Overview
Three North Korean sleeper agents are embedded in a South Korean village, posing as ordinary citizens. Their cover — and loyalties — are tested when they receive their first orders. Based on a manhwa.
Released in 2013, Secretly Greatly was directed by Jang Cheol-soo and produced under the Showbox banner. The film occupies a significant place within the Independent — telling a self-contained story outside of shared-continuity superhero franchises.
The film features lead performances from Kim Soo-hyun, Lee Hyun-woo, Park Ki-woong, anchoring a story that adapts characters first brought to life in Manga. Its source material gives the film a foundation rooted in decades of published storytelling, which Cheol-soo and the creative team interpret through a cinematic lens.
With an audience rating of 7.5, Secretly Greatly is generally praised as a strong entry in the superhero genre — its strengths in storytelling, performance, and production design regularly cited by viewers.
Principal Cast
Trivia & Facts
Secretly Greatly released in 2013, placing it within the 2010s era of comic book cinema — a decade that saw superhero films become the dominant force at the global box office.
Directed by Jang Cheol-soo, the film was produced by Showbox and adapts source material from Manga.
The principal cast features Kim Soo-hyun and Lee Hyun-woo, with key supporting roles played by Park Ki-woong.
The film belongs to Independent — an independent / standalone production, not tied to a shared cinematic universe.
Secretly Greatly carries an audience rating of 7.5 — putting it in the solid-to-excellent tier of the genre.
The Manga source material for Secretly Greatly has been in continuous publication for decades, giving filmmakers a rich well of storylines, character arcs, and iconography to draw upon.
Modern superhero films like this one use a mix of practical effects and digital VFX, with entire sequences often shot against volume walls or LED stages pioneered by shows like The Mandalorian.
Secretly Greatly is catalogued on Movies on Comics among our collection of 163 comic book films spanning 48 years of cinema — from Richard Donner's 1978 Superman to the present day.