Lee Joon-gi Unexpected New Role in Netflix’s New Korean Historical Action Film ‘Dochabi’ is Drawing Attention

Netflix has assembled an unusually action-heavy cast for its next Korean historical film.

Kim Do-hoon, Jeon Jong-seo, Lee Joon-gi, Lee Sang-yi and Bae In-hyuk have officially joined Dochabi, a period action movie set along a dangerous northern border where masked attackers are hunting isolated villagers. Netflix confirmed both production and the complete principal cast on August 13.

But for longtime K-drama and Korean film fans, one casting choice may immediately stand out: Lee Joon-gi is not playing the hero. Instead, he will portray Yi Do-gwan, the powerful commander whose ambition places him directly against the film’s central character. And there is another connection making the project particularly interesting.

Director Ahn Tae-jin worked as first assistant director on The King and the Clown, the 2005 film that transformed Lee Joon-gi into a breakout star. More than two decades later, the two are reuniting this time with Ahn directing Lee as an antagonist.

What does ‘Dochabi’ actually mean?

The title comes from an older Korean word connected to dokkaebi, the supernatural figures commonly translated into English as “Korean goblins.” Netflix itself describes “Dochabi” as a native Korean word for dokkaebi. Korean cultural institutions also commonly render dokkaebi as “goblins” when introducing the figures to international audiences. But the movie does not appear to be about a literal monster suddenly emerging from mythology. Instead, “Dochabi” becomes a name earned by a human being.

Kim Do-hoon plays Tae-san, a former military officer hiding deep in the mountains with Ahai, a Jurchen woman. After becoming caught in a conspiracy involving mysterious masked figures, Tae-san is falsely accused of leading enemy forces. Fighting to survive, he gradually becomes a protector of the people a man who, according to Netflix’s description, “survives like a monster and fights like a ghost.”

That reputation eventually earns him the name Dochabi.

Kim Do-hoon moves from ‘Moving’ to leading a large-scale action film

For Kim Do-hoon, the project represents another major step after gaining wider recognition through Disney+’s Moving and appearing in dramas including Your Honor, Love Scout and Dear X. Tae-san should allow him to combine two qualities audiences have increasingly associated with his work: emotional vulnerability and physical action. The character is not introduced as a mythical warrior. He is a former officer who has withdrawn from society and is living quietly before circumstances force him back into violence. Netflix describes his transformation as one driven by survival first and heroism later. He becomes the “Dochabi” not because he seeks the title, but because he repeatedly puts himself between the villagers and those trying to destroy them.

That gives the film a classic folk-hero structure: an ordinary man becomes something almost supernatural in the stories people tell about him.

Jeon Jong-seo gets another physically demanding role

Fighting beside Tae-san will be Ahai, played by Jeon Jong-seo.

Ahai is a Jurchen woman living in hiding with Tae-san and is described as exceptionally agile and highly skilled in martial arts. She is not positioned simply as someone Tae-san needs to rescue; Netflix specifically describes her as fighting alongside him. The casting feels particularly suited to Jeon, who has repeatedly gravitated toward physically intense and morally unpredictable genre projects, including The Call, Ballerina and Project Y.

The biggest unknown is the exact nature of Tae-san and Ahai’s relationship. Netflix has confirmed that they are living together in hiding but has not described them as lovers, leaving room for the film to develop their connection without giving away its emotional direction. For viewers, the more immediate attraction may be seeing Jeon Jong-seo and Kim Do-hoon as an action pairing, particularly because both actors have built reputations around characters who can shift quickly between vulnerability and violence.

Lee Joon-gi becomes the man hunting them

Then there is Lee Joon-gi.

He plays Yi Do-gwan, the highest-ranking commander in the border region and a man driven by an intense desire for power. He is connected to the masked figures hunting the mountain villagers, placing him at the center of the conspiracy Tae-san must confront.

For international viewers who know Lee from Flower of Evil, Again My Life, Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo or Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramun, the casting immediately raises expectations for the action.

Lee Joon-gi has spent much of his career performing demanding fight choreography, particularly in historical and action-oriented projects. His agency’s official profile reflects a career filled with period dramas and physically driven roles going back to Iljimae and Arang and the Magistrate.

What makes Dochabi different is where that physicality is being directed. Instead of fighting against the villain, Lee Joon-gi is playing the threatening authority figure standing in the hero’s way. That reversal may become one of the movie’s strongest selling points.

A 21-year connection to ‘The King and the Clown’

The reunion between Lee Joon-gi and Ahn Tae-jin gives Dochabi an additional layer of Korean film history. Ahn Tae-jin served as first assistant director on Lee Joon-ik’s The King and the Clown in 2005. The Korean Film Council lists the movie among Ahn Tae-jin’s early credits, years before he made his feature directing debut with The Night Owl in 2022.

The King and the Clown, meanwhile, became the project that established Lee Joon-gi as a major star.

That means the actor is returning to work with someone who was present at one of the defining moments of his early career—but their positions have changed dramatically. Ahn Tae-jin is now directing his own large-scale Netflix film, and Lee is returning as one of Korean entertainment’s most internationally recognizable actors.

Even more intriguingly, he is doing so as the villain.

Lee Sang-yi investigates the masked killers

Lee Sang-yi joins the story as Park Se-ryong, a government inspector dispatched after reports emerge that unidentified masked figures have appeared in the northern region. As he investigates what is happening to the villagers, Se-ryong begins to suspect Yi Do-gwan, potentially placing Lee Sang-yi’s character directly in conflict with Lee Joon-gi’s commander.

Lee Sang-yi has already worked with Netflix through Bloodhounds, giving international audiences another familiar face within the cast. His character also offers the film another perspective on its central mystery. While Tae-san experiences the violence directly from outside the system, Se-ryong appears positioned to investigate it from within the government.

Bae In-hyuk enters the story as a crown prince

Bae In-hyuk completes the main lineup as Crown Prince Yeolhwagun. Netflix describes the prince as someone who feels responsibility and compassion toward the villagers suffering along the border.

That potentially places him in an interesting political position. If Yi Do-gwan represents military authority and personal ambition while Tae-san becomes a folk protector, Yeolhwagun could become the character caught between royal responsibility and the realities unfolding far from the palace.

Netflix has not yet revealed how directly the prince will interact with Tae-san, Ahai or Yi Do-gwan.

The director behind ‘The Night Owl’ returns to historical suspense

Dochabi is Ahn Tae-jin’s latest film following his acclaimed feature debut The Night Owl, the 2022 historical thriller about a visually impaired acupuncturist who becomes witness to a royal death. The movie earned Ahn significant recognition and multiple directing honors. Screenwriter Hwang Sung-gu, known for Anarchist from Colony and The King’s Warden, is involved in the screenplay, with Netflix’s official announcement also crediting Bang Soo-in and Ahn Tae-jin as writers. Ondaworks is producing the film.

That creative combination suggests Dochabi may be interested in more than simply sword fights. Its setup contains political conspiracy, ethnic and border tensions, masked killers, state power and the creation of a legendary figure all within the framework of an action film.

Fans were interested before Netflix even made the cast official

The casting had already been generating discussion while the actors were still described as being “in talks.”

When Jeon Jong-seo’s involvement was first reported in July, one international fan discussion summed up the appeal simply: “This is a lot of talent for one movie.” Lee Joon-gi’s potential villain transformation drew particular attention after reports about his offer emerged in June. His agency initially said nothing had been finalized, making Netflix’s August 13 announcement the first definitive confirmation that he had accepted the part.

Because the complete casting announcement is only hours old, it is too early to present isolated social-media comments as a broad fan consensus. But the ingredients most likely to drive international interest are already clear: Lee Joon-gi as a villain, Jeon Jong-seo in martial-arts action, Kim Do-hoon as the rising central hero and a reunion more than 20 years in the making between Lee and Ahn Tae-jin.

Netflix has not announced a release date yet

Netflix has confirmed that Dochabi will be released exclusively through the platform, but it has not announced a premiere date.

That means viewers may have to wait before seeing Lee Joon-gi’s transformation into Yi Do-gwan or discovering exactly what the movie’s mysterious masks look like. For now, however, the casting alone provides an unusually strong hook.

A young actor from Moving becomes a legendary protector. Jeon Jong-seo fights beside him. Lee Sang-yi investigates the conspiracy. Bae In-hyuk enters as a compassionate prince. And Lee Joon-gi the actor once introduced to audiences through The King and the Clown reunites with one of that film’s former assistant directors more than 20 years later.

Only this time, he is the man everyone may need to fear.