“The Roundup: Punishment,” the latest installment of Korea’s most-loved action series should be relatable to most Pinoys.
Not only was it filmed here, it focuses on crimes as timely as today’s headlines.
Here, the team of Ma Seok-Do (Don Lee) is running after one of Korea’s most dangerous criminals, Baek Chang-gi (Kim Moo-yul), who heads a Philippines-based firm offering online gambling services, otherwise known as POGO (Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator).
He thrives by means of abduction, confinement, assault, and even murder.
Seok-do’s team takes to the streets of the Philippines riding jeepneys and
forming alliances with the local police to trace the murder of a young Korean professional who escaped from Chang-gi’s gambling operations.
Along with the team is returning character Jang I-su (Park Ji-hwan) who sets up an illegal online casino business to trap the gambling kingpins suspected in the abduction and murder of missing Korean citizens.
In a recent interview with Variety, Lee shared “I want the action to evolve (from film to film) and the story to keep up with current times. It’s important that the characters evolve further, becoming wiser with each sequel.”
Shooting in the Philippines, including Angeles and Tarlac, not only magnified the film’s scale but also perfectly captured the reality of online crime.
“The Roundup: Punishment” has dominated the Korean box-office for four consecutive weeks with a cumulative total of $75 million in earnings.
Rated R16 by the MTRCB, “The Roundup: Punishment,” as distributed by Black Cap Pictures, opens August 14 exclusively at SM cinemas.
