Squid Game season 2 will close a very strong year for Netflix when it comes to K-dramas. From original webseries such as Parasyte: The Grey, Sweet Home 3, and The Frog to licensed shows such as Queen of Tears and Love Next Door, some of the best K-dramas of 2024 were available on Netflix. As a big Gong Yoo fan, however, one of my most anticipated shows of the year has yet to come out and has just recently released a trailer – The Trunk.
The Trunk Has All The Ingredients To Be A Hit K-Drama On Netflix
Gong Yoo’s Comeback Looks Incredibly Promising
Between the cast, the production value, and the premise, I believe The Trunk has all that it takes to be a late 2024 hit. While there have been a lot of great K-dramas this year, particularly in the rom-com genre, The Trunk could be one of the last K-drama successes of 2024. Netflix is describing the show as a “mystery melodrama,” which suggests Gong Yoo’s K-drama return won’t be a traditional romance series. The fake marriage trope has been used countless times in K-dramas, but The Trunk is adding a dark twist to it.
The Trunk's Cast
Character
|
Gong Yoo | Han Jeong-won |
Seo Hyun-jin | Noh In-ji |
Jung Yun-ha | Lee Seo-yeon |
The Trunk tells the story of a fake marriage agency that offers people contracts by which they will officially be a married couple for a year. Gong Yoo plays Han Jeong-won, described as a lonely music producer who has been through a divorce and now needs the NM agency’s fake marriage services. Seo Hyun-jin plays Noh In-ji, who works at the agency and is handling Jeong-won’s contract. Lastly, Jung Yun-ha is playing Lee Seo-yeon, who will be Jeong-won’s wife under this contract. The Trunk’s first trailer has an ominous atmosphere to it that makes it feel like a horror series.
Gong Yoo’s Career Choices Means The Trunk Must Have Something Special
The Actor Has Carefully Chosen His Movie & TV Roles
After roles in incredibly popular K-dramas such as Goblin, Gong Yoo has carefully chosen his next projects and has not appeared in too many shows or movies. His leading role in Train to Busan, one of my favorite zombie movies ever, brought him worldwide fame, which then reached even higher levels in 2021 with Squid Game. Gong Yoo hasn’t been in a non-streaming television series since Goblin, meaning that all of his K-dramas since then have been streaming originals, particularly from Netflix. Between Squid Game, The Silent Sea, and The Trunk, Gong Yoo has become a Netflix favorite.
Related
Masterpiece K-dramas have well-crafted characterizations, impactful storytelling, a well-paced plot, and thought-provoking conflicts that resonate.
Considering how great Squid Game and The Silent Sea were – even though the latter was not as big as the former – Gong Yoo’s next Netflix K-drama will have big shoes to fill. Not only has Gong Yoo’s previous shows raised the bar high for what the actor will deliver next, but his fans have been waiting to see him leading another project for three years. The fact that he hasn’t been in that many projects recently makes me think that The Trunk must have something special that drew him to the project.
Squid Game 2 Will Be Big, But The Trunk Is Gong Yoo’s Most Exciting 2024 Show
The Salesman Is Great, But I Can’t Wait To See Gong Yoo In A Lead Role Again
Squid Game’s popularity remains unmatched, as it became Netflix’s most-watched series of all time and has yet to be dethroned. Therefore, there is no denying that Squid Game 2 has built massive anticipation and will be a very important chapter in Gong Yoo’s career. However, I’m even more excited for The Trunk than for Squid Game 2, at least in terms of what Gong Yoo can deliver. Firstly, we don’t know how big of a role the Salesman will have in Squid Game season 2’s story. Gong Yoo’s character in Squid Game is supposed to be mysterious after all.
Squid Game
's third and final season premiers in 2025.
Secondly, as exciting as it is to revisit the world of Squid Game with new and returning characters, a brand-new series will allow Gong Yoo to show something different. After playing the romantic lead or the hero in a series of projects, seeing Gong Yoo in a “melodramatic mystery” K-drama based on a novel sounds very promising. Jeong-won looks to be a very intense and layered character that will allow Gong Yoo to show his leading actor chops.
-
The Trunk
The Trunk, releasing on November 29, 2024, follows the mysterious discovery of a trunk on the shoreline, unveiling a hidden marriage service and the peculiar relationship of a couple intertwined in its secrets.
Cast Gong Yoo , Seo Hyeon-jin
Release Date November 29, 2024
Seasons 1
Writers Park Eun-young
Directors Kim Kyoo-tae
-
In Squid Game, a mysterious invitation to join a competition is sent to people at risk who are in dire need of money. Four hundred fifty-six participants from all walks of life are locked into a secret location where they play games to win 45.6 billion won. Games are selected from traditional Korean children's games, such as Red Light and Green Light, but the consequence of losing is death. To survive, competitors must choose their alliances carefully - but the further they go in the competition, the more likely betrayal will rear its ugly head.
Cast Wi Ha-joon , Anupam Tripathi , Oh Yeong-su , Heo Sung-tae , Park Hae-soo , Jung Ho-yeon , Lee Jung-jae , Kim Joo-ryoung
Release Date September 17, 2021
Seasons 1
Writers Hwang Dong-hyuk
Directors Hwang Dong-hyuk
Custom image by Ana Nieves
English (US) ·