Veteran filmmaker KWAK Kyung-taek has set his next project, the Korean War film The Battle of Jangsari (translated title). KWAK will co-direct with new filmmaker KIM Tae-hoon on the project, which will be the second installment in a planned trilogy kicked off by 2016’s Operation Chromite.

The film will depict a little-known landing operation that took place in Jangsari in North Gyeongsang Province on September 14, 1950, which involved 772 troops. Much like Operation Chromite, which featured Hollywood star Liam Neeson as General Douglas MacArthur, the script calls for the participation of a major foreign performer to play the role of Marguerite Higgins, the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize for Foreign Correspondence.

A previous iteration of the project was to be directed by KIM Yoo-jin (The Divine Weapon, 2008) and experienced some controversy when false reports were released stating that Hollywood star Jessica Alba had been approached to star as Higgins, which were denied by her agency.

Director KWAK is known for his classic youth gangster drama Friend (2001), boxing drama Champion (2002) and action film Typhoon (2005). Most recently he released the supernatural mystery-thriller RV: Resurrected Victims (2017). The Battle of Jangsari will be his 14th feature film.

Currently, at the casting stage, The Battle of Jangsari will be produced by TAEWON ENTERTAINMENT, also responsible for Operation Chromite, which welcomed over seven million viewers, and is expected to begin shooting later this year.