Netflix’s ‘Mousetrap’ Sets Ryu Jun-yeol Loose in a Twisted Identity Theft Nightmare

Netflix is about to drop one of its most unsettling Korean thrillers of the year, and the premise alone is enough to make anyone check their wallet twice. ‘Mousetrap’ follows a man who wakes up one day to discover that someone else has taken over his entire existence, and the fight to reclaim it looks absolutely brutal.

The series has been building buzz since its first announcement, and now that a release date and trailer are locked in, fans of dark, twisty K-dramas have a very good reason to clear their calendars.

‘Mousetrap’ Release Date and Where to Watch

Netflix has confirmed that ‘Mousetrap’ will premiere globally on August 28, 2026. The streamer confirmed the premiere date on July 31, when it also unveiled the series’ poster and trailer. The show was first teased months earlier as part of a broader slate announcement.

Mousetrap was originally unveiled in January 2026 as part of Netflix Korea’s 2026 slate, with a release window initially set for the third quarter of the year. By the end of July, Netflix officially locked in the August 28 date.

The series will consist of ten episodes and will stream exclusively on Netflix. A Netflix subscription will be required to watch, and the show is expected to be available to viewers worldwide as soon as it drops. There has been some conflicting chatter online about the exact date, with a handful of outlets floating an August 18 premiere, but the vast majority of reporting, including Netflix’s own confirmation, points squarely to August 28.

The ‘Mousetrap’ Cast Brings Together Two K-Drama Heavyweights

The cast is stacked with familiar faces for anyone who follows Korean film and television closely. Ryu Jun-yeol and Sul Kyung-gu were first reported to be in talks for the series back in December 2024, and by May 2025 both actors were confirmed to lead the cast.

Ryu Jun-yeol takes on the lead role, and viewers may recognize him from his turn in the Netflix hit ‘The 8 Show,’ along with earlier leading roles in ‘Lost,’ ‘Lucky Romance,’ and ‘Reply 1988.’ His character anchors the entire mystery, and his transformation from a quiet writer into a man desperate to prove his own identity is expected to be the emotional core of the show.

Sul Kyung-gu plays a ruthless loan shark named No-ja, while Lee Kyoo-hyung rounds out the main trio as a detective named Sun-yong. Supporting players Moon Jong-il and Go Hyung-woo joined the cast in December 2025. Hong-sun Kim directs the project, a name that has already stirred plenty of excitement among Korean drama fans.

Production itself took shape over a long stretch. Filming reportedly ran from mid-April 2025 through November 2025, giving the cast and crew ample time to build out the show’s tense, paranoid atmosphere.

The Plot Turns Identity Theft Into a Life-or-Death Chase

The story at the heart of ‘Mousetrap’ is genuinely unsettling once you break it down. The plot follows Moon Jae, a reclusive writer who discovers that the fingerprint recognition on his phone suddenly fails, and even the friend who managed his affairs disappears without explanation. With no way left to prove who he really is, he learns that a mysterious figure known only as Rat has taken his name, his identity, and his fortune, and he sets out to reclaim his life piece by piece.

In his desperate attempt to get everything back, Moon-jae ends up teaming up with No-ja, the very loan shark who had once been hunting him down. It is an odd-couple pairing born entirely out of necessity, which tends to make for some of the most compelling television in this genre.

The source material gives the show extra texture too. Mousetrap is inspired by the webtoon Field Mouse, and the newly released poster features Moon Jae staring intently ahead with the tagline “Prove I’m Real Or I’m The Imposter,” which perfectly captures the show’s central identity crisis. Field Mouse was originally serialized between 2017 and 2020 by webtoon artist Ludovico, and its story draws inspiration from a Korean folktale about a rat that transforms into a human after eating someone’s fingernails.

That folklore root gives the thriller a slightly eerie, almost supernatural undertone even though the show itself is grounded in a very modern nightmare about stolen identity and financial ruin.

‘Mousetrap’ Trailer and What to Expect From the Screenplay

The screenplay comes from Lee Jae Gon, known for his work on A Model Family, and the newly released trailer has already given fans a taste of the show’s tense, chase thriller energy. Early reactions online suggest viewers are drawn to the premise precisely because it taps into a very real, very modern fear about losing control over your own identity.

Mousetrap arrives during a genuinely crowded month for Korean television, sharing the release calendar with ‘Flex X Cop’ Season 2 on Disney Plus and ‘Four Hands, Two Sonatas’ closing out August on tvN and Netflix. Competition or not, the mystery and star power behind ‘Mousetrap’ should be more than enough to pull in a dedicated audience.

With ten episodes to unravel a mystery this layered, there is plenty of room for twists, red herrings, and betrayals before Moon Jae gets any closer to the truth. Whether the show sticks the landing or gets tangled in its own web remains to be seen once it actually premieres.

So once Moon Jae’s fight to reclaim his stolen identity finally hits your screen on August 28, who do you think is really pulling the strings behind the mysterious Rat, and would you have handled losing your entire life to an imposter any better than he does.