Jang Hoon (장훈)

Director Jang Hoon [Lee Jin-hyuk/10Asia]

There are two men. Whether they have their backs turned or are facing each other, they are enemies. They stand together only because they need to, and the distance between them fails to narrow. Gang-pae (played by So Ji-sub) and Soo-ta (Kang Ji-hwan) met in "Rough Cut" to shoot a film and Han-gyu (Song Kang-ho) and Ji-won (Kang Dong-won) meet in "Secret Reunion" to find what they have lost. Yet while Gang-pae and Soo-ta end up scarring each other deeply, Han-gyu and Ji-won find peace.

The man who made these men meet, made them fight and then reconcile, is director Jang Hoon. He has returned with his second directorial feature "Secret Reunion", again telling the story of two male characters as he did with "Rough Cut" but things are different this time...More

Korean actor Song Kang-ho [photographed by Beck: Una/10Asia]

Song Kang-ho interviewed and photographed by Beck: Una

Song Kang-ho is not a funny person. He is an entertaining actor. Song Kang-ho is not a friendly person. He is a familiar actor. Song Kang-ho is not a diligent person. He is an actor who always works. Song Kang-ho is not a successful/proud person. But he is an extraordinary actor. As the third object of "Interview 100", actor Song Kang-ho stood waiting with a cigarette in his mouth and looking more relaxed and comfortable than ever. And rather than giving a fussy greeting or a friendly hug, he simply waved a moderately warm hello with his hand.

Beck Una (Beck): When I saw you at the Pusan International Film Festival last year, you said not to expect much from "Secret Reunion" and joked that it was just a movie where you rode on actor Kang Dong-won's popularity from film "JEON WOO CHI : The Taoist Wizard". But "Secret Reunion" turned out to be much more commercial.
Song Kang-ho (Song): I needed it to vent my spite from "Thirst". It was for the film! Hahahahaha!

Beck: You are usually very critical of your own films compared to other actors. What is your take on your film "Secret Reunion"?...More

Actor Song Kang-ho [photographed by Beck Una/10Asia]

Beck: What did you find likeable and entertaining about the script for "Secret Reunion"?
Song: Ten years ago, I did the films "Shiri" and "JSA - Joint Security Area" which are both about South Korea, North Korea and men. So, "Secret Reunion" was similar to them in a way, a similar story, but the overall outline of the movie is completely different from the previous films. The film doesn't treat the South-North division as its theme but rather takes an incredibly soft, light and sophisticated approach to it. I thought that was closer to how the audience currently feels about the division and there was something lovely about a North Korean spy and a former South Korean intelligence service agent living together. I don't think I would have done the movie if it dealt seriously about the division at times like now.

Beck:But didn't you choose to do the film because of the character or the role you would get to take on?...More

[Jainnie's cine korea]

Politics and comparisons to similarly themed movies aside, "Secret Reunion" ultimately feels like a solid buddy movie, with well-developed characters, a delicately layered plot and a tightly controlled pace.

Lee Han-kyu, played by veteran actor Song Kang-ho, is a counterspy for South Korea's National Intelligence Service who's chasing after a violent North Korean agent nicknamed the "Shadow". Song Ji-won, a North Korean spy played by Kang Dong-won, first encounters Lee while on a mission with the "Shadow".

The two next encounter each other six years later. Han-kyu has been fired from the NIS, and Ji-won has been abandone...More

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

"Secret Reunion", about a close-knit friendship between North and South Korean spies, is holding tightly onto the No. 1 spot at the box office for the third straight week.

The film, starring top stars Song Kang-ho and Kang Dong-won, attracted 31.9 percent of moviegoers ― 594,977 viewers at 526 screens across the country ― over the weekend, from Feb. 19 to 21.

Since opening on Feb. 4, it became the first domestic film to top the international smash "A...More