Code Name: Jackal

Summary

Clumsy and off-the-wall hit man Bong Min-jung (Song Ji-hyo) is hired to kill top Hallyu star Choi Hyun (Kim Jae-joong). The mission starts by abducting him at Paradise Hotel in Seong-ju, the place where Hyun checked in to rest and stay away from stress, and also where the cops are on a stakeout for serial killer "Jackal". Later on, Hyun finds out that the person who hired Min-jung to kill him is his ex-girlfriend. He then tries to convince Min-jung that he isn't the 'top Hallyu star Choi Hyun' she is looking for so that she would let him escape, one by purposely singing out of tune. Conversations and several attempts to escape happens, until a fan of Hyun (the same one who sneaked into his car at the beginning of the story which caused him to switch cars with his manager) follows him to the hotel and goes inside his room through the window. The girl unties the ropes and takes him to her own suite. Hope vanishes, however, as the girl starts torturing him. Min-jung on the other hand arrived and saved him by using a stun gun on the sasaeng fan. Angela arrives later on and meets Hyun, who is a boy toy of hers, but is stabbed to death during her encounter with Min-jung.

"Jackal" arrives after and starts assaulting Hyun until he and Min-jung reaches the rooftop. Min-jung says that she loves hearing the words "I'll protect you" from Hyun, forcefully kissing him. Min-jung kicks him after, making him to fall down a roof nearby and lose consciousness. "Jackal" reaches the rooftop and engages on a fight against Min-jung, and the truth unravels—Min-jung is the true "Jackal" and the man behind the killing spree is only using her alias. It was also revealed that Min-jung's real target is Angela, and that Choi Hyun is only used as a bait for "Jackal". Flashback also shows that his ex-girlfriend doesn't want Hyun to die, but only wants him to experience betrayal. Min-jung sprays some sort of chemical towards her face to make herself faint and avoid suspicion.

The scene after shows Min-jung talking to Angela's husband Kim Yong-gun, who was actually the one who hired her, telling him that she died instantly despite of the instruction to kill her slowly, showing a flashback on how she managed to stab her. She then leaves the place after getting the salary.

The story ends with Min-jung booking a flight to Buenos Aires to start a new life. While she's waiting for the plane, Hyun calls and asks her to work with him, and after telling him to deposit money, he threatens her by saying he could expose the secret, having Min-jung tell him: "Just wait, I'll kill you".

Cast

Original soundtrack

Production

The film marks the first collaboration between Kim and Song, as well as Kim's first starring role in a big screen debut. A press conference was attended by the cast: Kim Jae-joong, Song Ji-hyo, Han Sang-jin and Oh Dal-su, held on 9 November 2012 at the Lotte Cinema at Konkuk University.

The film ranked fourth and grossed ₩966,147,307 on its first week of release, and grossed a total of ₩1,351,848,104 domestically after two weeks of screening.

International release

Ahead of the film's release, it was announced by its distributor Lotte Entertainment that the film has been pre-sold to six Asian countries: Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore,Indonesia and Brunei.