The Trunkmarks Gong Yoo’s return to screen three years afterThe Silent Sea, and I predict it to be one of the bestK-dramasof 2024. The three-year wait for Gong Yoo to star or at least appear in another major K-drama will be worth it as the actor will be in not only one but two shows before the year ends.Gong Yoo will star inThe TrunkandSquid Game 2, which will be released a month from each other on November 29 and December 26, respectively.
Squid Gameseason 2 will close a very strong year for Netflix when it comes to K-dramas. From original webseries such asParasyte: The Grey,Sweet Home 3,andThe Frogto licensedshows such asQueen of TearsandLove Next Door,some of thebest K-dramas of 2024were available on Netflix.As a big Gong Yoo fan, however, one of my most anticipated shows of the year has yet to come outand 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 believeThe Trunkhas 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 Trunkcould be one of the last K-drama successes of 2024.Netflix is describing the show as a “mystery melodrama,” which suggestsGong Yoo’s K-dramareturn won’t be a traditional romance series. The fake marriage trope has been used countless times in K-dramas, butThe Trunkis adding a dark twist to it.
Jung Yun-ha
Lee Seo-yeon
The Trunktells 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 itthat 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 asGoblin, Gong Yoo has carefully chosen his next projects and has not appeared in too many shows or movies. His leading role inTrain to Busan, one of my favorite zombie movies ever, brought him worldwide fame, which then reached even higher levels in 2021 withSquid Game. Gong Yoo hasn’t been in a non-streaming television series sinceGoblin, meaning that all of his K-dramas since then have been streaming originals, particularly from Netflix. BetweenSquid Game,The Silent Sea, andThe Trunk,Gong Yoo has become a Netflix favorite.
10 K-Dramas That Are Considered Masterpieces
Masterpiece K-dramas have well-crafted characterizations, impactful storytelling, a well-paced plot, and thought-provoking conflicts that resonate.
Considering how greatSquid GameandThe Silent Seawere – even though the latter was not as big as the former – Gong Yoo’s nextNetflix K-dramawill 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 thatThe Trunkmust have something specialthat drew him to the project.
Squid Game 2 Will Be Big, But The Trunk Is Gong Yoo’s Most Exciting 2024 Show
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 thatSquid Game 2has built massive anticipation and will be a very important chapter in Gong Yoo’s career. However,I’m even more excited forThe Trunkthan forSquid 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 inSquid Gameseason 2’s story. Gong Yoo’s character inSquid Gameis 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 ofSquid Gamewith 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-dramabased 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
Cast
The Trunk, releasing on August 14, 2025, 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.
Squid Game
Squid Game is a South Korean series released in 2021 that follows numerous financially struggling participants who are invited to partake in children’s games with deadly outcomes. As they compete, they vie for a substantial cash prize, all while navigating lethal challenges orchestrated by mysterious figures.
