Trigger (2025) is a gripping, addictive crime action thriller with a unique premise that I have never seen addressed before in any other Korean drama: how the illegality of citizens owning a gun in South Korea affects their society overall, including those citizens involved with criminal activities, plus those citizens who are unable to protect themselves properly without legal gun ownership. Only the police and the military can use firearms legally in South Korea. While I ordinarily don't gravitate to the genre of crime-themed K-dramas I made an exception in this case because I was curious how they would examine this subject in a drama screenplay. It was actually written and directed by the same person, Kwon Oh Seung, and it was sponsored by Netflix. 

Another reason for not missing this drama was that it starred one of my top favorite Korean actors, Nam Gil Kim (Shark, Bad Guy, Song Of The Bandits, Live Up To Your Name, Lovers, My Lovely Sam Soon, Personal Taste, films Portrait Of A Beauty, Lovers Vanished, Emergency Declaration, Pirates, One Day, wildlife documentary Life Of Samantha) who is always fascinating to watch perform (not to mention he's unbelievably handsome and easy on the eyes!). Sometimes I can't believe that I've been watching him in dramas and films since 2006! How time flies! He never seems to age either, and always brings much depth to his portrayals of different characters, whether they are Bad Guys or, as in this story, a Good Guy working as a cop / detective who has a great deal of compassion for the victims of crimes. At only ten episodes I was able to breeze through this drama in only two days. I should warn folks, however, that the drama isn't really fitting for young audiences, since it depicts lots of street violence, and quite a few curse words show up in the subtitles (which became rather tiresome after awhile). There's also virtually no romance in the drama so if that is your primary "cuppa tea" in your K-drama fare you might want to shop around for a different drama to watch.

Nam Gil Kim Has Hardly Aged In Two Decades!
Trigger (2025, Top) and Lovers (2006, Bottom)

Another fabulous performance in the drama was given by second male lead Kim Young Kwang (Call It Love, D-Day, Pinocchio, Love Rain, White Christmas, My Fair Lady, Worlds Within) who played a very flamboyant yet secretive character who seemed to care about Nam Gil Kim's cop character's safety but who also had his own ambitious private agenda that could put the good cop in increased danger in future.

There were also many other familiar actor faces in the supporting cast as well, who made me smile when I recognized them. They include prolific character actors Kim Won Hae (Nine: Nine Time Travels), Jo Han Chul (Jirisan), and Jung Woong In (who played the unforgettable villain in I Hear Your Voice), and the always memorable older actress Gil Hae Yeon (Doctor Stranger).

The Story:

South Korea has a strict ban on gun possession for civilians; only the military and the police are allowed access to firearms. Even the criminal gangs in South Korea adhere to this gun ban, using the threat of knives and other weapons to carry out their criminal agendas. In the United States the 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution allows gun rights for civilians, though in most US big cities today there is a huge amount of gun violence taking place, which of course is illegal. Trigger is the first Korean drama I have watched which addresses the disparity and consequences in the two countries' approaches to gun rights for civilians. One gang in the series, made up of Americans, begins clandestinely supplying South Korean gangs with illegal firearms for a huge profit, and not surprisingly gun crimes in the city of Seoul begin to increase dramatically.

As our story begins we meet a rather kindly, gentle policeman named Lee Do (Nam Gil Kim) who has had a very traumatic life before becoming a cop in Seoul. He had a disastrous childhood in which his family had been killed by home invaders, leaving him the sole survivor, and as an adult in the army he had become a sharpshooter and had carried out many secret international executions using legal military style firearms.

 

After he left the military he became determined to be a police officer / detective in Seoul, but with a new dedication to using firearms as infrequently as possible, as a last resort, applying compassionate anti-crime techniques first and foremost, instead of guns, to solve complex criminal situations. For instance, he routinely helps the elderly and children who are in legal trouble to avoid being arrested, only using firearms when the circumstances absolutely require them to tame volatile situations. For example, he routinely helps an older woman named Oh Kyeong Suk (Gil Hae Yeon) who often gets into trouble for protesting outside the company whom she blames for causing her adult son's tragic death, and he also helps a male student named Park Gyu Jin (Park Yoon Ho), who is routinely bullied at school, to avoid complications for starting to defend himself using violent self-preservation techniques instead of peaceful means to try and scare the bullies off.

 

Detective Lee Do's reputation at work is notably high since he solves many difficult cases, avoiding bloodshed. His bosses and co-workers at the police station often call on him first to solve these cases, including chief inspector Cho Hyun Sik (Kim Won Hae), detective Yoon Won Cheol (Jung Woong In) who admittedly is a little jealous of his success, and another detective who admires Lee Do's clever success at work, Captain Joo (Jo Han Chul), who goes to bat for him whenever questionable cases arise. It's a hard task especially since Seoul's gangs are somehow obtaining firearms illegally and crime rates in the city begin skyrocketing.

So Lee Do is the first cop to be called when an embittered young man with mental issues named Yu Jeong Tae (Woo Ji Hyun, chilling performance!), possessing an illegal machine gun with many bullets, threatens to shoot anyone who gets on his nerves, including the occupants of the apartment complex where he lives who can be quite noisy at night. When complaints are received about Yu Jeong Tae Detective Lee Do discovers that the young man received the weapon and bullets for free through the mail due to a shady overseas company that is willing to supply young people with firepower and bullets illegally! Lee Do tries to resolve the situation by targeting this clandestine company in clever ways using his advanced detective skills. 

In resolving this complex criminal situation Detective Lee Do obtains the help of a young man named Moon Baek (Kim Young Kwan) who has become fascinated with Lee Do's successful police record. However it slowly becomes clear that Moon Baek is also interested in learning about the increase in gun possessions in Seoul so that he might be able to access some weapons himself, to sell to local gangs for lots of money (and also to exact revenge against those who harmed his own family in the past). Will Lee Do's more peaceful crime solving skills convince Moon Baek to change his life for the better?

Will Detective Lee Do eventually discover Moon Baek's real secret motive for becoming his friend, and what will he do about any potential betrayal? Is there a way to avoid violence in this situation, which would fall in line with Detective Lee Do's innate desire to avoid bloodshed whenever possible? Is friendship and a peaceful life more important than greed and ambition and revenge?

If you are looking for a Korean drama that is different in theme from the majority available today, where a man with multiple deaths on his military record primarily becomes a pacifist in his work as a cop, then definitely check out Trigger. After completing the drama I could clearly see why Nam Gil Kim felt attracted to this story. He no doubt appreciated its novelty, its willingness to investigate the consequences of gun banning in South Korea. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~

HOME TO KOREAN DRAMA REVIEWS