as the director of

KCIA The National Intelligence Service (NIS; Korean language, Korean: 국가정보원, 국정원) is the chief intelligence agency of South Korea. The agency was officially established in 1961 as the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA; Korea ...

Park Hyuk-kwon Park Hyuk-kwon (born July 11, 1971) is a South Korean actor. Park began his acting career in 1993 as a member of the theater troupe Sanulrim. He later became a well-regarded supporting actor in films such as '' Chaw'' (2009) and ''Secret Reunion ...

as Manager Park * Kim Jong-soo as South Korean Foreign Affairs Minister Choi Kwang-soo * Lim Hyung-guk as kidnapped Secretary Oh Jae-seok *

Burn Gorman Burn Hugh Winchester Gorman (born 1 September 1974) is an English actor and musician. He is known for his roles as Owen Harper in the BBC series ''Torchwood'' (2006–2008), Phillip Stryver in ''The Dark Knight Rises'' (2012), Karl Tanner in the ...

as Richard Carter *

Marcin Dorociński Marcin Grzegorz Dorociński (born 22 June 1973) is a Polish film, television and stage actor. Early life Dorociński was born in Milanówek near Warsaw and grew up in a small village Kłudzienko. His father is a blacksmith and his mother is a h ...

as Hays Shaito, a Switzerland arbitrator * Fehd Benchemsi as Karim * Anas El Baz as Naji * Nisrine Adam as Lila, Pan-su's lover *Khalil Oubaaqa As Gangster * Nada El Belkasmi as Refugee camp volunteer

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * 2023 films 2023 action films 2020s Korean-language films 2020s South Korean films South Korean buddy films South Korean action drama films South Korean action thriller films Films about diplomats Films set in 1986 Films set in 1987 Films set in 1988 Films set in Beirut Films set in Geneva Films set in Seoul Films shot in Morocco Action drama films based on actual events Thriller films based on actual events South Korean films based on actual events Showbox films {{SouthKorea-film-stub