‘Dachimawa Lee,’ Ryoo Seung-wan’s spy spoof

By Mark Pollard | Published June 24, 2008

Ryoo Seung-wan, director of THE CITY OF VIOLENCE, is back with a new movie and it’s something a little different. DACHIMAWA LEE is a spy-action spoof of ’60s and ’70s Korean cinema, right down to the exaggerated acting, crazed martial arts action and post-production dubbing. The film is based on Ryoo’s first work, a short film produced in 1998.

Under Japanese Imperialism, a Korean national treasure known as the Golden Buddha is stolen. The interim government appoints legendary Korean spy Agent Dachimawa Lee(Lim Won-hee) to recover the fabled statue and reveal the plot behind the theft. The first attempted operation fails miserably with Agent Lee losing both the statue and his sexy partner. He discovers that he was betrayed by an insider. Fueled by a desire for revenge, he faces off with the shadowy figure behind the plot on a snowy field in Switzerland where the statue is believed to be hidden.

The film co-stars Park Si-yeon, Kong Hyo-jin and Ryoo Seung-bum (CRYING FIST). Lim Won-hee began his acting career in Ryoo’s original short and is reprising the role for the feature film. Since 1998 he has appeared in numerous films including NO BLOOD NO TEARS and CRYING FIST.

A teaser trailer below is apparently not footage from the movie but a marketing gag to use the character to spoof the James Bond franchise. If the polish on this teaser is any indication, the movie itself is going to offer some serious eye candy.

DACHIMAWA LEE (2008) teaser