# Operation Chromite (인천상륙작전) (film)
**Operation Chromite** (인천상륙작전, *Incheonsangryookjakjun*; literal title Incheon Landing Operation) is a 2016 South Korean war drama film directed by John H. Lee that dramatizes a covert intelligence mission carried out ahead of the Incheon Landing Operation during the [Korean War](https://www.edgepedia.org/korean-war). It stars [Lee Jung-jae](https://www.edgepedia.org/lee-jung-jae) as South Korean Navy Captain Jang Hak-soo, Lee Beom-su as the North Korean commander Lim Gye-jin, and [Liam Neeson](https://www.edgepedia.org/liam-neeson) as General Douglas MacArthur.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20156250&strMenuId=010301) • [2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt4939066/credits/) The film was released in South Korea on July 27, 2016, sold about 7.05 million admissions, and was the sixth highest-grossing Korean film of that year.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20156250&strMenuId=010301) • [3](https://www.cinemaboard.co.kr/movie/20156250)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Korean title / romanization | 인천상륙작전 / Incheonsangryookjakjun[4](https://asianwiki.com/Operation_Chromite) |
| Director and writers | John H. Lee (director, screenplay); writers also credited include Lee Man-hee, Jung Tae-won, Kim Se-whee, and Sean Dulake[4](https://asianwiki.com/Operation_Chromite) • [2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt4939066/credits/) |
| Release | July 27, 2016 (South Korea); August 12, 2016 (US, limited)[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20156250&strMenuId=010301) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/operation_chromite) |
| Main cast | Lee Jung-jae (Jang Hak-soo), Lee Beom-su (Lim Gye-jin), Liam Neeson (Douglas MacArthur), Jin Se-yeon (Han Chae-seon)[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt4939066/credits/) |
| Korean box office | 7,051,866 admissions on 1,049 screens; total gross $41,032,514 per KOFIC[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20156250&strMenuId=010301) |
| Budget and worldwide gross | Reported budget $12,700,000; reported worldwide gross $49,196,532[6](https://filmdb.co.uk/box-office/movie/operation-chromite-2016-box-office) |
| Awards | Daejong Film Awards 2016 (New Rising Award, Popularity Award); Korea Gold Awards Festival 2017 (Best New Actor, Jury Special Award)[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20156250&strMenuId=010301) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The story is set in September 1950, after [North Korea](https://www.edgepedia.org/north-korea)'s surprise invasion on June 25, 1950 led to the fall of Seoul within three days and the loss of nearly the entire peninsula except the Nakdong River area within a month. UN forces commander General Douglas MacArthur plans the Incheon landing against broad opposition, an operation the film describes as having a success probability of 5,000 to 1.[7](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=48819)
Under MacArthur's orders, Navy Captain Jang Hak-soo leads a covert intelligence operation code-named "X-ray." He and seven members of his South Korean Navy special forces team disguise themselves as a North Korean inspection unit. Their mission directives are to infiltrate the North Korean army command center in Incheon and secure the mine chart, to kidnap Ryu Jang-choon, the second highest ranking North Korean officer, and, on D-Day, to light the Palmido lighthouse as a signal to the main UN forces.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20156250&strMenuId=010301) Despite growing suspicion from the North Korean People's Army commander Lim Gye-jin, described as a clever tactician, Jang and his team carry out their mission with help from an underground information network, until their true identity is revealed.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20156250&strMenuId=010301)
## Production
The film completed a four-month shoot in South Gyeongsang Province on March 10, 2016. Neeson, in a supporting role as MacArthur, shot his scenes during a trip to the Korean Peninsula in January 2016. Director John H. Lee had previously directed the melodrama *A Moment to Remember* (2004) and the Korean War film *71: Into the Fire* (2010).[8](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/news.jsp?blbdComCd=601006&mode=VIEW&seq=3815)
The film was financed by CJ Entertainment and produced by Taewon Entertainment, with Chung Tae-won as executive producer and Yang Chang-hoon as producer. At the European Film Market in Berlin in early 2016, international sales company Finecut closed deals with Splendid for Germany, Austria, and the Benelux, Discovery Film & Video for ex-[Yugoslavia](https://www.edgepedia.org/yugoslavia), and Moviecloud for Taiwan.[8](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/news.jsp?blbdComCd=601006&mode=VIEW&seq=3815) Filming locations included the Hapcheon Video Theme Park, Jinhae Naval Base, Incheon's Yeongjongdo Masian Beach, and Goyang Aqua Studio.[9](https://www.cinematheque.co.kr/cinema/20156250)
## Release and box office
The film opened in South Korea on July 27, 2016, on 1,049 screens, rated 12 and older.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20156250&strMenuId=010301) It set a daily record of 697,945 admissions on July 31, 2016, reached second place on the July 2016 monthly chart, and finished as the sixth highest-grossing Korean film of the year with 7,051,660 cumulative admissions.[3](https://www.cinemaboard.co.kr/movie/20156250) KOFIC's database records total admissions of 7,051,866 and a total gross of $41,032,514.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20156250&strMenuId=010301) A TMDb-sourced database reports a higher worldwide gross of $49,196,532 against a reported production budget of $12,700,000, a gross-to-budget multiple of 3.87x.[6](https://filmdb.co.uk/box-office/movie/operation-chromite-2016-box-office)
In the United States, the film received a limited theatrical release on August 12, 2016, grossing about $1.0 million through distributor CJ Entertainment, with a streaming release on March 23, 2017.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/operation_chromite) [Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo) records a domestic (US) gross of $1,023,348 and an international gross of $1,726,570 for a worldwide total of $2,749,918 across the releases it tracks.[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt4939066/credits/)
## Extended edition
An extended edition, 인천상륙작전 : 익스텐디드 에디션(확장판), was released in South Korea on September 13, 2016, with a running time of 140 minutes (141 minutes per Cine21) and a 15+ Korean rating, compared with the 110-minute, 12-rated theatrical cut.[10](https://www.filmmakers.co.kr/movies/en/20160041) • [7](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=48819) • [1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20156250&strMenuId=010301) The extended edition drew 27,493 admissions.[7](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=48819)
## Reception
Commercially the film passed 7 million admissions during its 2016 run, a result one industry report credited with offsetting weak third-quarter performance elsewhere in its distributor's slate.[11](https://money2.creontrade.com/PDF/Out/intranet_data/Product/ResearchCenter/Report/2016/09/25832_MMB_160926.pdf) Critical response was divided: a Cinematheque profile notes that the film was a commercial success on release but that critics' opinions split sharply.[9](https://www.cinematheque.co.kr/cinema/20156250)
**Critical assessments.** Screen Daily's review found the film most effective in combat scenes set in confined spaces, while the grander battle sequences were overly reliant on CGI; it judged the crafting generally competent, comparable to Lee's *71: Into the Fire*, but criticized Neeson's performance as stiff and wooden and singled out [Jin Se-yeon](https://www.edgepedia.org/jin-se-yeon), as a hospital nurse, for the strongest impression despite a relatively small role.[12](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/operation-chromite-review/5107293.article) Aggregated ratings place the film in mixed territory: [JustWatch](https://www.edgepedia.org/justwatch) lists 58% with an IMDb score of 6.2 from about 6,900 votes and a Rotten Tomatoes score of 40%.[13](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/operation-chromite) The film received the New Rising Award and Popularity Award at the 53rd Daejong Film Awards in December 2016, and Best New Actor and a Jury Special Award at the 2017 Korea Gold Awards Festival; it was also the closing night film of the 2016 Asian World Film Festival.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20156250&strMenuId=010301) • [4](https://asianwiki.com/Operation_Chromite)
## References
1. [Operation Chromite (2016), Korean Film Council (KOFIC) database](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20156250&strMenuId=010301)
2. [Battle for Incheon: Operation Chromite (2016), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt4939066/credits/)
3. [인천상륙작전 박스오피스 통계, CinemaBoard](https://www.cinemaboard.co.kr/movie/20156250)
4. [Operation Chromite, AsianWiki](https://asianwiki.com/Operation_Chromite)
5. [Operation Chromite, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/operation_chromite)
6. [Operation Chromite (2016) Budget & Box Office, FilmDB](https://filmdb.co.uk/box-office/movie/operation-chromite-2016-box-office)
7. [인천상륙작전 : 익스텐디드 에디션 상세정보, 씨네21](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=48819)
8. [OPERATION CHROMITE Ends 4-Month Shoot, Korean Film Council News (Pierce Conran, March 28, 2016)](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/news/news.jsp?blbdComCd=601006&mode=VIEW&seq=3815)
9. [인천상륙작전 (Operation Chromite), Cinematheque](https://www.cinematheque.co.kr/cinema/20156250)
10. [Operation Chromite (인천상륙작전 : 익스텐디드 에디션), Filmmakers film database](https://www.filmmakers.co.kr/movies/en/20160041)
11. [E&M 3Q16 research report, Creon Trade (September 26, 2016)](https://money2.creontrade.com/PDF/Out/intranet_data/Product/ResearchCenter/Report/2016/09/25832_MMB_160926.pdf)
12. ['Operation Chromite': Review, Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/operation-chromite-review/5107293.article)
13. [Operation Chromite streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/operation-chromite)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › War and historical films (individual works) › War thrillers and spy films*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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