Gong Yoo is no stranger to train platforms, action, or genre storytelling. He’s also a charismatic leading man who has enthralled fans of Kdramas since he started his career. With iconic romantic performances, a film that jumpstarted a subgenre genre renaissance, and an ability to dial into characters that are entirely different from the next, Gong Yoo is one of the most famous actors. But for a lot of Americans who may not be horror fans, Squid Game marked their first time meeting Gong Yoo.
As the Recruiter, Gong didn’t have a large role. In fact, you could say that he was there to use his beauty and charm to recruit you as much as his ddakji was there to bring Gi-Hun into the game. In Squid Game Season 2, Gong Yoo’s Recruiter gets the chance to peel the curtain back and show you how broken people who choose to work for the game really are.
But if you loved his performance there, his filmography is well worth diving into. With films and Kdrama series in equal measure, here’s what you should watch that isn’t Squid Game.
The Trunk
Director: Kim Kyu-tae
Writers: Kim Ryeo-ryeong (novel), Park Eun-young
Genre: Thriller
Watch Here: Netflix
The cast keeps things grounded yet compelling with their performances, never venturing too far off the deep end into dramatics. Gong Yoo explores the complicated headspace Jeong-Won occupies in The Trunk, plagued by dreams and haunted by memories of his past.
The hallucinatory cinematography amplifies this reality, accessorizing Gong Yoo’s performance with all the trappings. Seo Hyun-Jin’s In-Ji is quiet and secretive yet brimming with strength. But when she’s alone, Hyun-Jin is unafraid to show the true depths of In-Ji’s vulnerability.
The Trunk never lets go, taking viewers on a journey that proves addicting and messy. It gives us characters we’ll love to hate and leaves us wondering what’ll happen next. Fans of mysteries and thrillers should add this K-drama immediately to their watchlist.
Train to Busan
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Writers: Park Joo-suk, Yeon Sang-ho
Genre: Horror
Watch Here: Netflix
Train to Busan ushered in a new wave of zombie films. It is a zombie film with fatherhood at its core and a cast that absolutely leaps from the screen. Gong Yoo’s portrayal of Seok-woo is intimate and dynamic. In this one role, he highlights his ability to capture fast-paced action sequences and the vulnerability of a father who wishes he had always put his daughter first. Thanks to the film’s ending, it became an instant horror classic.
Covered in blood, Gong Yoo’s skill as a genre actor is undeniable. Train to Busan is indicative of that. The film tasks passengers on a train to survive a zombie epidemic. With each car getting swarmed one by one, Seok-woo and his daughter band together with other passengers (including Ma Dong-seok) to reach the end of the line.
Undercut by the business man at the front of the train, Seok-woo has to reflect on the choices he’s made as a father more interested in his career than his family. It works on every level and introduced American audiences to Korean zombie tropes, diversifying the genre staple.
Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (aka Goblin)
Director: Lee Eung-bok
Writers: Kim Eun-sook
Genre: Romance/Fantasy
Watch Here: Viki
Seen as one of the gold standard series for romance and fantasy in Kdrama series, Guardian: The Lonely and Great God (aka Goblin) is one of Gong Yoo’s most iconic roles. Somber at times but always charming, actor Gong plays Kim Shin, a decorated military general from the Goryeo Dynasty. When he is framed as a traitor and killed by the young king, he is cursed by the Almighty to stay immortal forever. The curse for his everlasting life is that he has to see everyone he loves die at some point.
Having become an immortal goblin, he has taken to helping people with his powers and being a kind man in spite of the immense grief he carries—his resiliency in spirit isn’t just endearing. It’s immersive. And yet, he still longs for his eternity to end, and the only way is through the Goblin’s Bride. He can be at peace once she pulls the sword of immortality from his body.
As Kim Shin, Gong Yoo’s vulnerable performance defined an era of Korean television that hasn’t been touched yet. But the series’ ability to weave together the lives of a larger ensemble cast is really where it finds its staying power.
Coffee Prince
Director: Yoon Jeong Lee
Writers: Lee Jung-ah Jang Hyun-joo
Genre: Rom-com
Watch Here: Kockowa (via Prime Video), Viki
The classic Kdrama series Coffee Prince launched Gong Yoo’s career, so everyone should go watch to see where our leading man got his foothold in the industry. It is a must-see for many reasons. I’ll give you two: Gong Yoo and to look back at how much Kdramas have evolved in nearly twenty years.
As Choi Han-gyeol, Gong Yoo checks all the boxes to portray a frivolous, privileged type. But everything changes when he meets Go Eun-chan (Yoon Eun-hye), a tomboy who is frequently mistaken for, well, a boy.
Aside from Eun-chan’s presence bringing to light how special Han-gyeol’s life really is, due to confusion surrounding her gender, Han-gyeol undergoes a journey regarding his sexuality when he starts developing feelings for his employee. This development isn’t entirely new for this particular subgenre of romance, but it gives Gong Yoo plenty of opportunities to explore Han-gyeol’s emotional journey, down to the very cringiest parts.
Coffee Prince is the lightest of his shows, so it would be a good choice for those who need pleasant distractions.
The Silent Sea
Director: Choi Hang-Yong
Writers: Eun-kyo Park
Genre: Science Fiction
Watch Here: Netflix
While the plot is more at the forefront in The Silent Sea rather than the characters, Gong Yoo’s Captain Han takes the security of his team seriously. As casualties rise, the internal workings of Han’s confrontation with failure bubble to the surface.
The responsibility he carries is a weight, but at first, his confidence keeps him steady in pursuit of his mission to lead everyone on a successful mission. But space provides many obstacles, and what should be a simple enough mission to a Lunar Space Station turns into something far more than he and the team have planned for.
This role is one of Gong Yoo’s more understated, partially due to Bae Doona taking central focus. The entire cast makes do with what they’ve been given to work with, but stronger character development might have helped all involved so that characters could get their own deserved spotlight. However, The Silent Sea features Gong Yoo as, arguably, his most rogueish adventurer. And that neck tattoo? A sound visual design choice.
Seobok
Director: Lee Yong-ju
Writers: Lee Yong-ju
Genre: Science Fiction
Watch Here: Netflix, Prime Video
In the film, Seobok learns about humanity with every interaction and blood-soaked encounter and eventually asks himself what the meaning of immortality is. Should he allow humans to stop death by researching him? As Seobok ponders on this question, the inhumanity around him grows, and soon, the true colors of our world make clear that, ultimately, only wealthy men would be able to get the ‘benefits’ from immortality.
Gong Yoo and Park Bo-gum’s beautifully nuanced performances give power to these thoughts, but they can’t stop the whole road movie section from being bogged down by the high number of philosophical queries the film lays out, none of which are thoroughly explored. Because of this, you’ll find yourself losing interest in the motivation of the characters even more due to the dull pace of the editing.
Eventually, your patience and investment are rewarded when Ju Lee-yong successfully transforms these philosophical conundrums into emotional fuel for a spectacular, action-packed third act, in which everything comes full circle. Seobok: Project Clone is a riveting balance of philosophy, sci-fi, and action with a hint of road movie goodness that never sacrifices its complex questions in lieu of cheap entertainment.
This is just the tip of the Gong Yoo filmography iceberg. With a lot of guest spots and leading roles, this is one actor to catch up with and not limit your knowledge to just his one appearance in Squid Game.