Wonderland Cast: Gong Yoo’s Character Explained

Wonderland, the Korean movie, has finally hit Netflix. Since it was first reported, the producers have been very secretive about the story and Wonderland cast. But those who were able to watch it were surprised by Gong Yoo‘s guest appearance.

Let’s talk about his surprise character. Was Sung Joon alive? Or was he even a real human? Here’s what we know.  

What is Wonderland Korean Movie About?

Lately, many sci-fi shows and movies have been coming from Korea, such as Jung_E and The Silent Sea. The latest Korean movie to be added to that roster is Wonderland, which was written and directed by Kim Tae-Yong, who also did Memento Mori, Family Ties, and the Late Autumn remake.

It was revealed that Director Kim wrote the screenplay of the film and decided to turn this into a movie in June 2019. Although it is a unique sci-fi movie, we can’t help but feel like it was inspired by a couple of Black Mirror episodes (which happen to be my two personal favorite episodes): Be Right Back (2013) and San Junipero (2016). It felt like the two Black Mirror episodes were combined to come up with an expanded version in the Korean movie, which wasn’t a bad thing. 

So what was Wonderland movie about? 

The movie takes place in a distant future with one company able to digitize a person’s consciousness just before they depart or fall into a comatose. The company, Wonderland, supplies its customers with an account they can use to check up on their departed loved ones and make things feel like they are abroad. 

Wonderland is a mix of mini-stories that occur within the same universe. In Bae Suzy‘s case, she chose her comatose boyfriend, Park Tae-Joo (Park Bo-Gum), to be an astronaut in space who would routinely make calls to her and interact with her like a real human would. In the morning, Tae-Joo would call Ku Jung-In to wake her up so she wouldn’t be late for work. He also knows her schedule and offers to make reservations for her. 

Another story we follow is that of Bai Li (Tang Wei), who plays the AI version of a working mom assigned abroad for an archaeological dig to find the Tree of Life. She makes calls to her daughter and mother. 

Seo Hae-Ri (Jung Yu-Mi) is the creator of the app, who works with Kim Hyeon-Soo (Choi Woo-Sik) to find the next customers and help them out with their concerns. This is where Gong Yoo makes a guest appearance as Sung-Joon. 

Side note: Yu-Mi and Gong Yoo reunite in this film. They previously starred in Train to Busan together. 

Explaining Gong Yoo’s Character

Gong Yoo makes a surprise appearance in the star-studded movie. The first time we see him is at an airport, where he is a seat away from Bai Li. The two make eye contact, smile at each other, and strike up a conversation. 

At the end of their conversation, Gong Yoo digitally exchanges contact details with  Bai Li and says to “keep in touch.” His digital ID also shows that he is a Psychotherapist. 

But as the movie progresses, we discover that Gong Yoo’s character mysteriously appears out of nowhere to help Bai Li. We later learn that he is actually an AI character tasked to “manage the AI within Wonderland while also being a friend.” And in one of the scenes, he rescues Bai Li while remaining calm and cool. 

Who Else is Part of Wonderland Cast?

Apart from Gong Yoo, the cast of Wonderland makes up a pretty star-studded list:

• Tang Wei as Bai Li
• Bae Suzy as Ku Jung-In
• Park Bo-Gum as Park Tae-Joo
• Jung Yu-Mi as Seo Hae-Ri
• Choi Woo-Sik as Kim Hyeon-Soo

Gong Yoo speaks straight English in the opening scene with Tang Wei. 

Watch Wonderland on Netflix now.