WHY GONG YOO HAS 'PERFECT CHEMISTRY' WITH SEO HYUN JIN IN 'THE TRUNK'

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.

- By NATHALIE M. TOMADA

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?"