appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

James Marsh

3.5/5 stars
The Russian city of Vladivostok provides the setting for Humint, the latest globe-trotting thriller from South Korean action specialist Ryoo Seung-wan.
Set in the high-stakes world of international espionage, the film features Zo In-sung (Escape from Mogadishu) and Park Jeong-min (Uprising) as agents from South and North Korea, respectively, who attempt to foil a human trafficking ring.
After opening in South Korean cinemas during the Lunar New Year holiday, Humint launches globally on Netflix on March 31.


The title is a portmanteau of “Human” and “Intelligence” and refers to informants who provide valuable information to the authorities, often at the risk of their own lives.
Manager Zo (Zo) of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service is still reeling from the death of his last informant when he is dispatched to Vladivostok to make contact with Chae Seon-hwa (Shin Sae-kyeong), a worker at a North Korean restaurant.
A massive human-trafficking and drug-dealing operation appears to originate from the city, which Seoul suspects is being masterminded by North Korean officials working in cahoots with the Russian mob.
Pyongyang suspects the same and sends its own operative, Park Geon (Park), to observe the local consul general, Hwang Chi-sung (Park Hae-joon), who is stationed in Vladivostok.
Hwang’s job is to round up North Korean defectors and send them home, but many of his detainees – especially the women – are disappearing.

Soon after his arrival, Park also crosses paths with Seon-hwa, and it is immediately apparent that they know each other from back in North Korea. But as both agents scramble to rescue the same woman, they are set on a collision course with one another.
Hailed as Korea’s “action kid” when he burst onto the scene aged just 27 with his 2000 debut Die Bad, Ryoo has delivered a procession of propulsive thrillers that include The City of Violence (2006), Veteran (2015) and The Battleship Island (2017).
The first half of Humint is uncharacteristically cautious as it methodically establishes its premise and players in the slow-burning manner of old Cold War spy dramas.
Just as proceedings are threatening to become dreary, however, the film gloriously kicks into gear, erupting into breathless non-stop action as protagonists Zo and Park are thrown together in a desperate alliance that plays like a delirious love letter to John Woo Yu-sum’s finest bullet ballets.

Viewers with the patience to sit through a deliberately paced hour of shady encounters in dingy nightclubs and snow-driven back alleys will be richly rewarded by a second half showcasing some of the best heroic bloodshed in recent memory.
Humint is streaming on Netflix.
Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook


Meet Park Ji-hyun, rising star of K-dramas Flex X Cop and See You at Work Tomorrow!

How films like Backrooms and Exit 8 are turning liminal spaces into a horror trend

How Colony features a new kind of zombie to reflect modern fears

Cannes 2026: Hope movie review – The Wailing director Na Hong-jin back with a monster mess

Asian cinema: Korean films

Netflix movie review: Humint – dynamic Korean spy thriller from Ryoo Seung-wan

Zo In-sung (right) in a still from Humint, a Korean spy movie from director Ryoo Seung-wan that is now streaming on Netflix.

Shin Sae-kyeong in a still from Humint.

Park Hae-joon in a still from Humint.

The 10 most-watched Korean films ever, as The King’s Warden draws nearly 15 million film-goers

Park Ji-hoon (second from left) and Yoo Hae-jin in a still from The King’s Warden, which is fast becoming one of South Korea’s most popular films at the box office.

The 10 most successful Korean art-house films of all time, including The World of Love

Seo Su-bin in a still from The World of Love. Korean director Yoon Ga-eun’s acclaimed film is scheduled to hit Hong Kong cinemas on January 29.

The 15 most anticipated K-drama series of 2026, from Scandals to Show Business

IU (left) and Byeon Woo-seok in a still from Perfect Crown.

IU in a still from Perfect Crown. Directed by Park Joon-hwa, the series is among our top 15 most anticipated Korean dramas in 2026. 

Lee Dong-wook in a still from A Shop for Killers season 2.

(From left) Lee Soo-hyuk, Lee Su-hyun, Shin Si-ah and Lee Do-hyun will star in Grand Galaxy Hotel.

Kim Sung-cheol (centre) and Park Bo-young (right) in a still from Gold Land.

Lee Jong-suk in a still from The Remarried Empress.

(From left) Lee Hee-joon, Go Min-si, Kim Min-ha and Lee Jae-wook will star in Perfect Job.

(From left) Woo Do-hwan, Rain and Lee Sang-yi will star in Bloodhounds season 2.

Jo Yu-ri (left) and Son Ye-jin (right) will star in Variety, directed by Kim Yong-hoon (centre).

(From left) Kim Hye-soo, Cho Jin-woong and Lee Je-hoon all reprise their roles in The Second Signal, though the new season’s release plan has been put in doubt after Cho’s sudden retirement.

(From left) Son Ye-jin, Ji Chang-wook and Nana will star in Scandals.

(Clockwise from top left) Song Hye-kyo, Gong Yoo, Kim Seol-hyun, Lee Hanee and Cha Seung-won will star in Show Business.

The 15 best K-dramas of 2025 ranked, from Melo Movie to When Life Gives You Tangerines

Park Bo-gum (left) and IU in a still from When Life Gives You Tangerines, one of the best K-dramas of 2025. Photo: Yoo Eun-mi/Netflix

Lifestyle

K-drama

K-movies

K-Pop

Entertainment

Culture

Film & TV

Starring Zo In-sung, Park Jeong-min and Park Hae-joon, Humint rewards patient viewers with some of the best heroic bloodshed in recent times


Starring Zo In-sung, Park Jeong-min and Park Hae-joon, Humint rewards patient viewers with some of the best heroic bloodshed in recent times.


Asian cinema

Film reviews

Cinema

What's hot in Korea

South Korean celebrities

Fame and celebrity

TV shows and streaming video

Netflix

Park Hae-joon

An assessment or critique of a service, product or creative endeavour.  Film reviews, restaurant reviews, reviews of art exhibitions. (Eg. Crazy Rich Asians: an important film, yes, but a good one?)


Review

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Starring Zo In-sung, Park Jeong-min and Park Hae-joon, Humint rewards patient viewers with some of the best heroic bloodshed in recent times

Starring Zo In-sung, Park Jeong-min and Park Hae-joon, Humint rewards patient viewers with some of the best heroic bloodshed in recent times