Park Bo-gum Returns with ‘Good Boy’ After ‘When Life Gives You Tangerines’

It’s been a fantastic start for Park Bo-gum this year, with his drama When Life Gives You Tangerines becoming a staggering global success and one of Netflix’s major K-content hits lately. The actor is back in no time with his new series, Good Boy, taking center stage alongside Kim So-hyun, Oh Jung-se, Lee Sang-yi, Heo Sung-tae, and Tae Won-seok in significant roles.

Good Boy, written by Lee Dae-il and directed by Shim Na-yeon, brings together action, crime, humor, and romance into an intriguing tale of ex-athletes who become a special squad of cops to take on serious crime and criminals.

Park Bo-gum’s Yoon Dong-ju, a former boxing champion, turns into a police officer, as does Kim So-hyun’s Ji Han-na, an ex-shooting prodigy. Lee Sang-yi plays Kim Jong-hyun, once a popular fencing player who now works as a distinguished cop. Besides, there’s Heo Sung-tae as Go Man-sik, a skilled ex-wrestler, and Tae Won-seok as Shin Jae-hong, an ace ex-discus thrower, all of whom are part of a violent crime unit with unique skill sets they employ in hunting down criminals.

Among the characters, Oh Jung-se will play Min Joo-young, an honest and hard-working government employee. But there’s more to him than meets the eye—a deep-seated agenda hidden from others, which adds to the narrative’s mystery and suspense.

The drama brings extra depth to the plot, digging into the backstories of the protagonists, narrating their struggles—financial problems, internal conflicts, accidents, and adverse circumstances—resulting in their failures in sports. In the later part, they join the police force and band together, using their distinct strengths for the greater good in apprehending perpetrators.

Park Bo-gum’s presence in the drama is certainly a big draw. He’s one of those fine Korean actors who can cut the most realistic and relatable emotions in his characters, especially when navigating the most complex and poignant emotional terrains in a story.

Park’s performance goes past acting, expanding into immersive experiences reminiscent of his finest roles in dramas, including cult classics like Reply 1988 (2015–16), Love in the Moonlight (2016), or the subsequent hits like Encounter (2018–19), Record of Youth (2020), When Life Gives You Tangerines (2025), as well as the hit film Seo Bok (2021). And I imagine his upcoming role in Good Boy will only add to his illustrious filmography. The drama releases next month, on May 31.