Although coffee might not sound like the most obvious hook for a thriller, it’s very much at the heart of romantically tinged Korean espionage drama “Gabi”. Another period piece for “Hwang Jin Yi” director Jang Yoon Hyun, the film was based on the novel “Russian Coffee” by Kim Tak Hwan, and follows a pair of coffee and gold thieves who are forced by the Japanese into a plot to kill the Emperor. Playing the two reluctant spies in question are actor Ju Jin Mo (recently in the Korean remake of “A Better Tomorrow”) and actress Kim So Yeon (also in the popular television drama “Iris” and its film version), with Park Hee Soon (“The Client”) as the Emperor and Yoo Sun (“Romantic Heaven”) as a Japanese agent. The film is set in 19th century Korea, a time when the Emperor Gojong, 26th king of the Joseon Dynasty (Park Hee...