Good News

In 1970 a plane flying from Tokyo to Fukuoka is hijacked by members of the Japanese Red Army Faction, who demand to be taken to North Korea. The plane has to land in South Korea for fuel. South Korean intelligence devises a plan: make the airport look like a North Korean one. Banners go up, soldiers change uniforms, a welcoming ceremony is prepared. An unnamed specialist is brought in to run it. The film does not follow the real case closely; it rebuilds the characters and pulls the tone toward black comedy. The subject is not the hijackers but the state running the deception, with every detail assembled like a stage set, and as it proceeds who is lying most becomes unclear. Byun Sung-hyun wrote and directed. Sul Kyung-gu plays the unnamed specialist, Ryoo Seung-bum the intelligence director Park Sang-hyeon, and Hong Kyung the young air force lieutenant Seo Go-myung who is dragged into it. It premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on 5 September 2025 and went out on Netflix on 17 October 2025. Who it is for: anyone who likes Korean black comedy and stories about the state drawn from real events. Who it is not for: anyone wanting historical fidelity. The film alters the case freely, runs long, and the shifts between humour and tension do not land everywhere.