Nigeria: Netflix’s ‘Mousetrap’ turns a Korean folktale into a high-stakes identity thriller

By Zuleihat Owuiye, Nigeria

A stolen name, a stolen face, and a hunt for a monster that wears people like clothes. That’s the premise of Netflix’s new Korean thriller _Mousetrap_, which premieres globally on August 28.

Based on a popular webtoon and rooted in a classic Korean folktale, the series promises psychological dread, a relentless chase, and a cast led by Sul Kyung-gu, Ryu Jun-yeol, and Lee Kyu-hyung.

Director Kim Hong-sun introduced the series at a press conference in Seoul on Thursday, explaining that _Mousetrap_ draws from the old Korean story about a rat that becomes human after eating fingernails.

“The work is motivated by the folktale of the fingernail-eating rat,” Kim said. “It is a thriller about a man whose life has been stolen trying to reclaim his identity.”

In the folktale, a rat that consumes human fingernails can take on human form. _Mousetrap_ reimagines that idea for the modern age. Instead of folklore horror, the series frames it as a crime and identity thriller.

Kim, known for taut, stylized work on Netflix’s _Dear Hongrang_ (2025) and hit dramas _The Guest_ (2018) and _Voice_ (2017), said the webtoon script pulled him in immediately. 

“The original webtoon had a chilling sense of horror, and our writer adapted it dynamically into a chase format,” he explained. “Reading the script, I resonated with Moon-jae’s emotions. I just wanted to see who the Rat was, so there was no reason not to direct it.”

The plot centers on Moon-jae, played by Ryu Jun-yeol, a novelist who has lived in isolation for three years. Overnight, he loses everything — his name, his face, his life — to a mysterious entity known only as “the Rat.”

To get it back, he teams up with two unlikely allies: No-ja, a loan shark portrayed by Sul Kyung-gu, and Sun-yong, a detective played by Lee Kyu-hyung. Together, they go after the Rat in what becomes a tense cat-and-mouse game.

For Ryu, it’s also a career first. He takes on a dual role, playing both the real Moon-jae and the version of him taken over by the Rat. 

“Since I am portraying both individuals, I focused on subtle adjustments in personality and gaze,” Ryu said. “Primary emphasis was placed on voice tone so viewers could immediately tell them apart.”

He said the setup reminded him of the folktale he read as a child, and that was part of what drew him to the project. “Adapting that story for global audiences appealed to me, and the script raised so many questions that I voluntarily looked up the original webtoon.”

“Think of him as part of the last generation of classic mobsters — a midlevel boss type,” Sul said. “He doesn’t care about personal connections or who anyone is. If he’s told to bury someone, he buries them, takes his cut and moves on.”

Despite that hardness, Sul said what hooked him was how human the characters felt. “There are no supernatural powers or spiritual elements here, just characters who seem somehow incomplete. The sense of immersion as they hunt for the truth was incredible.”

Lee Kyu-hyung rounds out the trio as Sun-yong, the detective who brings an investigative structure to the hunt.

Kim was asked how _Mousetrap_ sets itself apart from other identity-swap or doppelganger thrillers. His answer focused on structure and tone.

“There are certainly shared themes, but ‘Mousetrap’ pivots into a relentless chase,” he said. “We start from a similar premise, but the execution takes a completely different path. The real thrill lies in the cat-and-mouse game of unmasking the imposter. That psychological tension was our primary focus throughout filming and directing.”

Rather than leaning into fantasy, the series keeps the horror grounded. The Rat doesn’t have magic. The terror comes from how easily a life can be taken — documents, relationships, reputation — and how hard it is to prove who you are once it’s gone.

Kim also pointed to a single line of dialogue as the thematic core of the show: “life is like an island.”

“Each character drifts through the narrative isolated like a lone island,” he said. “Keeping that sense of detachment in mind will make the viewing experience all the more compelling.”

That isolation plays out in each lead. Moon-jae is literally cut off from his own identity. No-ja operates alone in the criminal underworld. Sun-yong chases a truth that no one believes. The series uses that emotional distance to build tension

For Ryu, it was curiosity. The script left him with questions that made him go read the source material on his own. For Sul, it was the lack of typical genre tropes. No ghosts, no powers — just people trying to survive a situation that keeps slipping out of control.

The webtoon-to-screen adaptation has become a major pipeline for Korean content on Netflix. _Mousetrap_ follows that trend, but with a darker, more psychological bent than many recent fantasy or romance adaptations.

Mousetrap_ will premiere worldwide on Netflix on August 28. With Kim directing and a cast of established film and TV actors, expectations are high both in Korea and abroad.

The series arrives at a time when Korean thrillers continue to find global audiences. By tying a traditional folktale to contemporary anxieties about identity theft and erasure, _Mousetrap_ aims to feel both culturally specific and universally relevant.

For Ryu, the dual role represents a new challenge. For Sul, it’s a chance to play a gritty, old-school character in a very modern story. For Kim, it’s another opportunity to build tension until the very last frame.

As the director put it: the real thrill isn’t just finding the Rat. It’s figuring out who you are after someone has tried to become you.