Why Gong Yoo Has ‘Perfect Chemistry’ with Seo Hyun Jin in ‘The Trunk’
MANILA, Philippines — In Netflix’s newest South Korean drama “The Trunk,” Gong Yoo and Seo Hyun Jin have shown “perfect chemistry,” making them “lovely to watch” as two people first brought together by a contract marriage.
This was the candid assessment of director Kim Kyu Tae, who previously helmed the K-dramas “Our Blues” and “It’s Okay, That’s Love,” on his lead stars’ performance in this story that explores emotions in all forms — obsession, desire, loneliness, emptiness and love.
“The two actors’ performance and the chemistry was just perfect and I really had high hopes as well. Basically, these two stars, these talents, had from the outset respect and affection for each other. That is why the chemistry was more than perfect,” the director lauded Gong Yoo and Hyun Jin during a virtual media junket.
“Gong Yoo really watched Hyun Jin perform and he reacted to her performances. They were just a lovely couple to watch on screen. They had this attitude of supporting each other so that they could bring out the best performance out of each other. It was just great.”
In “The Trunk,” Gong Yoo does what he does best as a beloved romantic lead in the K-drama world as he embodies Han Jeong Won, a successful recording producer dealing with the fallout of a failed marriage and lingering generational trauma.
The plot begins when his ex-wife, desperate to rid herself of Jeong Won’s “obsession,” arranges for him to enter a short-term union with Noh In Ji (Hyun Jin), a seasoned and sought-after employee at this secretive agency called New Marriage.
Their service provides a “wife” who fulfills all marital duties except for one: love. The one-year marriage contract adheres to a strict manual, making the arrangement supposedly detached and free of complications. However, Jeong Won is eventually and inexplicably drawn to In Ji as the temporary marriage moves along.
When asked during the virtual chat about what drew him to “The Trunk,” given his portfolio of standout projects including Filipino favorites “Goblin” and “Coffee Prince,” Gong Yoo playfully replied, “Well, thank you for the compliment that I have great taste in selections. Is that real?”
When reassured with a resounding yes, he shared that he found it easy to connect with his character.
“I found some similarities with myself and Han Jeong Won. I think that is why I felt empathetic and compassionate towards him,” Gong Yoo said. “It was a natural instinct; I thought I would become Han Jeong Won, that I could become him.”
“How I understand Jeong Won in the series is that he doesn’t really put a lot of effort into overcoming his trauma or his burdens. I think he was just living like that and he was neglected like that for a long period of time,” he continued.
“Maybe not as much as Jeong Won, but I myself have a lot of burden in my daily living and I don’t really, necessarily think that it’s much of a pain.”
“So, it wasn’t so unnatural for me to (play) Jeong Wan. Therefore, I did not see the need to research and study about the character,” he reiterated.
Hyun Jin agreed with Gong Woo in that it wasn’t much of a challenge to resonate with her character as well.
She recalled that when they were filming the show, they had frequent conversations about how they felt like they had already encountered their characters somewhere “because we could understand them.”
“There’s not much in In Ji that I could not understand or comprehend,” she stressed.
“Of course, I did put a lot of effort (into the portrayal). But it was not like (I had to understand) why is she acting like this or why is she thinking like that? I don’t think I’ve ever thought about that.
“I did look at her vocational aspects, the particularities of her (profession). But other than that, I could understand her quite well.”
Hyun Jin added that there was no prejudgment on their characters with thoughts like “this is completely nonsense or that they are nuts,” explaining, “If that was the case, I don’t think I would have taken on this role.
“So it’s not only us, but all the other cast members. I think we kind of resonated with the characters. So as a joke, I can say we’re all sick people,” she mused.
Gong Yoo also felt that “The Trunk” approaches the recurring theme of love differently.
“There are many dramas and films that talk about love itself, so it’s a very frequent theme. But in ‘The Trunk,’ why it was so fresh was because the nature of talking about love was quite different from the other pieces. That is why it was something that I wanted to take the challenge on.”
The actor admitted that the series made him reflect on love and relationships in his own life.
“My perspective on love and relationships… I got to think about it and contemplate on it more and more. Of course, there’s no right answer to what love is. There are different kinds of love, like love of possession, love of existence. I got to think about what the right love and a more healthy love could be.”
Gong Yoo also expressed admiration for his onscreen partner, revealing that working with the “Another Miss Oh” star was a major reason for taking on the project.
“I really wanted to co-star and perform with Seo Hyun Jin,” he said. “We’ve actually mentioned this in one of the award ceremonies. So, meeting her in this project was delightful, and it was really fun and entertaining. I learned a lot watching her performance.”
He added, “All dramas have fantasy in them, but I think our drama, ‘The Trunk,’ has a different kind of fantasy.”
Hyun Jin, for her part, echoed similar sentiments about working alongside Gong Yoo and director Kim Kyu Tae.
“For me, working with these two gentlemen and the whole staff, I learned a lot professionally as well as personally,” she said.
“Even after we finished shooting, it has been about seven months, and still to this date, I keep thinking about the script itself.”
When asked by this paper what “The Trunk” says about marriage or long-term relationships, both stars offered varying views. Gong Yoo pointed out the paradoxical nature of the series’ concept of temporary marriage.
“I think the essence of it is that we’re not saying this is the right answer,” he explained. “I think we’re more posing a question to the viewers: What do you think love is? What do you think a relationship is? I hope viewers look beyond the concept of temporary marriage to the heart of the message.”
Hyun Jin, on the other hand, expressed surprise that people could interpret “The Trunk” as a narrative about marriage.
“I personally thought this is not a story about marriage. It’s more about exaggerated emotions — how people with such emotions communicate and develop relationships under the system of temporary marriage. And with that communication and relationship, how they are changing and how (their story) unfolds, I think that was the main message of the series,” she said.
She, nevertheless, acknowledged the provocative nature of the concept but looked at it as a storytelling device.
“Of course, this concept of temporary marriage itself is very shocking, and it could be very provocative. Maybe that is why it comes to one’s eyes (attention) more. It really comes out,” she said.
“But I think this is one of the devices to tell the story. That’s how I understood it.”
(All eight episodes of “The Trunk” are now streaming on Netflix.)
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