‘Squid Game’ Star Lee Byung-hun Boards Martial Arts Film ‘Nambeol’

Lee Byung-hun, known internationally for “Squid Game” and “No Other Choice,” has been cast in the lead role of “Nambeol” (working title), a martial arts action film set in the early Joseon Dynasty that will mark the feature directing debut of veteran DP Lee Mo-gae. Hive Media Corp. is producing.

The story centers on a unit of nine soldiers – drawn from across the military hierarchy – dispatched to Tsushima Island to bring home Koreans taken prisoner by Japanese pirate groups. The title draws on a historical term for a southward military expedition. The narrative is fictional but rooted in a documented period of instability during the early Joseon era, when the new dynasty faced relentless pirate incursions along its southern coastline and was compelled to answer them through a combination of military campaigns and negotiation.

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Lee Mo-gae brings an extensive list of Korean genre credits to his debut feature as director. His work behind the camera spans “A Tale of Two Sisters” (2003), “The Good, the Bad, the Weird” (2008), “I Saw the Devil” (2010), “Asura: The City of Madness” (2016), “Hunt” (2022), “12.12: The Day” (2023) and “Exhuma” (2024).

Lee will play Im Eok, the taciturn, battle-hardened commander of the warrior unit at the heart of the rescue operation.

For Lee, the film represents a third outing with Hive Media Corp. The pair previously worked together on “Inside Men” (2015) and “The Man Standing Next” (2020).

Hive Media Corp.’s recent output includes “Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum” (2018), “Deliver Us from Evil” (2020), “12.12: The Day” and the Disney+ series “Made in Korea.”

Shooting on “Nambeol” is expected to get underway in the latter half of the year.