“The Assassin(s)” is a South Korean political thriller inspired by the 1974 attempted assassination of Prime Minister Park Chung-hee, in which his wife, First Lady Yuk Young-soo, and a bystander were killed. Director Hur Jin-ho turns the gaps and unanswered questions surrounding the public investigation into a fast-paced mystery about press freedom, censorship and possible government collusion, while acknowledging that much of the story is fictionalised.

The film follows journalists Young-il and Jae-hwan, alongside detective Cheol-goo, as they investigate the shooting despite KCIA intimidation and official obstruction. With a prominent cast, intricate investigative plotting, action sequences and themes involving a Zainichi assassin and tensions between North and South Korea, the film is praised as gripping mainstream entertainment, although its conspiratorial inventions may divide viewers; it was also second runner-up for Toronto’s International People’s Choice Award.