The official trailer for “Assassination Classroom,” a Japanese film based on a popular manga series by Yusei Matsui, featuring former K-pop girl group KARA member Kang Ji-young was released on YouTube Monday. In the film, the singer-turned-actress plays the seductive female character Irina Jelavic, a professional hitwoman who becomes a part-time foreign language teacher sent to kill the main protagonist Koro-sensei -- an octopus-like creature. Kang is shown in the trailer with blonde hair and dressed in a provocative leather black dress.

The film’s producers reportedly chose to cast Kang for her attractive looks and ability to speak multiple languages -- Korean, English and Japanese. In the original manga, Irina Jelavic is able to speak 10 languages.“I feel a bit burdened given that this is my first movie role, but I read the original manga many times in order to best represent the personality of a sexy hitwoman,” Kang said in a recent interview.In the manga, Koro-sensei enters a school and announces that it will destroy the earth unless it is assassinated within three years. The story unfolds as the government asks the students to kill the creature.However, the film has hit a major hurdle, given that its release date has coincided with the recent killing of two Japanese citizens by the terrorist organization Islamic State. The film is set to release early this year.Kang left KARA in April 2014 to pursue an acting career. She has signed under the Japanese entertainment agency Sweet Power, home to a number of renowned Japanese actresses.()