Bogota review: A South Korean migrant’s foray in Colombia’s black market

Originally debuting at Korea’s Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) last December, South Korean crime film Bogota (2024), starring Song Joong-ki, has finally made it into the hands of the international audience. 

With the film’s constant action and surprising plot twists, there’s no doubt as to why viewers are left captivated, myself included.

The plot 

The film follows the story of Guk-hee (Song Joong-ki), a young adult migrating with his parents from South Korea to Colombia.

The family’s journey in Colombia starts off on the wrong foot, as they lose their savings shortly after leaving the airport from a snatch and run.

Stranded in a foreign country with no money to their name, Guk-hee’s father reaches out to an old friend, Sergeant Park Jang-soo (Kwon Hae-hyo) for help, kickstarting their family’s journey in the city’s black market.

Guk-hee’s diligence and intellect have everyone fawning over him rather quickly which allows him to foster strong bonds within the community in a short period.

This revelation has Sergeant Park constantly finding himself in dilemmas from doubts of how much he can truly trust the younger male.

Worth the watch?

 The film starts off feeling like your run-of-the-mill found family story, with a young protégé being taken under the wing of an experienced senior though you quickly discover it is anything but. 

You get to watch how the main character’s ideology shifts as he makes his way through this new way of life and how he learns to not just survive but thrive in the harsh waters of the city’s high crime rate.

After realizing that he can go from barely scraping by day by day to living a lavish life, his greed for money and power starts slowly tainting the innocence he once had, coating the pure white exterior in a film of thick gunk-like oil in water.

Another factor that sets this film apart from other Korean crime films is how it does not shy away from portraying the city in all its gritty glory.

Where most films usually depict how people in the black market try and bend the rules to make what they’re doing come off as seemingly legal, Bogota (2024) shows the flip side with scenes of bribery and gun violence even in broad daylight.