KBS2’s upcoming daily drama A Trap Called Desire, premiering on August 10, follows a woman whose entire life is destroyed after she is falsely accused of murder. As she confronts a whirlwind of ambition and greed, she begins a desperate journey to reclaim the life that was taken from her.
The drama is directed by Lee Dae Kyung, who has earned recognition for his distinctive visual style through Youth of May and Drama Special Season 14: TV Cinema – Behind the Shadows. The script comes from writer Gu Ji Won, known for the gripping storytelling of Bravo, My Life and Home for Summer. Their collaboration is expected to create a tightly constructed revenge drama filled with intense twists.
The project has attracted particular attention as the comeback drama of actress Jang Seo Hee. She previously established herself as a powerhouse of the Korean daily-drama genre through Miss Mermaid, which recorded a peak rating of 47.9%, and Cruel Temptation, which achieved a peak rating of 37.5%. Expectations are now high to see what kind of cathartic performance she will deliver in A Trap Called Desire.
Jang Seo Hee is taking on a very different role this time. Rather than playing the conventional revenge heroine who fights back against injustice, she transforms into the central figure who manipulates the entire game—and ultimately emerges as the drama’s main villain.
Her character, Joo Mi Ran, rises from working as a nanny to becoming the head of public relations at the Cheongma Scholarship Foundation. Calculated and determined, she is willing to destroy other people’s lives if doing so helps satisfy her ambitions. At the center of the massive power struggle surrounding the Cheongma Group, she does not simply react to events. Instead, she treats the people around her like chess pieces and actively controls the game.
Viewers are particularly curious about how Jang Seo Hee will bring Joo Mi Ran, a woman who stops at nothing in pursuit of her desires, to life. Reports from the production have also praised the actress for immersing herself so completely in the character that she intensifies the tension throughout the entire drama.
Writer Gu Ji Won described the project as a drama built around Jang Seo Hee’s overwhelming charisma and strategic instincts, praising her ability to make characters leap from the page and highlighting her unique ability to portray the character’s chilling side with depth.
Meanwhile, A Trap Called Desire has released an intense preview that raises expectations for the drama’s launch.
The full trailer, unveiled on August 4, immediately draws attention to Joo Mi Ran’s arrogant attitude, which becomes one of the driving forces behind the tragedy. When her former friend Park Hee Jung, played by Seo Yoo Jung, presses her about the past, Joo Mi Ran coldly denies everything, asking where the evidence is that she ever gave birth to a child. Her ruthless nature is immediately apparent as she proves willing to commit almost any wrongdoing to protect both her ambitions and her secrets.
The tragedy created by Joo Mi Ran eventually reaches Go Eun Seol, played by Jeon Hye Won, an ordinary woman whose life had once been relatively peaceful. Eun Seol develops a modest romance with Cha Seok Jin, played by Seol Jung Hwan, but soon finds herself facing the relentless jealousy and interference of Kang Hae Ra, played by Joo Sae Byuk, the heir to the Cheongma Group. When Eun Seol asks why Hae Ra hates her, Hae Ra coldly responds that she simply does not know her place, foreshadowing the fierce confrontation that lies ahead.
Things become even more devastating when Eun Seol is framed as the suspect in a murder case and pushed to the brink. The contrast between Eun Seol, wearing a prison uniform and desperately pleading to be believed, and Joo Mi Ran calmly watching the situation unfold from behind creates a particularly tense moment in the trailer.
But after losing everything, Eun Seol refuses to surrender. She turns toward the Cheongma Group, the organization she believes destroyed her life, and deliberately approaches Kim Jung Sun, played by Yoon Hae Young, the chairwoman of the Cheongma Scholarship Foundation, as she quietly prepares her counterattack. Her warning to Kang Hae Ra that life can change at any moment signals the beginning of a brutal revenge journey as Eun Seol fights to take back the life she lost.
KBS2’s A Trap Called Desire, a revenge drama exploring destructive human desires and the consequences of ambition, will premiere on August 10 at 7:50 p.m. KST as the follow-up to Pearl in Red.
Sources: Daum