Son Suk-ku (손석구) is back in detective mode. His new Netflix series, The Blue Road (푸른길, Pureun-gil), premieres on November 20, 2026. It pairs him with Japanese actor Eita Nagayama in a murder case that crosses the Korea-Japan border. If you only know him as the quiet, hard-drinking Mr. Gu from My Liberation Notes, or as the terrifying villain of The Roundup, this is a good moment to look at the whole career. It is unusually varied. This guide lists his main dramas and films, tells you where each one was released, suggests a viewing order for new fans, and explains what has been officially confirmed about The Blue Road. Everything here is as of November 9, 2026. Streaming catalogs change by country, so treat every "where to watch" note as a starting point and check your own service.
Key takeaways
- The Blue Road is an eight-episode Netflix crime series directed by Han Jun-hee (D.P.). Son Suk-ku plays Seoul detective Kim Seok, and it premieres on Netflix on November 20, 2026.
- His breakout run came in 2022 with My Liberation Notes (JTBC) and The Roundup, which sold about 12 million tickets in Korea. Before that, D.P. on Netflix made him a familiar face abroad.
- His shows are spread across services. Netflix carries several in many regions, while Big Bet and Nine Puzzles are Disney+ originals (Hulu in the United States). Always check availability in your own country.
In this guide
- Who is Son Suk-ku? A short career map
- The Blue Road: what Netflix has confirmed
- The Blue Road cast and the Han Jun-hee reunion
- Seoul, Tokyo and the 2002 World Cup backdrop
- Son Suk-ku dramas and movies: the essential list
- Where to start: a viewing order for new fans
- Bedford Park and his first English-language lead
- FAQ
- Final thoughts
- Sources
Who is Son Suk-ku? A short career map
Son Suk-ku was born on February 7, 1983, in Daejeon. He studied abroad from middle school, in Canada and then the United States. He majored in visual arts and film at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, at first with documentary directing in mind. During his military service in 2005 he volunteered for the Zaytun Division, Korea's peacekeeping and reconstruction unit in Iraq. That detail comes up often in Korean interviews, and it is worth knowing when you watch him play soldiers and police officers.
His screen career started late and small. He was a nameless casino henchman in the 2014 film Scarlet Innocence, then a detective in season 2 of the Netflix series Sense8 (2017). Recognition came through television. He starred in the KBS2 romantic comedy Matrimonial Chaos (2018), then played a sharp, ambitious aide in tvN's Designated Survivor: 60 Days (2019). Both earned him Best New Actor nominations at the 2019 Baeksang Arts Awards, along with the film Hit-and-Run Squad.
The 2022 breakout
Then came 2022, which Korean media nicknamed the year of the "Son Suk-ku syndrome." In My Liberation Notes he played Mr. Gu (구씨, Gu-ssi), a silent stranger who drinks alone in a small town outside Seoul. He topped Korea's weekly ranking of drama performers' buzz for five weeks in a row. Weeks later he played the brutal villain Kang Hae-sang in The Roundup, the Ma Dong-seok action sequel. It became the highest-grossing film of 2022 in Korea, with about 12 million tickets sold. Playing the gentlest and the most frightening man of the year at once is what made audiences pay attention.
Fans who wonder whether he only does dark roles should look at the 2025 JTBC fantasy Heavenly Ever After. There he plays Ko Nak-joon, a husband waiting in the afterlife for his wife Lee Hae-sook (Kim Hye-ja), who arrives at the age of 80. It is a warm, funny role, and a good counterweight to the crime work.
 Son Suk-ku in a Marie Claire Korea shoot from November 2021, the month his film Nothing Serious opened in Korea. Photo: Marie Claire Korea / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 |  Son Suk-ku in a Marie Claire Korea shoot in July 2022, the summer of his My Liberation Notes and The Roundup success. Photo: Marie Claire Korea / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 |  Son Suk-ku with his My Liberation Notes co-star Kim Ji-won at a Marie Claire Korea shoot in July 2022. Photo: Marie Claire Korea / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 |
The Blue Road: what Netflix has confirmed
Here is what is official as of November 9, 2026, taken from Netflix's own announcement and Korean and international press coverage.
- Release: November 20, 2026, exclusively on Netflix. Netflix released the main trailer and key art on November 5.
- Format: eight episodes. Three episodes were screened early in the On Screen section of the 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) in October 2026.
- Source: Blue Road, a 2002 comic co-produced by Korea and Japan, written by Keishi Edogawa and drawn by Kwon Kaya.
- Story: a mutilated body turns up in Tokyo with a Korean phrase written in blood. Soon another body appears in Korea with a message in Japanese. Detectives from both countries have to work together to catch a serial killer operating across the border.
- Creative team: directed by Han Jun-hee (D.P., Coin Locker Girl, Weak Hero Class) and written with Cho Yu-jin (One Win, Cassiopeia). The production company is Shotcake.
Netflix's trailer description adds some detail. The key art shows Korean soccer fans in red with the national flag, which suggests the story takes place around the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup. The trailer also shows snowy Central Asian landscapes and a Kowloon Walled City setting in Hong Kong, so the case seems to range well beyond Seoul and Tokyo. Nothing is confirmed about a second season, and we have not seen the episodes, so this is not a review.
A word on tone. Netflix describes it as a hardboiled crime thriller with gruesome murders, and the trailer includes abductions and contorted bodies. If you came to Son Suk-ku through romance or Heavenly Ever After, expect something much darker, closer to A Killer Paradox. Check the maturity rating Netflix shows in your country before watching with family.
 Son Suk-ku greets the crowd at The Blue Road open talk, BIFF, October 8, 2026. Photo: Arielaortizb / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 |  Son Suk-ku at the same BIFF open talk on October 8, 2026. Photo: Arielaortizb / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 |  Son Suk-ku, Kim Shin-rok and Han Jun-hee at the BIFF open talk on October 8, 2026. Photo: Arielaortizb / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
The Blue Road cast and the Han Jun-hee reunion
| Actor | Character | Who they are in the story | Where you may know the actor from |
| Son Suk-ku | Kim Seok | Detective, Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (Mobile Investigation Unit) | D.P., My Liberation Notes, A Killer Paradox |
| Eita Nagayama | Inose | Detective, Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department | Monster (2023 Japanese film), Dear Doctor |
| Kim Shin-rok | Lee Yun-ok | Zainichi Korean businesswoman in Japan who helps Kim Seok | Hellbound, Beyond Evil, Queen of Tears |
| Choi Sung-eun | Yoon Soo-kyung | National Intelligence Service (NIS) agent who clashes with Inose | Beyond Evil, Ten Months, My Name Is Loh Kiwan |
| Jung Jae-young | Seo Hyun-tae | A powerful figure in Japan's criminal underworld | Partners for Justice, Silmido, Moss |
Romanizations differ between outlets. Netflix spells the businesswoman's name Li Yoon-ok, while other coverage uses Lee Yun-ok or Lee Yoon-ok. Kim Shin-rok's own name also appears as Kim Shin-rock. They are the same people.
Why the director matters
The Blue Road is Son's fourth project with Han Jun-hee, after the 2019 film Hit-and-Run Squad and both seasons of D.P. In D.P. he played Captain Im Ji-seop, a weary officer in the army's deserter-pursuit unit. Many international viewers first noticed him in that role. If you liked how D.P. balanced investigation with a hard look at institutions, that is the clearest guide to what this director may bring here. It is a reasonable expectation, not a promise.
Zainichi, explained
Kim Shin-rok's character is described as Zainichi (재일, "residing in Japan"). The term refers to ethnic Koreans whose families settled in Japan, many during the colonial period, and who have often lived there for generations. It is a loaded identity in both countries, and it suits a story built on crossing borders.
 Eita Nagayama, who plays Tokyo detective Inose, at BIFF on October 8, 2026. Photo: Arielaortizb / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 |  Kim Shin-rok, who plays businesswoman Lee Yun-ok, at the BIFF open talk on October 8, 2026. Photo: Arielaortizb / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 |  Choi Sung-eun, cast as NIS agent Yoon Soo-kyung, in a Marie Claire Korea video from November 2020. Photo: Marie Claire Korea / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 |
Seoul, Tokyo and the 2002 World Cup backdrop
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the first co-hosted by two countries: South Korea and Japan. Korea's run to the semifinals filled Seoul Plaza and Gwanghwamun with fans in red shirts, the "Red Devils" (붉은 악마, Bulgeun Angma) cheering culture that older Korean viewers still remember vividly. Setting a joint Korea-Japan police story in that summer, if the key art is a reliable guide, places it at a rare moment of shared celebration between two neighbors with a difficult history.
The two police forces in the story are real institutions. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (서울경찰청) has its headquarters in Jongno-gu, central Seoul. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (警視庁, Keishichō) is in Kasumigaseki, near the Imperial Palace. Neither has been named as a filming location, and the photos below show the real buildings, not the show's sets.
 Seoul Plaza packed with Red Devils supporters during the 2002 World Cup, the era The Blue Road's key art points to. Photo: ijs / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 |  Fans watching a 2002 World Cup match in Seoul. Photo: Whoisgalt / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 |  A Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency building in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Not a filming location. Photo: Bonnielou2013 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Son Suk-ku dramas and movies: the essential list
This is not every credit. It covers the main roles a fan would want to find, with the original platform or broadcaster. "Netflix in selected regions" means the title was licensed to Netflix outside Korea, but not everywhere. US notes come from JustWatch's US listings, checked on November 9, 2026.
| Year | Title | Role | Type / original release | Where to look outside Korea |
| 2018 | Matrimonial Chaos | Lee Jang-hyun | Series, KBS2 | Check local services |
| 2019 | Designated Survivor: 60 Days | Cha Young-jin | Series, tvN (16 episodes) | Netflix in selected regions |
| 2019 | Hit-and-Run Squad | Ki Tae-ho | Film | Check local services |
| 2021-2023 | D.P. | Im Ji-seop | Netflix original, 2 seasons | Netflix |
| 2021 | Nothing Serious | Park Woo-ri | Film, his first big-screen lead | Check local services |
| 2022 | My Liberation Notes | Mr. Gu (Gu Ja-gyeong) | Series, JTBC (16 episodes) | Netflix in selected regions |
| 2022 | The Roundup | Kang Hae-sang (villain) | Film, about 12 million admissions in Korea | Check local services |
| 2022-2023 | Big Bet | Oh Seung-hoon | Disney+ original | Disney+; Hulu in the US |
| 2024 | A Killer Paradox | Jang Nan-gam | Netflix original, 8 episodes | Netflix |
| 2024 | Troll Factory | Im Sang-jin | Film | Rakuten Viki in the US (per JustWatch) |
| 2025 | Heavenly Ever After | Ko Nak-joon | Series, JTBC (12 episodes) | Netflix in selected regions |
| 2025 | Nine Puzzles | Kim Han-saem | Disney+ original, 11 episodes | Disney+; Hulu in the US |
| 2026 | Bedford Park | Eli | English-language US film (festival release) | US theaters from March 5, 2027 (scheduled) |
| 2026 | The Blue Road | Kim Seok | Netflix original, 8 episodes | Netflix, from November 20 |
Two smaller notes for completists. He has guest roles in Be Melodramatic (2019) and Jirisan (2021), and he directed a short film for the Watcha anthology Unframed (2021). He also played on stage in the 2023 play Army on the Tree (나무 위의 군대).
Where to start: a viewing order for new fans
This order is our editorial suggestion, not a ranking. It is built around range, so you see why Korean critics took him seriously, and around what is easiest to find legally outside Korea.
- D.P. (season 1). Short, tightly made, and directed by the same person as The Blue Road. It shows the restrained authority he is likely to bring to Kim Seok.
- My Liberation Notes. The role that made him a star in Korea. It is slow on purpose. Give it three or four episodes before deciding whether it is for you.
- The Roundup. The opposite energy: a pure action film, with Son as one of the most memorable villains in recent Korean cinema.
- A Killer Paradox. Eight episodes of dark comedy and crime, with Son as the detective chasing Choi Woo-shik's character. It is the closest tonal warm-up for The Blue Road.
- Heavenly Ever After. Watch this when you want something gentle. It shows his timing in comedy and romance.
- The Blue Road (from November 20). Add it to My List on Netflix now, so it appears in your feed on release day.
Subtitles and dubbing
Netflix offers different subtitle and audio languages in different countries. Netflix says it is available in more than 190 countries and regions, and that its library varies by country. If a show is missing from your Netflix catalog, that is a licensing limit, not an error. Avoid unofficial upload sites. They are unsafe and they do not support the actors or the industry.
Want more from this autumn's Korean releases? See our new K-dramas in November 2026 guide. If you like another Netflix Korean series with a grounded lead, our Dead-End Job cast guide covers Lee Jae-wook's roles in the same format.
Bedford Park and his first English-language lead
The Blue Road is not his only big project this year. Bedford Park, written and directed by Stephanie Ahn in her feature debut, is an English-language American drama. Son plays Eli, a former wrestler turned security guard. Moon Choi (Choi Hee-seo) plays Audrey, a Korean American woman who meets him after her mother's car accident. Son is also one of the film's producers.
The film premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2026. It won the Special Jury Award for Debut Feature. It then screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2026. Sony Pictures Classics has scheduled a US theatrical release for March 5, 2027. Release dates in other countries had not been announced as of November 9, 2026.
His fluency in English and his years in North America make this a natural step. It is also a reminder that his career is following the wider Hallyu pattern: Korean actors now move between Netflix originals, Disney+ series, Korean cinema and international productions. In October 2026 he also received the Cinema Icon Award at the Marie Claire Asia Star Awards.
 Son Suk-ku at the Bedford Park premiere, Toronto International Film Festival, September 2026. Photo: Danielle G. Campbell / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 |  The Bedford Park cast, crew and family at the TIFF premiere in September 2026. Photo: Danielle G. Campbell / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
BIFF itself is worth a trip for fans. It is held every October in Busan, mostly around the Busan Cinema Center in Centum City, and its open talks and outdoor stage greetings are where many of the freely licensed actor photos in this post were taken. If Busan is on your list, our Busan fireworks festival guide covers getting around the city in autumn.
 The Busan Cinema Center in Centum City, main venue of the Busan International Film Festival, during BIFF 2023. Photo: 399scout / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 |  Inside the Busan Cinema Center, the BIFF venue, in 2013. Photo: Qian Ding / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 |
FAQ
When does The Blue Road come out?
November 20, 2026, on Netflix. Netflix calls it exclusive to Netflix. Exact release times by time zone have not been part of the announcements we read, so check the title page in your Netflix app.
How many episodes does The Blue Road have?
Eight, according to BIFF's selection announcement and Korean press. Three of them were screened at BIFF in October 2026.
Is The Blue Road based on a webtoon?
It is based on Blue Road, a 2002 comic co-produced by Korea and Japan, by Keishi Edogawa and Kwon Kaya. It is a print-era comic, not a modern scrolling webtoon.
What is Son Suk-ku's most famous drama?
In Korea it is My Liberation Notes (2022), where his character Mr. Gu set off the so-called syndrome. Internationally, many viewers first met him in Netflix's D.P.
Where can I watch Son Suk-ku's dramas legally?
D.P., A Killer Paradox and The Blue Road are Netflix originals. My Liberation Notes, Designated Survivor: 60 Days and Heavenly Ever After are on Netflix in selected regions. Big Bet and Nine Puzzles are Disney+ originals, on Hulu in the United States. Check your country's catalog, because licenses differ.
Final thoughts
Son Suk-ku is one of the few Korean actors of his generation whose work feels hard to predict. He can be a gentle ghost husband, a man who barely speaks, or a killer who smiles too much. The Blue Road puts him back with the director who knows his range best, in a genre he has made his own, on a stage built for an international audience. Start with D.P. or My Liberation Notes this week, and you will be ready on November 20. We plan to update this guide once the series is out and the episode count, ratings and any Netflix Top 10 placements can be checked against official data.
Related posts
- 100 Days of Deception: cast, episode schedule, where to watch and the real 1932 Seoul behind it
- The Remarried Empress: cast, episode schedule, where to watch and how it adapts the webtoon
- Doctor X: Mafia in White: Netflix episode schedule, cast and the Japanese original
Figures and availability notes are as of November 9, 2026. Photos are freely licensed images of public events and real places, credited under each image. None are drama stills or Netflix promotional images.
Sources
- Netflix: Main trailer of The Blue Road (November 5, 2026)
- The Korea Herald: Son Suk-ku stars in Netflix's cross-border thriller The Blue Road (October 2, 2026)
- Soompi: new stills and characters (November 4, 2026)
- ABS-CBN Entertainment: The Blue Road trailer (November 5, 2026)
- TopStarNews: Son Suk-ku, Bedford Park and The Blue Road (eight episodes)
- Wikipedia: The Blue Road (TV series) — BIFF screening, source comic, casting history
- Wikipedia: Son Suk-ku — biography, filmography and awards
- Wikipedia: Bedford Park (film)
- Sundance Film Festival program: Bedford Park
- Wikipedia: My Liberation Notes
- Wikipedia: Heavenly Ever After
- Wikipedia: D.P. (TV series)
- Wikipedia: A Killer Paradox
- Wikipedia: Big Bet (Disney+ and Hulu release)
- Wikipedia: Nine Puzzles
- Wikipedia: Designated Survivor: 60 Days
- JustWatch US: Big Bet
- JustWatch US: Nine Puzzles
- JustWatch US: Troll Factory
- Netflix Help Center: countries and regions where Netflix is available
- Wikipedia: 2002 FIFA World Cup
By the Korea Vibe Hopper team · Updated November 9, 2026