Korean thriller ‘Master’ to premier in LA this month

December 16, 2016

SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Yonhap) — The South Korean crime thriller “Master” will premier in Los Angeles on Dec. 30, kick-starting its push into North America, its distributor said Friday.

CJ Entertainment America said the film directed by Cho Ui-seok will then open in U.S. and Canadian cities on Jan. 6, including New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Toronto and Vancouver.

The 143-minute film stars South Korea’s top-notch movie actors Lee Byung-hun and Kang Dong-won, and the up-and-rising actor Kim Woo-bin.

The action film is about an intellectual war between the three men, as they go after each other over a major financial scandal.

In the film, Lee plays Chairman Jin, a con man who starts an enormous hoax involving political powers and economic tycoons, to appropriate some 4 trillion won (US$3.4 billion). He and his sly right-hand man Gen. Park, played by Kim, face off against police investigator Kim Jae-myeong of the intelligence crime department, played by Kang.

“Master” premiered in Seoul on Monday amid rave reviews, and will hit local theaters Wednesday.

The poster of the South Korean crime thriller "Master" provided by CJ Entertainment America on Dec. 16, 2016, shows its lead cast Kang Dong-won (Top), Lee Byung-hun (Middle) and Kim Woo-bin.

The poster of the South Korean crime thriller “Master” provided by CJ Entertainment America on Dec. 16, 2016, shows its lead cast Kang Dong-won (Top), Lee Byung-hun (Middle) and Kim Woo-bin.