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Veteran
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Ryoo Seung-wan
Written by	Ryoo Seung-wan
Produced by	Kang Hye-jung Kim Jung-min
Starring	Hwang Jung-min Yoo Ah-in Yoo Hae-jin Oh Dal-su
Cinematography	Choi Young-hwan
Edited by	Kim Sang-bum Kim Jae-bum
Music by	Bang Jun-seok
Production company	Filmmaker R&K
Distributed by	CJ Entertainment
Release date	August 5, 2015 (2015-08-05)
Running time	123 minutes
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean
Budget	US$5.1 million
Box office	US$92 million

Veteran (Korean: 베테랑; RR: Beterang) is a 2015 South Korean action comedy film written and directed by Ryoo Seung-wan. It drew 13.4 million admissions, making it the 5th all-time highest-grossing film in South Korean cinema history. Veteran also won the Casa Asia Award at the Sitges Film Festival.

A sequel titled I, the Executioner premiered in 2024.

Plot

Seo Do-cheol is a merciless police detective, who investigates the suicide of a truck driver named Bae, where he learns from Bae's son that Jo Tae-oh, the sadistic third-generation heir to powerful conglomerate Sinjin Group has assaulted Bae as the latter protested against the conglomerate for back-payment. Do-cheol personally begins the investigation, which enrages Tae-oh. Later, Tae-oh uses his influence to make Do-cheol handle another case. He also tries to bribe Do-cheol's wife with the help of his conglomerate's SVP Choi Dae-woong, but she refuses, where Do-cheol threatens Tae-oh after learning this.

Do-cheol takes the help from a reporter to publish the news, but to no avail. Tae-oh hires a logistics contractor named Jeon to finish Do-cheol and also makes the Internal affairs to interrogate him, but is timely saved by his team leader Oh. Do-cheol escapes from a murder attempt by Jeon, where a detective gets stabbed. Using the opportunity, Do-cheol and his team discover evidences and gets approval for the investigation against Tae-oh, but Tae-oh's father and the conglomerate chairman Jo makes Dae-woong to take the blame. With his team's help, Do-cheol learns that Bae was killed after he tried to seek revenge for assaulting him, and was made it as a suicide.

After inquiring Dae-woong, Do-cheol learns that Tae-oh is planning to escape to Singapore. Before leaving, Tae-oh throws a party where he meets his former girlfriend Jeong Da-hye (who is pregnant with his child) and tries to kill her when she abuses him. Do-cheol forms a plan where they plant a false case against Tae-oh for assaulting his girlfriend, and the cops fight with the bodyguards to arrest him. After an intense car chase, Do-cheol and Tae-oh engage in a hand-to-hand combat where despite brutal injuries, Do-cheol manages to arrest Tae-oh, who is later produced for a trial at the Supreme Court along with Dae-woong, and are sentenced to prison. In the hospital, Do-cheol recovers from his injuries and soon returns back to duty.

Cast

• Hwang Jung-min as Seo Do-cheol
• Yoo Ah-in as Jo Tae-oh
• Yoo Hae-jin as Choi Dae-woong
• Oh Dal-su as Team leader Oh
• Jang Yoon-ju as Miss Bong
• Kim Shi-hoo as Detective Yoon
• Oh Dae-hwan as Detective Wang
• Jung Woong-in as Driver Bae
• Jung Man-sik as Chief Jeon
• Song Young-chang as Chairman Jo
• Jin Kyung as Joo-yeon
• Yoo In-young as Jeong Da-hye
• Park So-dam as "the youngest"
• Lee Dong-hwi as Yoon Hong-ryeol
• Bae Sung-woo as Used cars business owner
• Chun Ho-jin as Regional investigation unit senior superintendent
• Jang So-yeon as Driver Bae's wife
• Kim Jae-hyeon as Driver Bae's son
• Park Jong-hwan as Team leader Yang
• Uhm Tae-goo as Jo Tae-oh's bodyguard
• Park Ji-hoon as Security manager
• Jo Yeon-hee as Contract worker
• Shin Seung-hwan as Reporter Park
• Yeo Ho-min as Director Kim
• Lee Ye-won as Jo Tae-oh's hair stylist 2
• Park Ji-yoon as News reporter (voice)
• Ahn Gil-kang as Jurisdiction police chief (cameo)
• Ma Dong-seok as Big guy with sportswear (cameo)
• Kim Eung-soo as Adviser Jeong (cameo)

Box office

Veteran opened in South Korea on August 5, 2015. It grossed ₩21.7 billion (US$18.6 million) from 2.75 million admissions over its first five days of release. By November 6, it had grossed US$92,077,504 from 13,411,343 admissions and is currently the 5th all-time highest-grossing film in Korean cinema history.

Sequel

Ryoo Seung-wan and production company Filmmaker R&K confirmed that they agreed to make a sequel, which was supposed to hit theaters within two to three years of announcement. It was reported that Hwang Jung-min and Oh Dal-su will reprise their roles, and actor Jung Hae-in is also being considered to succeed Yoo Ah-in as the antagonist. It began filming as Veteran 2 in December 2022 with the cast of Hwang Jung-min, Oh Dal-su, Jang Yoon-ju, Oh Dae-hwan, and Kim Si-hoo. Titled I, the Executioner, it premiered as a midnight screening at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

Remake

A Chinese remake starring Sun Honglei was scheduled for release in China in 2017. Eventually, the remake The Big Shot was released in 2019 and starred Wang Qianyuan.

Awards and nominations

References

1. Kim, Yeon-ji (7 August 2015). "Director has hope for film industry". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
2. Won, Ho-jung (1 July 2015). "Veteran actors hope to conquer summer with laughs and action". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
3. Baek, Byung-yeul (22 July 2015). "Cop action flick Veteran offers pleasure". The Korea Times. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
4. Won, Ho-jung (29 July 2015). "Herald Review: Swaggering Veteran pulls no punches". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
5. Jin, Eun-soo (8 March 2014). "Ryoo casts for Veteran". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
6. Conran, Pierce (20 February 2014). "New RYOO Seung-wan Film Adds Actresses". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
7. Bechervaise, Jason (5 January 2015). "Most anticipated films of 2015". The Korea Times. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
8. Jin, Eun-soo (26 June 2015). "The likely blockbusters for summer 2015". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
9. ^ Lim, Jeong-yeo (21 October 2015). "Veteran bags top award from Sitges Film Festival". K-pop Herald. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
10. "Actor Hwang Jung-min: Moviegoers most important in choosing script". Yonhap. 24 July 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
11. Choi, He-suk (17 June 2015). "Yoo Ah-in returns as 'a proper villain'". K-pop Herald. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
12. Lee, Eun-seon (30 July 2015). "Yoo Ah-in takes turn as a villain". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
13. "Yu A-in Releases Inner Evil in Veteran". The Chosun Ilbo. 29 August 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
14. Yoon, Sarah (24 June 2015). "Jang Yoon-ju makes acting debut in Veteran". K-pop Herald. Retrieved 30 June 2015.
15. Ma, Kevin (10 August 2015). "Veteran captures South Korea box office". Film Business Asia. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
16. "Veteran Draws 2.8 Million in 1st Week After Release". The Chosun Ilbo. 11 August 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
17. Jin, Eun-soo (18 August 2015). "Veteran dominates over Liberation Day holiday". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
18. Lee, Hyo-won (24 August 2015). "South Korea Box Office: Local Actioner Tops for Third Week, Fantastic Four Debuts in Fourth". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
19. Noh, Jean (24 August 2015). "S Korea's Assassination, Veteran continue box office rise". Screen Daily. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
20. "Veteran Set to Hit 10 Million Mark". The Chosun Ilbo. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
21. "Korean film Veteran tops 10 mln in attendance". The Korea Herald. 29 August 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
22. "Veteran exceeds 10 million viewers". The Korea Times. 29 August 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
23. "Another Action Flick Garners Huge Box-Office Success". The Chosun Ilbo. 31 August 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
24. "Veteran Moves Up to 6th Most Successful Korean Movie of All-Time". The Chosun Ilbo. 21 September 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
25. "Veteran Keeps Setting New Records". The Chosun Ilbo. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
26. Lim, Jeong-yeo (10 September 2015). "Director Ryoo Seung-wan mulls sequel to Veteran". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
27. "Veteran sequel confirmed". The Korea Times. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
28. Jin, Min-ji (11 September 2015). "Actors, producers talk Veteran sequel". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
29. ELLE; ELLE (2022-07-05). "'베테랑2'가 나온다. 유아인을 잇는 새 빌런으로 거론되는 건 이 사람이다". ELLE (in Korean). Retrieved 2022-07-06.
30. Kim Mi-hwa (December 3, 2022). ""어이가 없네~" 유아인 빠지고, '베테랑2' 촬영 시작 外 [위클리 무비]" ["It's absurd~" Yoo Ah-in fell out, started filming 'Veteran 2' and others ]. Star News (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
31. "'I, the Executioner,' Cannes Midnight Screening Thriller, Picked Up by Korea's CJ ENM". Variety.
32. Kil, Sonia (June 15, 2016). "Korea's CJ Entertainment Announces China Production Lineup". Variety. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
33. "Review: The Big Shot (2019)". Sino-Cinema. January 22, 2019. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
34. "Veteran Wins Award at Sitges Fest in Spain". The Chosun Ilbo. 21 October 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
35. Park, So-jung (28 October 2015). "The Throne rakes in three film critics' awards". Yonhap. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
36. Conran, Pierce (2 November 2015). "THE THRONE Tops Korean Association of Film Critics Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
37. Kil, Sonia (26 November 2015). "Korea's Blue Dragon Spreads Awards Heat Between Hit Movies and Indie Titles". Variety. Retrieved 27 November 2015.

External links

• Official website (in Korean)
• Veteran at the Korean Movie Database (in Korean)
• Veteran at IMDb
• Veteran at HanCinema

• 2015 films
• 2015 crime comedy films
• 2015 action comedy films
• South Korean action comedy films
• South Korean crime comedy films
• Police detective films
• Films shot in Busan
• Films directed by Ryoo Seung-wan
• 2010s Korean-language films
• South Korean films remade in other languages
• CJ Entertainment films
• 2010s South Korean films