# The Outlaws (범죄도시) (2017 film)
**The Outlaws** (범죄도시, *Beomjoe dosi*) is a 2017 South Korean crime action film directed by Kang Yun-sung, in which a Seoul detective battles a brutal gang from Harbin, China, that takes over a [Chinatown](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinatown) district in 2004. It stars [Ma Dong-seok](https://www.edgepedia.org/ma-dong-seok) (Don Lee) as Detective Ma Seok-do and [Yoon Kye-sang](https://www.edgepedia.org/yoon-kye-sang) as the gang boss Jang Chen, and it is loosely based on a real 2007 case.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?category=ALL&mode=INDEX_FILMS_LIST&movieCd=20172742&pageIndex=1&pageRowSize=10&searchKeyword=outlaws) • [2](https://www.ytn.co.kr/_ln/0117_201703021420075734) Released on October 3, 2017, it drew about 6.88 million admissions and became the fourth most-attended Korean film of its year, launching a continuing franchise.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?category=ALL&mode=INDEX_FILMS_LIST&movieCd=20172742&pageIndex=1&pageRowSize=10&searchKeyword=outlaws) • [3](https://mcst.go.kr/servlets/eduport/front/upload/UplDownloadFile?pFileName=2017%EB%85%84+%ED%95%9C%EA%B5%AD%EC%98%81%ED%99%94%EC%82%B0%EC%97%85+%EA%B2%B0%EC%82%B0.pdf&pPath=0408010000&pRealName=1526865073732.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original title / release | 범죄도시 (*Beomjoe dosi*); released October 3, 2017 in South Korea[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?category=ALL&mode=INDEX_FILMS_LIST&movieCd=20172742&pageIndex=1&pageRowSize=10&searchKeyword=outlaws) |
| Director | Kang Yun-sung, his first feature film; he also wrote the screenplay[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?category=ALL&mode=INDEX_FILMS_LIST&movieCd=20172742&pageIndex=1&pageRowSize=10&searchKeyword=outlaws) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_outlaws_2017) |
| Leads | Ma Dong-seok as Detective Ma Seok-do; Yoon Kye-sang as gang boss Jang Chen[5](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=50331) |
| Format | 121 minutes; crime and action; rated 19 (adults only) in South Korea[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?category=ALL&mode=INDEX_FILMS_LIST&movieCd=20172742&pageIndex=1&pageRowSize=10&searchKeyword=outlaws) |
| Box office | 6,880,546 admissions and $40,813,155 gross on 1,315 screens (KOFIC, as of June 22, 2025)[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?category=ALL&mode=INDEX_FILMS_LIST&movieCd=20172742&pageIndex=1&pageRowSize=10&searchKeyword=outlaws) |
| 2017 rank | Fourth among Korean films by admissions that year[3](https://mcst.go.kr/servlets/eduport/front/upload/UplDownloadFile?pFileName=2017%EB%85%84+%ED%95%9C%EA%B5%AD%EC%98%81%ED%99%94%EC%82%B0%EC%97%85+%EA%B2%B0%EC%82%B0.pdf&pPath=0408010000&pRealName=1526865073732.pdf) |
| Critical score | 92% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 12 reviews; 80% audience score[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_outlaws_2017) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and setting
The story is set in 2004 in Seoul's Garibong-dong, a district with a large ethnic Korean-Chinese population. Jang Chen, an action chief of a Harbin-based violence organization, arrives and quickly takes over the existing gangs, threatening even Boss Hwang (Jo Jae-yoon) of the powerful Choonsik faction, and becomes the dominant criminal force in the area.[5](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=50331) • [6](https://www.kookje.co.kr/news2011/asp/newsbody.asp?code=00&key=20190623.99099010154) His gang commits brutal extortion, attacking debtors and dismembering bodies.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_outlaws_2017)
Detective Ma Seok-do of the Serious Crime Unit, described in Korean publicity as a "monster detective" who keeps the peace with his fists, works under squad leader Jeon Il-man (Choi Gwi-hwa). When Jang Chen's gang throws the district into chaos, Ma and his squad devise a plan to sweep up the entire gang in a single operation.[5](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=50331) The climax is a mass arrest in which the police round up the gang at once rather than deporting its members.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_outlaws_2017)
### Franchise
The film launched the *Roundup* series (범죄도시 2, 3, and 4, released in 2022, 2023, and 2024), with Ma Dong-seok continuing as Ma Seok-do and leading the production and planning.[13](https://ent.sbs.co.kr/news/article.do?article_id=E10010266982) • [14](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20230701035000005) Ma has said the series is planned to run to eight films, with the first four forming the "first act" of a light action romp and the later films moving toward a darker action-thriller register.[15](https://v.daum.net/v/Kvyp5ohLO5) A Gallup Korea poll in November 2022 found Ma Dong-seok, as the "monster detective" Ma Seok-do of *[The Roundup](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-roundup-2022-film)*, ranked second among the year's most active film actors, cited by 18.8% of respondents.[16](https://www.gallup.co.kr/dir/GallupReport/GallupReport%2820221214%29_%EC%98%AC%ED%95%B4%EC%9D%98%EC%9D%B8%EB%AC%BC_%EC%98%81%ED%99%94%EB%B0%B0%EC%9A%B0.pdf) Industry commentary attributed the series' success to popular demand for an everyman hero of the Ma Seok-do type.[14](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20230701035000005)
The film has also drawn criticism in Korean commentary for its portrayal of ethnic Korean-Chinese (Joseonjok) people as criminals; one columnist traced this framing through Korean crime noir from *The Yellow Sea* (2010) and *New World* (2012) to *The Outlaws*, arguing that it reflects and reinforces media prejudice.[17](https://www.kookje.co.kr/news2011/asp/newsbody.asp?code=0500&key=20171124.22021010479)
## Real-life basis
The film is a reworking of the so-called Heuksapa (Black Society) incident of 2007, a case that drew national attention in South Korea.[2](https://www.ytn.co.kr/_ln/0117_201703021420075734) According to a contemporary account, in July 2005 a 38-year-old boss surnamed Yang gathered mobsters from Yanbian, China, into a criminal organization called the Yanbian Heuksapa; from a pre-dawn attack on a street vendor in Garibong-dong on December 25, 2005, through December 2007, the group injured nine people, and its leader was urgently arrested.[7](https://cfile225.uf.daum.net/attach/99F799435B343483312DD0) A preview report described the film as based on the story of a real detective who rounded up ethnic Korean-Chinese gangsters in the Garibong-dong area.[8](https://idsam209.com/1578) The Hankyung newspaper called it the only film among that year's Chuseok releases based on a true incident.[9](https://www.hankyung.com/article/201709207720H)
## Production and release
Kang Yun-sung directed and wrote the film, produced by Hong Film and B.A. Entertainment, with distribution by Megabox Plus M and Kiwi Media Group.[5](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=50331) • [10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qkyVaOUsRs) Ma Dong-seok was also credited with planning, and the cast included Jin Sun-kyu, Park Ji-hwan, Heo Sung-tae, Kim Sung-kyu, Jo Jae-yoon, and Choi Gwi-hwa.[5](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=50331) Crank-in (the start of shooting) was reported in March 2017.[2](https://www.ytn.co.kr/_ln/0117_201703021420075734)
The film opened on October 3, 2017, over the Chuseok holiday, on 1,315 screens.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?category=ALL&mode=INDEX_FILMS_LIST&movieCd=20172742&pageIndex=1&pageRowSize=10&searchKeyword=outlaws) By December 11, 2017, its cumulative admissions of 6,613,887 had passed those of *The Battleship Island* (6,592,168), placing it fourth for the year.[11](https://www.sportsseoul.com/news/read/569774) Streaming release in the United States followed on February 23, 2018.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_outlaws_2017)
## Reception
Critics received the film well. On Rotten Tomatoes it holds a 92% Tomatometer from 12 reviews and an 80% audience score.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_outlaws_2017) Dennis Harvey of Variety called it "a very entertaining if not quite first-rank genre exercise" and an auspicious debut for Kang; Wendy Ide of Screen International described it as "a robustly entertaining crime picture."[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_outlaws_2017) Reviewers repeatedly singled out Ma Dong-seok's physical presence: Screen's Macao festival review noted his trademark open-handed slap delivered mid-phone-call as a signature of his no-nonsense law enforcement.[12](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-outlaws-macao-review/5124954.article) Some critics were cooler; one Spanish-language review gave it 5/10 and found the entertainment effortful.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_outlaws_2017)
The film earned Kang Yun-sung a series of Best New Director honors: the Korean Association of Film Critics Awards (2017), the Director's Cut Awards, the Paeksang Arts Awards, and the Chunsa Film Festival (all 2018). Jin Sun-kyu won Best Supporting Actor at the 2017 Blue Dragon Awards, and the film screened at festivals including Udine Far East, Fantasia, Sitges, and the London Korean Film Festival.[1](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?category=ALL&mode=INDEX_FILMS_LIST&movieCd=20172742&pageIndex=1&pageRowSize=10&searchKeyword=outlaws)
## References
1. [THE OUTLAWS (2017), Korean Film Archive (KOFIC) film database](https://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/eng/films/index/filmsView.jsp?category=ALL&mode=INDEX_FILMS_LIST&movieCd=20172742&pageIndex=1&pageRowSize=10&searchKeyword=outlaws)
2. [마동석X윤계상 '범죄도시' 크랭크인…흑사파 사건 재구성, YTN News (March 2, 2017)](https://www.ytn.co.kr/_ln/0117_201703021420075734)
3. [2017년 한국영화산업 결산, Korean Film Council (KOFIC)](https://mcst.go.kr/servlets/eduport/front/upload/UplDownloadFile?pFileName=2017%EB%85%84+%ED%95%9C%EA%B5%AD%EC%98%81%ED%99%94%EC%82%B0%EC%97%85+%EA%B2%B0%EC%82%B0.pdf&pPath=0408010000&pRealName=1526865073732.pdf)
4. [The Outlaws (2017), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_outlaws_2017)
5. [범죄도시 (THE OUTLAWS) 상세정보, Cine21](https://cine21.com/movie/info/?movie_id=50331)
6. ['범죄도시' 마동석 범죄오락 액션 히어로물이라 평 받은 이유는?, Kookje News (2019)](https://www.kookje.co.kr/news2011/asp/newsbody.asp?code=00&key=20190623.99099010154)
7. [2016 그리스도인의 영화이야기 (background on the Heuksapa case)](https://cfile225.uf.daum.net/attach/99F799435B343483312DD0)
8. [범죄도시 시사회, DVDprime preview report](https://idsam209.com/1578)
9. [장르가 마동석…완전무결한 오락영화 범죄도시, Hankyung (September 20, 2017)](https://www.hankyung.com/article/201709207720H)
10. [영화 '범죄도시' 티저 예고편, YouTube (August 27, 2017)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qkyVaOUsRs)
11. ['범죄도시', '군함도' 제치고 2017년 관객 톱4, Sports Seoul (December 2017)](https://www.sportsseoul.com/news/read/569774)
12. ['The Outlaws': Macao Review, Screen Daily (December 12, 2017)](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-outlaws-macao-review/5124954.article)
13. [빅픽처: 시리즈물 전성시대는 계속, SBS Entertainment News](https://ent.sbs.co.kr/news/article.do?article_id=E10010266982)
14. [쌍천만 '범죄도시'의 진화…4편 완성·할리우드 버전도 논의, Yonhap News (July 2, 2023)](https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20230701035000005)
15. ["내년에 5편 못 본다"…'범죄도시' 후속·리메이크 제작 준비중, Daum News](https://v.daum.net/v/Kvyp5ohLO5)
16. [갤럽리포트 G20221214: 올해의 인물·영화배우, Gallup Korea](https://www.gallup.co.kr/dir/GallupReport/GallupReport%2820221214%29_%EC%98%AC%ED%95%B4%EC%9D%98%EC%9D%B8%EB%AC%BC_%EC%98%81%ED%99%94%EB%B0%B0%EC%9A%B0.pdf)
17. [조재휘의 시네필: 영화 '범죄도시'와 제노포비아, Kookje News (November 24, 2017)](https://www.kookje.co.kr/news2011/asp/newsbody.asp?code=0500&key=20171124.22021010479)
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