In his new film “The Alumni,” Choi Seung Hyun, who you may know as Big Bang‘s T.O.P, plays a man who must accept a dangerous mission to protect his sister. Fans who are impatient for the film’s release date in November can catch a glimpse of his very conflicted character in some of the newly released film stills.
Stills for the new movie, show T.O.P. as Ri Myung Hoon, a 19-year-old North Korean spy on his mission to South Korea. Ri is the son of a North Korean agent who dies after being unjustly accused of a crime. That’s when Ri's dreams of becoming a concert pianist end and he is forced to become an assassin to protect his sister.
Ri is not a trained assassin and he’s certainly not an enthusiastic one, but he has no say in the matter. When he travels to South Korea to pursue his targets, he becomes friends with a lonely girl, played by actress Han Ye Ri. Since she is the victim of bullying, they have a lot in common.
"A lonely boy meets a lonely girl, get to know each other and complete each other," said the director Park Hong Soo, who previously worked as an assistant director on the spy thriller film "Secret Reunion."
As the friendship between the two grows closer, the conflict between the governments of North and South Korea escalates. Things get really complicated when the government that sent Ri on his mission sends another assassin to kill him.
According to Park Eun Gyeong, CEO of the film's production company, The Lamp and Gold Fish, "Commitment" is not about ideology but it is about how such political beliefs affect Koreans’ lives.
"This film is about third generation Koreans since the division of the peninsula," said Park. "The historical events that the two characters did not directly experience nevertheless change their lives and destinies."
TOP, who made his acting debut in the 2007 KBS drama, "I Am Sam," and appeared as a spy in the drama “Iris,” said he was drawn to the character of Myung Hoon because, "he embodies both the traits of a serial killer and the purity of a young high school student."
According to his director, he has done a good job of expressing the characters inner conflicts.
"Choi is excellent at expressing emotions," said Director Park. He is sure that this film will show what an excellent actor the idol has become.
The cast also includes Kim Yoo Jung, and Cho Sung Ha. Filming ended in January. The film, also called "Commitment," will be distributed in North America, German-speaking Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand and Cambodia.