Japanese police officer Lee Jeongchul is mobilized to mop up the Korean independent movement group—ordered to befriend them and gather information to catch the ringleader of the group. He heads to Shanghai with Kim Woojin, a member of the organization he meets in Seoul. The Japanese police send Hashimoto to be Jeongchul’s work partner but he tries to catch the group leader independently. When introduced to the leader by Woojin, Jeongchul is stirred when the leader asks: “Please work for our homeland.” So Jeongchul travels with the group as they traffic explosives from Shanghai to Seoul. The Age of Shadows was inspired by true events; the Korean independent movement group’s attempt to transport explosives in Seoul to blow up the General Government Building, and the involvement of spies in this. Director Kim said, “It began with my attraction to spy movies.” This film exemplifies the pleasure of the genre—the sense of crisis and tension building as the characters deceive each other. Kim added, “I wanted to describe how the era put pressure on people and what they were driven to.”