▲ This photo, provided by Showbox, shows the teaser image of the upcoming South Korean film 'Unofficial Operation.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, June 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korean political action film “Unofficial Operation” will hit local theaters on August 2, its distributor said Monday.

Based on a true story, the film was initially titled “The Kidnap” during its production stage. It will tell the story of a diplomat and a local taxi driver teaming up to rescue a colleague abducted in Beirut, Lebanon in 1986, according to Showbox. 

In the film, Ha Jung-woo will suit up as Min-joon, a diplomat who has nothing else but a load of grit. In the meantime, Ju Ji-hoon will play the role of a taxi driver who is fluent in the local language but also seems adept at scamming.

The two veteran actors had already teamed up in the mega-hit action fantasy film series “Along with the Gods.”

Filmmaker Kim Seong-hun, who has credits for delivering “A Hard Day” (2013) and “Tunnel” (2016), took the helm of this upcoming film.

With “Unofficial Operation” added to the line-up, the box office is looking forward to be heated up this summer with the release of multiple tentpole movies. 

To start off, “Unofficial Operation” will be released on the same day as the upcoming sci-fi film “The Moon,” directed by Kim Yong-hwa and starring Sol Kyung-gu and Do Kyung-soo.

The Cannes-bound disaster-thriller film “Concrete Utopia,” directed by Uhm Tae-hwa and starring Lee Byung-hun, Park Seo-joon and Park Bo-young, will be next to hit the big screen in August. Christopher Nolan’s biographical thriller film “Oppenheimer” is also scheduled to premiere in August.

Meanwhile, Ryoo Seung-wan’s action-crime film “Smugglers” will hit local theaters on July 26. Starring Kim Hye-soo, Yum Jung-ah, Zo In-sung and Park Jung-min, the star-studded film is expected to compete with Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible -- Dead Reckoning Part One,” which is bound to be released on July 12.


(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)

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