The Morning Calm Post

Netflix series Mousetrap premieres on August 28, 2026, Korea time. Inspired by the Korean folktale about a rat that eats a person's clipped fingernails and becomes that person, the mystery chase thriller follows novelist Moon-jae, whose name, face and life are stolen; loan shark Noja, who wants to recover money; and detective Sun-yong, who tracks the case as they pursue an unknown figure called The Rat.

Netflix is releasing the Korean chase thriller Mousetrap. The premiere date is August 28, 2026, Korea time. The series begins from the Korean folk imagination that "when a rat eats a person's fingernails, it becomes that person." It combines an old folktale premise with a modern fear of losing one's identity.

At the center of Mousetrap is novelist Moon-jae. Played by Ryu Jun-yeol, Moon-jae is introduced as a character whose name, face and life are stolen by a mysterious being known as The Rat. He begins chasing the entity that took everything from him and, in the process, forms an unexpected alliance with Noja, a loan shark who had been tracking him. Noja is played by Sul Kyung-gu. He moves with the goal of recovering money, but becomes another axis of the case after getting entangled with Moon-jae. Lee Kyoo-hyung joins as detective Sun-yong, a character who follows the identity of The Rat and the flow of the case. If Ryu Jun-yeol's Moon-jae shows the anxiety of a person whose identity has been stolen, Sul Kyung-gu's Noja enters the incident through personal interest. Lee Kyoo-hyung's Sun-yong is closer to the investigative viewpoint. The fact that the three characters have different goals forms the basic structure of the tension.

Another casting point that stands out is Mu Jin-sung. He plays Su-hyun, Moon-jae's close friend. Su-hyun is the only friend who had managed Moon-jae's daily life and every movement. Released stills include a scene in which Moon-jae desperately holds onto a car carrying Su-hyun. That image suggests the relationship between the two may not remain a simple support relationship.

What makes Mousetrap interesting is the premise itself. The idea that a person loses their name, face and social position looks like a mystery on the surface, but internally it leads to the question of what makes a person themselves. When face, name, the memories of people around them, work and relationships all become unstable at once, how can a character prove their own existence? The series appears to approach that question through the form of a chase thriller.

Mousetrap is based on the webtoon Field Mouse by Ludovico. How the live-action series translates the webtoon's visual rhythm and sense of scene transition is another point to watch. Folkloric material can lean too far into fantasy when adapted to screen, but it can also become colder and sharper when held inside the density of a realistic thriller.

Director Kim Hong-sun has worked on genre-forward projects including The Guest, Voice, Money Heist: Korea - Joint Economic Area and Dear Hongrang. Since Mousetrap is also a chase thriller, the important question is how the series controls the pace of events, the uneasy atmosphere and the tension among characters. In particular, the premise of "the same face" and "a stolen life" depends not only on acting, but also on the camera's gaze, space and editing rhythm.

The released stills show a contrast between Moon-jae and The Rat. Images of Moon-jae arguing with community center officials or looking out a window show the confusion of a person whose daily life has collapsed. In contrast, the image of The Rat, who has the same face as Moon-jae but gives off a more composed mood, visually emphasizes the difference between the two beings. Through this series, Ryu Jun-yeol takes on the task of showing two figures with different atmospheres.

Noja, played by Sul Kyung-gu, is introduced as a rough loan shark. He searches for Moon-jae to recover lost money, but later moves into a relationship where he chases The Rat together with him. That shift shows that the series is not built only on a simple pursuit structure. As a character who was chasing money becomes entangled in tracking an unknowable being, the incident expands from economic interest to the question of existence.

Lee Kyoo-hyung's Sun-yong enters the story from the professional position of a detective. In a thriller, a detective can become a path through which the audience follows the case, and can also serve to objectify the statements and actions of other characters. How Sun-yong sees Moon-jae and Noja's pursuit, and how close he gets to The Rat's identity, will need to be confirmed after release.

Su-hyun, played by Mu Jin-sung, is important because he is a person who knew Moon-jae's life from the closest point. For someone whose identity has been stolen, a close friend can be the person who proves their past. Conversely, if that relationship shakes, Moon-jae's confusion can deepen further. Since the released stills show tension between Su-hyun and Moon-jae, Su-hyun may not be a simple surrounding character, but someone who increases the emotional pressure of the case.

Recent Korean Netflix series have widened their genre range. Crime, thriller, romance, historical drama and fantasy formats are being produced and released at the same time. Within that flow, Mousetrap sits as a work that combines folkloric material with a modern thriller. The reason the series draws attention is not only its cast. Its difference from other thrillers comes from how it begins with a familiar folk tale and pulls out the contemporary anxiety of identity loss and pursuit.

Summary Points

• Netflix series Mousetrap premieres on August 28, 2026, Korea time.
• The series is a mystery chase thriller inspired by the Korean folktale about a rat that eats clipped fingernails.
• Ryu Jun-yeol plays Moon-jae, a novelist whose name, face and life are stolen.
• Sul Kyung-gu plays Noja, a loan shark trying to recover lost money, while Lee Kyoo-hyung plays detective Sun-yong, who tracks the case.
• Mu Jin-sung joins as Su-hyun, Moon-jae's close friend.
• Mousetrap is based on Ludovico's webtoon Field Mouse and is directed by Kim Hong-sun.

NETFLIX Mousetrap Netflix Title Page View Title