May 6, 2026 3:17am PT
> # ‘Squid Game’ Star Lee Byung-hun Boards Martial Arts Film ‘Nambeol’
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JC Olivera/WWD
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.
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.
Go Youn-jung, Lee Byung-hun in Martial Arts Film ‘Nambeol’
Actor joins cast as resilient warrior Aeryeong in early Joseon-era rescue mission
By OSEN
Published 2026.07.07. 18:11
[OSEN=Yeon Hwi-seon Reporter] Actor Go Youn-jung will star in the film ‘Nambeol’ alongside Lee Byung-hun.
On July 7, the production side of the film ‘Nambeol’ (directed by Im O-gae, produced by Hive Media Corp) announced Go Youn-jung’s casting.
‘Nambeol’ is a hard-boiled martial arts action film set in early Joseon, following nine warriors of varying abilities and ranks as they journey to Tsushima Island to rescue captives kidnapped by Japanese pirates. Actor Lee Byung-hun previously joined the project as the leader of the warriors, Im Eok, generating anticipation. Now, Go Youn-jung’s casting has been added to the mix.
Go Youn-jung will play the role of Aeryeong. Aeryeong loses her family to a Japanese pirate raid and jumps into the battlefield herself to save her younger sibling, who is held captive on Tsushima. Through this, Go Youn-jung is set to form another emotional axis of the film as a self-driven and resilient character who moves toward her goal even in a chaotic era.
Go Youn-jung, who has shone in various works including the Netflix series ‘Sweet Home’, ‘‘Can This Love Be Translated?’’, the Disney+ series ‘Moving’, the film ‘Hunt’, and the dramas ‘Soul Return’, ‘The Life of a Resident Who Will One Day Be Wise’, and ‘‘We Are All Trying Here’’, is expected to leave a strong impression once again as a bold female character who defies the conventions of period dramas in ‘Nambeol’.
Furthermore, ‘Nambeol’ is the first directorial work of Im O-gae, a cinematographer who has showcased unique mise-en-scène in films like ‘The Night Owl’, ‘Graveyard of the Fireflies’, ‘Hunt’, ‘The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil’, and ‘Emergency Declaration’. This has drawn anticipation. Additionally, Hive Media Corp, which has produced films such as ‘The Night Owl’, ‘Harlequin’, ‘Deliver Us from Evil’, ‘The Spy Gone North’, and ‘The Insiders’, as well as the Disney+ original series ‘Made in Korea’, is handling production, adding to the trust in the project.
The production team has finalized the main cast, including Lee Byung-hun and Go Youn-jung, and is in full pre-production, aiming to start filming in the second half of this year.
/ monamie@osen.co.kr
[Photo] OSEN DB.
