Duelist (Korean: 형사; RR: Hyeongsa; lit. 'Detective') is a 2005 South Korean period martial arts film directed by Lee Myung-se. It stars Ha Ji-won, Gang Dong-won, and Ahn Sung-ki. The film was released in South Korea on September 8, 2005.
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Plot
The film opens with a fish tale narrated by a low-class metalsmith in a tavern in Joseon-era south-western Korea. The scene then cuts to a street circus, in which an elegant masked swordmaster (Gang Dong-won) fascinates his market-place audience. Undercover detective Ahn (Ahn Sung-ki), and his protégé Namsoon (Ha Ji-won) are tracking down suspected money-counterfeiter gang, when the masked swordmaster ends his show by killing a government official who carries the kingdom's currency metal cast.
The swordmaster escapes when a cart crashes and disgorges a mountain of counterfeit coins, causing public commotion. The distraction is a success, but Namsoon chased and dueled with the escaping swordmaster/duelist, proving herself a master of martial arts specializing in a pair of long knives. She succeeded in cutting a quarter of his mask and glanced at his revealed eye before he escaped. She and her team are left with bodies of the counterfeiting gang, seemingly massacred in an instant by an unknown duelist.
It is then revealed that counterfeit coins are spreading wildly among the populace, causing hyperinflation that threatens the monarchy. The police forces are determined to find and arrest the counterfeiters, believed to include an insider in the government. From a secret connection, the detectives obtain a picture of the duelist, noted for his "Sad Eyes", which Namsoon recognizes from her previous encounter. Their suspicion points to Song, the powerful defense minister. This suspicion is confirmed when Namsoon spots the duelist entering Song's manor.