South Korean actor and film director Lee Jung-jae first came to international prominence as the main protagonist of the hit TV series Squid Game, released on Netflix in 2021. The following year, his directorial debut, HUNT hit the Cannes Film Festival at a sold-out screening that received an impressive seven-minute-long standing ovation. A new book, Assouline’s HUNT dives into the extensive production efforts required to bring his cinematic vision to life.

A comprehensive volume, it explores the process of over 5,000 hours of filming, with a raft of production stills, and offers a detailed overview of Jung-jae’s approach to filmmaking. With narrative text from Director, Nam Jeong-ho, sharing insights into key scenes and accompanied by a selection of anecdotes, Assouline’s Hunt is a treasure trove of information. The book breaks down the background and context for the film, which is set at the height of the Cold War during the 1980s and focuses on the infiltration of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency by a spy.

This contextual background gives HUNT its narrative impetus, while the full-color photographs and quotes break down the stylistic choices Lee Jung-jae made to bring this world to life. Essays exploring everything from the judicious use of lighting to the aesthetics of realism are combined with fascinating facts about the production. If you want to know how many vehicles were used or the number of bullets fired, you’ll find it in Assouline’s HUNT, beautifully bound and presented in a silk hardcover edition.

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