# The Trunk (트렁크) (TV series)
**The Trunk** (트렁크) is a 2024 South Korean mystery melodrama television series released on Netflix, starring [Gong Yoo](https://www.edgepedia.org/gong-yoo) and [Seo Hyun-jin](https://www.edgepedia.org/seo-hyun-jin) as a couple joined by a one-year contract marriage arranged through a secretive matchmaking service, whose secrets begin to surface when a mysterious trunk is found in a lake.[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-trunk-production-and-cast) • [2](https://www.netflix.com/title/81582447?src=tudum)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Original release | November 29, 2024, exclusively on Netflix[3](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-trunk-teaser-trailer) |
| Format | 8 episodes, TV-MA, drama with romance and mystery elements[2](https://www.netflix.com/title/81582447?src=tudum) |
| Based on | The 2015 novel of the same name by Kim Ryeo-ryeong[4](https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/the-trunk-review-visually-gong-yoos-series-is-nothing-short-of-spectacular-3-stars-7138961/amp/1) |
| Director / writer | Kim Kyu-tae (Our Blues, It's Okay, That's Love); screenplay by Park Eun-young (Hwarang)[3](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-trunk-teaser-trailer) |
| Lead cast | Gong Yoo as Han Jeong-won; Seo Hyun-jin as Noh In-ji; Jung Yun-ha as Lee Seo-yeon[5](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-trunk-release-date-news) |
| Central premise | A premium matchmaking service, NM (New Marriage), supplies contract spouses for one-year terms; a trunk washed up on a lakeshore exposes the service and one couple's marriage[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-trunk-production-and-cast) • [6](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81582447) |
| Critical reception | 83% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer and 83% on the audience Popcornmeter[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_trunk) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
The series follows Han Jeong-won (Gong Yoo), a wealthy music producer whose wife, Lee Seo-yeon (Jung Yun-ha), leaves him for another man. Seo-yeon arranges new marriages for both herself and Jeong-won through NM, a discreet service that supplies contract spouses to clients with relationship troubles. Her plan is for each of them to live with a new spouse for one year, after which she intends to remarry Jeong-won.[5](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-trunk-release-date-news)
Jeong-won reluctantly enters a contract marriage with Noh In-ji (Seo Hyun-jin), an NM employee who has lived with a "contract husband" every year and is deeply lonely despite the arrangement. As the two gradually grow closer, a mysterious trunk found at the edge of a lake draws them into a conspiracy involving the service that brought them together.[3](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-trunk-teaser-trailer) • [5](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-trunk-release-date-news)
The title object is a baby-blue designer suitcase trimmed in bright red, which opens the series resting on the edge of an islet in a lake at dawn.[8](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3289027/netflix-k-drama-trunk-review-gong-yoo-seo-hyun-jin-atmospheric-romantic-thriller)
### Cast and characters
- **Gong Yoo** as Han Jeong-won, a music producer[5](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-trunk-release-date-news)
- **Seo Hyun-jin** as Noh In-ji, Jeong-won's contract wife and an NM employee[5](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-trunk-release-date-news)
- **Jung Yun-ha** as Lee Seo-yeon, Jeong-won's first wife[5](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-trunk-release-date-news)
- **Kim Dong-won** as Eom Tae-seong, a man from In-ji's past[5](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-trunk-release-date-news)
- **Jo I-geon** as Yoon Ji-o, Seo-yeon's contract husband[5](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-trunk-release-date-news)
- **Lee Ki-woo** as Seo Do-ha[5](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-trunk-release-date-news)
## Production
Netflix announced production and the casting of Seo Hyun-jin and Gong Yoo on July 17, 2023, describing the project as a mystery series built around a trunk found in the depths of a lake.[1](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-trunk-production-and-cast) The series was directed by Kim Kyu-tae, whose earlier credits include [Our Blues](https://www.edgepedia.org/our-blues) and [It's Okay, That's Love](https://www.edgepedia.org/its-okay-thats-love), and written by Park Eun-young of Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth.[3](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-trunk-teaser-trailer) It was produced by Project318 and GTist.[9](https://downloads.ctfassets.net/4cd45et68cgf/3iwfQTifEQNn7Y8h5sI4ZB/7be9572338a9b28f27779845b1163626/TH_Appendix_-_K-Slate_Announcement_2024.pdf) The source novel's author, Kim Ryeo-ryeong, is known in Korean literature for works including Punch and Thread of Lies.[9](https://downloads.ctfassets.net/4cd45et68cgf/3iwfQTifEQNn7Y8h5sI4ZB/7be9572338a9b28f27779845b1163626/TH_Appendix_-_K-Slate_Announcement_2024.pdf)
At a press event on November 26, 2024, director Kim Kyu-tae said working on the series prompted him to reconsider the social institution of marriage, which he described as a system long taken for granted.[10](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20241126006200315)
## Release and reception
The Trunk premiered on Netflix on November 29, 2024, with all eight episodes released at once.[3](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-trunk-teaser-trailer) • [2](https://www.netflix.com/title/81582447?src=tudum) The series reached number one on Netflix in South Korea shortly after release, and viewer reactions reported in the Korean press were heavily divided.[11](https://www.allkpop.com/article/2024/12/gong-yoo-and-seo-hyun-jins-new-netflix-drama-the-trunk-sparks-heavily-divided-opinions-among-viewers)
Critical response was mixed to positive. On Rotten Tomatoes the season holds an 83% Tomatometer from critics and an 83% score on the audience Popcornmeter.[7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_trunk) Reviewers singled out the series' visual style and performances: the [South China Morning Post](https://www.edgepedia.org/south-china-morning-post) called it an atmospheric romantic thriller in which characters project stability and affluence while hiding what lies beneath,[8](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3289027/netflix-k-drama-trunk-review-gong-yoo-seo-hyun-jin-atmospheric-romantic-thriller) and NDTV praised its cinematography, soundtrack, and lead performances.[4](https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/the-trunk-review-visually-gong-yoos-series-is-nothing-short-of-spectacular-3-stars-7138961/amp/1) Common criticisms held that the investigation thread, the marriage-agency concept, and the trunk itself were muddled or underexplained, and that the late episodes dragged toward a disappointing ending.[12](https://latestnetflix.com/series/230777) Time magazine listed it among Netflix's best romantic K-dramas, describing it as a slower, more complex burn than the traditional K-drama love story.[13](https://time.com/7221413/best-romantic-k-dramas-netflix/)
## Themes and content
The series explores love, obsession, codependency, and the fragility of marriage through its contract-marriage setup, wrapped in a murder mystery that runs through the eight episodes.[14](https://i.tribune.com.pk/magzine/T-Magazine%20DECEMBER-08-2024-5dJEg.pdf) It is rated TV-MA in the United States; the [British Board of Film Classification](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-board-of-film-classification) rated each episode for nudity, sex, suicide themes, and language, with individual episodes running from 59 minutes 11 seconds to 72 minutes 52 seconds.[2](https://www.netflix.com/title/81582447?src=tudum) • [15](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-trunk-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdi2ndc5) Common Sense Media, which recommends the series for ages 15 and up, notes content including fist-fighting, stalking, self-harm, the death of a baby, and a main character's abuse of pills.[16](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/the-trunk)
## References
1. [A-Listers Seo Hyun-jin and Gong Yoo Headline Mystery Series 'The Trunk', About Netflix (July 17, 2023)](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-trunk-production-and-cast)
2. [The Trunk, Netflix](https://www.netflix.com/title/81582447?src=tudum)
3. [Uncover the Secrets of 'The Trunk': Mystery Melodrama Starring Seo Hyun-jin and Gong Yoo, Launching November 29, About Netflix (October 30, 2024)](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/the-trunk-teaser-trailer)
4. [The Trunk Review: Visually, Gong Yoo's Series Is Nothing Short Of Spectacular, NDTV](https://www.ndtv.com/entertainment/the-trunk-review-visually-gong-yoos-series-is-nothing-short-of-spectacular-3-stars-7138961/amp/1)
5. [The Trunk K-Drama: Cast, Book, Trailer, Plot, Netflix Tudum (December 5, 2024)](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-trunk-release-date-news)
6. [The Trunk, Netflix Media Center](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81582447)
7. [The Trunk, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_trunk)
8. [Netflix K-drama The Trunk review: Gong Yoo, Seo Hyun-jin in atmospheric romantic thriller, South China Morning Post (December 2, 2024)](https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/k-pop/k-drama/article/3289027/netflix-k-drama-trunk-review-gong-yoo-seo-hyun-jin-atmospheric-romantic-thriller)
9. [The Trunk, Netflix K-Slate Announcement 2024 appendix](https://downloads.ctfassets.net/4cd45et68cgf/3iwfQTifEQNn7Y8h5sI4ZB/7be9572338a9b28f27779845b1163626/TH_Appendix_-_K-Slate_Announcement_2024.pdf)
10. ['The Trunk' challenges stereotypes about people, marriage: director, Yonhap News Agency (November 26, 2024)](https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20241126006200315)
11. [Gong Yoo and Seo Hyun Jin's new Netflix drama 'The Trunk' sparks heavily divided opinions among viewers, allkpop (December 2024)](https://www.allkpop.com/article/2024/12/gong-yoo-and-seo-hyun-jins-new-netflix-drama-the-trunk-sparks-heavily-divided-opinions-among-viewers)
12. [The Trunk, Netflix Series, Latest Netflix](https://latestnetflix.com/series/230777)
13. [The 15 Best Romantic K-Dramas on Netflix, Time (February 2025)](https://time.com/7221413/best-romantic-k-dramas-netflix/)
14. [ART, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT, The Express Tribune Magazine (December 8, 2024)](https://i.tribune.com.pk/magzine/T-Magazine%20DECEMBER-08-2024-5dJEg.pdf)
15. [The Trunk, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/the-trunk-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdi2ndc5)
16. [The Trunk Parents' Guide & TV Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/the-trunk)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › Korean contemporary drama › Thriller, crime, and mystery series › Crime and mystery thrillers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
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