The Pirates

Set in the early days of the Joseon Dynasty, the film follows a Chinese envoy's mission to deliver the emperor's royal seal to the newly founded kingdom. A giant whale swallows the seal along with the ship carrying it, and a generous reward is offered to anyone who can recover it. Mountain bandits led by Jang Sa-jung and pirates commanded by the female captain Yeo-wol both set out to sea in pursuit of the whale and its treasure, putting the two groups on a collision course.

Lee Suk-hoon directed and co-wrote the film, his first feature, followed years later by the 2022 sequel Confidential Assignment 2: International. Son Ye-jin plays Yeo-wol and Kim Nam-gil plays Jang Sa-jung, with Oh Dal-su, Park Chul-min, Yoo Hae-jin and Lee Kyung-young among the supporting cast. The production brought together a credited cast of 67 and a crew of 40.

Made on a budget of about 13 million US dollars, the film earned roughly 64 million worldwide, a strong return on its cost. On IMDb it holds a rating of 7 out of 10 from 242 votes, while a film critics' rating stands at 6.1 out of 10 from 7 reviews. The audience score is therefore noticeably higher than the critics' score.