(C)2026「TOKYO BURST」フィルムパ?トナ?ズ

Riding an unstoppable box-office streak following ‘The Man Who Lives With the King’, actor Park Ji-hwan is cementing his status as a global trend. Park Ji-hwan made a surprise appearance at the Tokyo media event for ‘Tokyo Burst: Crime City’.

An enduring mascot of the ‘Crime City’ series that changed the paradigm of Korean action cinema, and, through the recent film ‘The Man Who Lives With the King’, having risen as an undisputed leading actor, Park Ji-hwan is setting out to win over Japan.

Appearing in ‘Tokyo Burst: Crime City’ as the only original character that carries forward the singular universe of Korea's ‘Crime City’, Park Ji-hwan has fired the starting signal for a successful entry into Japan. In particular, when he made a surprise appearance at a media event held in Tokyo on the 18th, the explosive cheers from local press and industry figures proved the intense interest in him. The star power Park Ji-hwan has been demonstrating while dominating domestic screens has carried over intact to Japan.

Set for release in Japan on the 29th, ‘Tokyo Burst: Crime City’ centers on Shinjuku's Kabukicho, the heart of Tokyo where desires erupt, and depicts a joint investigation by a rookie detective native to Kabukicho and an ace detective dispatched from Korea. More than a simple remake of an existing Korean film, it drew major attention from the production stage as the ‘first official spinoff’ sharing the same timeline as the Korean series, with Ma Dong-seok, head of the ‘Crime City’ franchise, directly joining as a cooperating producer.

(C)2026「TOKYO BURST」フィルムパ?トナ?ズ

In the work, Park Ji-hwan's appearance is the key device and a cheat code proving that the worlds of Korea and Japan are organically connected. Once again becoming Jang I-soo, Park vividly portrays, with his signature raw energy, how Jang leaves Garibong-dong and, while planning a new business in Tokyo's Shinjuku Kabukicho, gets caught up in an unexpected incident.

In the story, Jang I-soo, having his fatal weak point seized by Choi Si-woo (played by U-Know Yunho), an elite detective dispatched from Korea to track an internationally wanted criminal, is left with no choice but to serve as his investigative helper. The ‘chaotic buddy chemistry’ to be shown by Choi Si-woo, who demonstrates intelligent sleuthing and sharp action, and Jang I-soo, armed with his trademark cunning and brazenness, is already driving global fans' expectations to a fever pitch. Added to this are the taut ensemble performances of Aiba Shiro (played by Mizukami Koshi), a rough rookie at Shinjuku Central Police Station, main villain Murata Renji (played by Fukushi Sota), and his right-hand man Kim Hoon (played by Um Ki-joon), heralding overwhelming synergy.

The standout viewing point of Park Ji-hwan's performance in the film is undoubtedly his ‘survival Japanese’. While not perfect, it fully captures his trademark confidence and the intimidating ‘Jang I-soo way of speaking’. Unpredictable communication errors with local yakuza caused by awkward Japanese are expected to become the most powerful weapon for making audiences laugh amid the film's taut tension. Park Ji-hwan's uniquely brilliant comic sense, which transcends language and borders, is expected to shine.

Through interviews, the Japanese production team offered high praise, saying, “Park Ji-hwan is an overwhelming scene-stealer who easily leaps over the language barrier,” while Fukushi Sota, who plays the villain Murata Renji, also gave a thumbs-up to his unrivaled presence, saying, “Working with actor Park Ji-hwan is the best weapon for easing the story's tension.”

(C)2026「TOKYO BURST」フィルムパ?トナ?ズ

On the strength of the box-office power and solid acting he has proven through distinguished works including the film ‘The Man Who Lives With the King’, actor Park Ji-hwan has now expanded his reach to the global stage. As the vanguard of a large-scale project to expand the universe of ‘Crime City’ worldwide, after the series surpassed a cumulative audience of 40 million and rewrote Korean film history, his unrestrained advance into Japan, ‘Tokyo Burst: Crime City’, opens locally in Japan on May 29.