Netflix's upcoming original series "The Trunk" dives into the complexities of human relationships and emotions related to marriage, offering a fresh take on love and relationships.

“I believe the series will become a project that talks about love and relationships from a slightly different angle,” actor Gong Yoo said during the series’ press conference held at Raum Art Center in southern Seoul on Tuesday. “I also think that the show allows various interpretations depending on the viewers’ perspectives, which is also interesting.”


Based on author Kim Ryeo-ryeong’s 2015 novel of the same name, the mystery melodrama, set for release on Friday, follows a couple, Noh In-ji and Han Jeong-won, living under a contract marriage provided by a secret marriage service. However, the mystery behind the secretive service starts to unfold when a storage trunk surfaces.

Directed by Kim Kyu-tae, who was behind tvN series “Our Blues” (2022) and SBS series “It’s Okay, That’s Love” (2014), and written by Park Eun-young, the series features actors Gong Yoo, Seo Hyun-jin, Jung Yun-ha, Jo Yi-geon and Kim Dong-won.

Seo plays In-ji, an employee of the marriage service New Marriage, who becomes a “contract wife” to Jeong-won. Gong Yoo portrays Jeong-won, who uses the service in an attempt to maintain his relationship with his former wife, Seo-yeon, played by Jung.

As the series reveals a psychological mystery among the characters, the show's actors and director shared that this mysteriousness was the element that lured them into taking on their roles.

“To be honest, when I first read the script, there were parts that confused me,” director Kim said.

“It’s like, I knew it was undeniably exciting, but there was also something that felt both odd, as well as refreshing and literary. I couldn’t easily grasp the characters’ mental states and relationships, which sparked my curiosity. This curiosity drove me deeper into the story, and I began to relate more with their emotions and interactions.”

The complexities of the characters and the narrative indeed drew the actors to choose the script, according to Seo.

“With the story not being direct and having a lot of blank spaces where one must read between the lines, I felt that the way my character is expressed could change depending on who is delivering it. That’s why I wanted to play the role,” Seo said.

This complicated yet intriguing complexity of the characters places the series in the mystery genre. While there are various types of mystery works, director Kim said that the series stands apart from others in the genre, focusing more on the “psychological mystery of the characters than the incident-based mystery.”

Though the series touches on marriage, actor Seo emphasized that it raises broader questions about relationships beyond the nuptial tie.

“I don’t think 'The Trunk' is a drama that challenges the value of marriage at all,” Seo said. “It’s more about pointing out that when we experience love or form relationships, there are not only positive emotions but also deep, underlying feelings that reveal a darker side.”

She continued, “Those emotions are portrayed by each character in the series and amplified by them, showing that when these emotions intertwine, there could be relationships where people can either live together or destroy each other. I believe that’s the kind of question the drama poses.”

In the series, actor Seo’s character is depicted as a cold and lonely character, who finds marriage disgusting yet ironically chooses it as her profession. The actor hinted that the cold character may have a different side, referring to In-ji as a “hermit crab.”

“Like a hermit crab carrying a hard shell to protect itself,” Seo said, “I think In-ji is a character hiding her soft side behind a strong outer shell.”

Gong Yoo and Seo, who appear as a couple in the show, also shared that they showed great chemistry off-screen, as they often reached the same conclusions or thoughts.

"I became certain when seeing Seo answering various interview questions that we really think alike," Gong Yoo said. "When she answers questions and talks about the series, she expresses exactly what I was thinking."

With its complexity, actor Gong Yoo said that each and every line from the series can be pondered upon, and he encourages viewers to focus on the dialogue to enjoy the series even more.

“It's different from other dramas, including that it’s based on a novel. There are many parts where the dialogue can’t just be rushed through,” the actor said.

“I would also like to say to viewers not to be too distracted by the show’s outward appearance and somewhat dramatic setting. If they pay more attention to the deeper message it’s trying to convey, viewers will find it much more interesting.”


BY KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]