Part Time Spy ~ Undercover Rivals: Two Agents, One Mission
“Part-Time Spy” is a 2017 Korean movie, categorized as Action, Crime, Mystery, and Spy Comedy; streaming on KOCOWA+ and free with ads on Tubi TV.
SUMMARY: A contract employee hoping to become permanent accepts an assignment because her boss promised her that if she accomplished the task successfully, she’ll be hired as a full-time permanent employee.
♦ I Just Want to be a Permanent Employee
In “Part-Time Spy”, Jang Young-Sil is a contract worker at the National Security Agency. Her contract is up unless … A director in the NSA has been scammed by Kim Min-Suk, who could probably hold the title as “greatest scammer that ever lived”. When you can convince an NSA director to deposit government money in another government account, which IS NOT a government account … YOU’RE GOOD!
The NSA Director has just learned that another one of colleagues was TERMINATED. Because? THEY GOT SCAMMED. It was a voice phishing scheme. Now he’s a victim too. He doesn’t dare tell anybody! Instead, he convinces Jang Young-Sil, a lowly contract worker, that if she successfully completes this special assignment, she’ll become a permanent employee of the National Security Agency. It’s what she always wanted. She’s 35 years old and absolutely can’t go home and tell her parents she’s jobless!! Jang Young-Sil gladly accepts the job and is determined to complete the task.
What’s the job? She’s a spy who has been planted in the call center of Kim Min-Suk’s scamming operation to gather evidence and, mainly, to retrieve the money the NSA Director lost. But when she starts her undercover spy job, she is easily swayed by Kim Min-Suk. He’s handsome and very charismatic. No way a man like that could be engaged in nefarious activity, especially not defrauding the country! The NSA Director must be mistaken. But can she prove it? Also, if Min-Suk doesn’t have the money, who does?
At work, Jang Young-Sil discovers that she has competition. Na Jung-An is an undercover police detective, and she has been pursuing leads that have led her directly to Kim Min-Suk’s operations. The NSA Director also finds out and tries to get her removed and get the police to STOP their investigation. The last thing he wants is for the police to find out that the government, i.e., the director, was scammed.
Jang Young-Sil’s assignment has to be TOP SECRET. But Na Jung-An refused to quit as she was too close to cracking the case. They both found out that they were both working undercover. They agreed to work together. But did they? Both wanted to get credit for a mission accomplished.
Main Characters:
- Jang Young-Sil (played by Gang Ye-Won, “The Bad Guys: Reign of Chaos”, “The Huntresses”, “Bad Guys”)
- Na Jung-An (played by Han Chae-Ah, “Nothing Uncovered”, “The Secret Romantic Guesthouse”, “The Merchant: Gaekju”, “Bridal Mask”)
- Kim Min-Suk (played by Namkoong Min, “One Dollar Lawyer”, “The Veil”, “My Dearest 1 and 2”, “Doctor Prisoner”, “Remember: War of Son”, “Awaken”, “Good Manager”, “A Girl Who Sees Smells”)
Viewership and Rating:
- IMDb rating: 5.5 out of 10 stars
- MyDramaList: 7.4 out of 10 stars
- Letterboxd: 3 out of 5 stars
My personal rating is the same as MDL.
“Part-Time Spy” is a good old-fashioned wholesome family comedy with a little spying mixed in, just like “OK! Madam”. A lot of fun.
LINKS OF INTEREST:
Film Review: Part Time Spy | The Fifth Parlour
Review: ‘Part-time Spy’ has a strangely endearing lead | YAHOO!
[FILM REVIEW] Part-Time Spy (2017) | The Seoul Story
Movie Review: Part-Time Spy | StarArena 스타아레나
TRAILER/TEASER:
Encore Films Malaysia. (2017). PART-TIME SPY 兼职特务 – Main Trailer – Opens 1 Jun in Malaysia [Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWRR6QVHAk0.
♦
