Handsome actor Zo In-sung's face has gained humanity. Director Ryu Seung-wan, reuniting for the third time after Mogadishu and Smugglers, once again rewrote Zo In-sung's visuals in Humint.
The film Humint (director Ryu Seung-wan, presented/distributed by NEW, produced by Oyu Naegang) meets audiences starting today (11). The film has ranked No. 1 in overall domestic box office advance reservation rate since the 8th. In particular, as of 7 a.m. today it recorded 193,771 advance tickets on the integrated movie ticketing system, proving it is a highly anticipated film by setting the highest advance ticketing for releases this year.
At the center of expectations for Humint is the reunion of director Ryu Seung-wan and Zo In-sung. They previously worked together on Mogadishu in 2021 and Smugglers in 2023, and Humint marks their third collaboration. Zo In-sung's utilization also differs greatly in each work.
In Mogadishu, Zo In-sung plays Kang Dae Jin, a counselor who unwillingly gets caught in the middle of civil war–torn Somalia. He shows off taekwondo forms and makes a braggadocious entrance, then changes to protect people as civil war breaks out. This was a "growth" character that could not be seen in Zo In-sung when he was a clear protagonist from the start.
Director Ryu Seung-wan, who said he felt sorry for having relatively ruined Zo In-sung, cast Zo In-sung again in Smugglers as Kwon, a company sergeant and a power player in the smuggling world, showing an overwhelming presence different from the previous film. Even with a relatively small share among the leads, he completed the most attractive casting with subtle chemistry with Chun-ja (Kim Hye-soo) and one-against-many action.
Humint goes one step further from there. It adds humanity to the cold spy game through Zo In-sung. Fundamentally, Humint depicts a story of people with different aims clashing in Vladivostok, where secrets and truths are submerged in a cold sea of ice. Among them, Zo In-sung plays Director Jo, a black agent of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) who must treat sources coldly for the sake of intelligence.
With a limited budget and results demanded beyond that, the sources are treated like pawns. But faced with a decision from superiors so cold it lacks humanity, Director Jo retorts, "Is this all we are?" He soothes a source startled by an unexpected situation, and to build human trust, he puts aside his racing heart rate and remembers the source's upcoming birthday and gives a gift.
In the process, Zo In-sung treats Humint not as expendable intelligence in a spy war but as a person. His emotions and choices aimed at saving sources rather than meaninglessly "sacrificing" them, and his actions naturally make audiences root for him. A protagonist who shows righteous choices with shining visuals. At least in the works with director Ryu Seung-wan, the portrayal of Zo In-sung—shown for the first time—interlocks with his other filmography and consistently evokes admiration.
Choices based on humanity revealed against the cold backdrop of Vladivostok give an unusually strong resonance. Intersections where the gunfire-filled spy war turns into selective defensive battles to protect someone exist throughout Humint, and at the center breathes Director Jo, portrayed by Zo In-sung. Zo In-sung has now added his name to Ryu Seung-wan's persona, who has become expert at reusing familiar actor utilization, as a completed work.
[Photo] Provided by NEW.
[OSEN]