Plot
In January 1992, Major Park Seok-young is recruited by the Agency for National Security Planning (ANSP) to uncover North Korea's nuclear programme, the true extent of which was only known to the elites and its leader Kim Jong Il. Under Director Choi's instructions, he assumes the identity of an alcoholic businessman who left the army after falling into debt. Choi assigns Park to get close to Ri Myung-woon, the director of the North Korean External Economic Committee.
Based in Beijing, Park establishes himself as a businessman seeking to trade in North Korean products, and his activities draws the attention of Ri and other North Koreans officials. The ANSP orchestrates a crackdown on counterfeit North Korean products made in China, which leads to Chinese officials arresting Jang Sung-hoon, nephew of Jang Sung-taek. This forces Ri to seek Park to raise the money for Jang's release. However, Ri remains wary of Park and demands South Korean intelligence in exchange for trust.
Choi arranges for Park to deliver cash along with minor classified information. Additionally, he provides imitation Rolex watches as gifts for the North Koreans. In a subsequent meeting, Jung Moo-taek from the State Security Department offers that Park directly sell military secrets to him instead of continuing as a businessman. Park, feigning indignation, rejects the offer. During a later dinner, Jung becomes suspicious and tries to search Park, leading to a scuffle that exposes the Rolex watches. Ri, displeased with Jung’s actions, ultimately decides to trust Park.
Park proposes an advertising venture with Han Chang-joo, who wishes to shoot locations in the North. However, as this venture involves South Korean conglomerates, it requires approval from Kim Jong Il. In the North, Park and Ri convinces Kim Jong Il to approve the venture, which also includes the construction of a resort on Mount Geumgang. Kim also wishes to sell his artifacts from the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties.
During the filming process, Park seizes an opportunity to visit Yongbyon under the pretext of searching for more artifacts, allowing him to get closer to the nuclear facility. While there, Ri and Kim Myung-soo, a relative of the Kim family, present him a pin of the Kims. As Park witnesses the devastating effects of the North Korean famine, Kim confides his dissatisfaction with Kim Jong Il’s regime. Kim is subsequently exiled.
As Kim Dae-jung's popularity grows, which threatenes the ANSP’s influence, Choi orders Park to deliver a letter to the North Koreans. Suspicious of the agency’s motives, Park wiretaps a meeting where Choi proposes to Ri and Jung to attack South Korea’s outlying islands and weaken Kim’s support. Park confronts Choi, who dismisses him as being swayed by the communists. Instead, Park turns to Ri, who secretly harbors doubts about the regime.
They meet with Kim once again, dissuading him from going ahead with the provocation after Park exposes Jung's embezzlement of US$400,000 from Choi's payment. Kim Dae-jung is ultimately elected president, but the ANSP proceeds to expose Park as their spy. In Pyongyang, Ri forces Park to choose between defection to the North or face execution. While he rejects, Ri was unable to shoot Park. Instead, Ri helps Park leave the North by giving him a special visa. The two bid a painful farewell as Ri stays behind, confident he won't be purged. Meanwhile, Kim investigates the ANSP's attempted election interferences, leading to Choi's dismissal and the ANSP's reorganisation into the National Intelligence Service.
In 2005, Park and Ri reunite again in Shanghai at a South Korean advertising shoot featuring a North Korean actress alongside Lee Hyori.
Reception
Favorable response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, The Spy Gone North has an approval rating of 100% based on 21 reviews and an average rating of 7.1/10. [14] On Metacritic, the film received average score of 69 out of 100 based on 6 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [15]
Charles Bramesco of The Guardian rated the film 3 out of 5 and wrote: "Yoon [Jong-bin] executes all the classic double-agent set pieces with finesse, and those enamoured of the genre will appreciate a change of setting." [16]
Maggie Lee of the Variety wrote: "Instead of the usual dose of action and suspense one expects of this genre, watching this dense 140-minute political drama unfold is like fumbling through a long tunnel that’s nonetheless worth it when the ray of light emerges at the end." [9]
Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter described the film as "a stylish, blood-pounding thriller of the type Asian cinema is so good at making...For sheer topicality, the film is hard to beat, and to find a full-blown entertainment yarn in Cannes' midnight section that's partially set in newsworthy North Korea is rather astounding." [17]
Gary Goldstein of The LA Times wrote: "Park and Ri’s evolving friendship adds depth and humanity to this timely, ambitious tale which boldly reflects some of the region’s more unsettling aspects. Eerily vivid re-creation of Jong-il’s insular, lockstep-oriented world, plus a stirring score by Cho Young-Wuk, are highlights." [18]
Yoon Min-sik of The Korea Herald wrote: "The scene of South and North Koreans sitting together and conspiring over what to do in order to retain power shows that things are not always so black and white. Heukgeumseong, taught to regard all elements of the hermit kingdom as evil, sees the human side of the North Koreans through his interaction with them, extending his perspective to beyond what is presented to him... The flick looks at the event that occurred more than two decades ago, yet the message is strangely contemporary. The search for what is right and wrong is an eternal question." [19]
Boon Chan of The Straits Times wrote: "Things get really riveting in the last act when larger forces come into play, proving the cynics' case that politics makes for the strangest of bedfellows and the fundamental aim of those in power is to stay in power." [20]
Critical response
James Marsh of the South China Morning Post rated the film 3.5/5 and wrote: "Rather than strive for a James Bond-style spy caper, Yoon explores his characters’ patriotic motivations, and in the process humanises many of the film’s primary antagonists, while exposing endemic corruption in South Korean politics. Thankfully these moments are countered by some expertly executed sequences of high-stakes espionage, balancing the film’s even-handed politics with similarly assured thrills." [21]
Nicola Chan of the SCMP Young Post wrote: "There are, however, some logical flaws in the plot. While Park is a highly skilled double agent, there are a few traps in the movie that even he shouldn’t have been able to avoid. And the ending, while touching, is somewhat cliché." [22]
Box office
The film finished second during its opening week behind Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days , with US$15.7 million gross over five days of screening (Wednesday to Sunday). [23] On its second weekend, the film finished second behind The Witness , with a 45% drop in gross to US$6.3 million. [24] After finishing second for two consecutive weekends, the film placed third during its third weekend, behind On Your Wedding Day and The Witness . It had a 59% drop in gross, earning US$2.6 million from 317,447 attendance. [25]
On August 28, 2018, the film reached its break-even point with 4.7 million audience members having watched the film. [26] During its fourth weekend, the film had a 74% drop in gross compared to its third weekend, finishing at seventh place with 86,336 attendance. [27] The film stable on seventh place during its fifth weekend. [28]
As of September 24, 2018, the film grossed US$38.3 million from 4,970,004 total attendance. [1]
