Trigger ~ A Gun-Free Country Where Citizens Own Illegal Guns

“Trigger” is a 2025 Korean drama, 10 episodes, categorized as Police Procedural, Action, Thriller, and Crime Drama; and it is streaming on Netflix.

• Memorable Quote: “These guns are surprisingly easy to use.”

SUMMARY: Why are there so many illegal firearms in a gun-free country?

♦ They Deliver the Illegal Firearms Right to Your Door?

In “Trigger”, Lee Do is a detective who avoids using lethal force. Instead of carrying a gun, he prefers to use a taser. But “somebody” in South Korea is making it very hard for him. Be realistic. A taser versus an automatic weapon? In a country where gun ownership is virtually nonexistent, a sudden flood of illegal firearms throws South Korea into chaos.

• Bullets were found hidden in the ceiling of a room at one crime scene.
• Guns were found at another crime scene.

Lee Do is a former military sniper turned police officer. He provided his expertise by explaining to his superior and colleagues the type of firearms that were found at the crime scene of a mass shooting by a student resident. Guns found at that scene:

• XM177, used by US Special Ops during the Vietnam War

• AK-47, a 7.62 millimeter Kalashnikov produced by the Soviet Union

• German MP5, first introduced in 1964, ironically used for counter-terrorism across the world.

• MK MOD 1, a special warfare standard issue rifle, modified and modernized, widely used by US Special Forces.

The bullets found hidden in the ceiling of a room at another crime scene fit the guns the police seized. Lee Do believed that the two crime scenes are related.

The student/mass shooter was taken alive but refused to speak to anyone other than Lee Do. The shooter told him that the firearms were delivered to him by a courier. Who sent them and why? The student could not answer.

♦ A Dangerous Parolee Has an Illegal Firearm

Lee Do revisited the residence of a parolee who wore an ankle bracelet, but the man was not there. However, a man named Moon Baek was there. WHY? His story sounded as outrageous as the student’s story. Moon Baek said he received a box of bullets by a courier and there was also a list of names and addresses. He picked an address at random and came to check it out. Coincidentally, the police officer showed up at the same place a few minutes later and caught him there.

Lee Do was staying connected to the radio dispatch, and they informed him that they had determined the parolee’s whereabouts using the street cameras, and he was heading to the police station. Lee Do advised the police to take cover because the parolee was carrying a weapon. The parolee entered the station intending to kill as many people as he could. A taser was not going to work in this situation. His fellow police officers were under fire. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Lee Do went into the evidence lockup and took one of the weapons seized from the student’s room, and used the bullets that were in the box Moon Baek said had been delivered to him by a courier.

Thanks to Lee Do’s sniper skills and his bravery, the parolee was subdued. That problem was won, but South Korea has a bigger problem that needs to be solved.

WHO IS FLOODING THE STREETS WITH ILLEGAL FIREARMS?

Main Characters:

• Lee Do (played by Kim Nam-Gil, “Through the Darkness”, “Live Up To Your Name”, “Song of the Bandits”, “Emergency Declaration”, “The Fiery Priest 1 and 2”, “Karma“, “Island 1 and 2”, “The Great Queen Seondeok”, “Pandora”, “The Sound of a Flower”, “Pirates: Bandits Going to the Sea“)
• Moon Baek (played by Kim Young-Kwang, “Mission: Possible”, “The Haunted Palace”, , “Pinocchio”, “White Christmas”, “Room No. 9”, “Good Doctor”)

Where to Watch

Viewership and Rating:

• IMDb: 7.2 out of 10 stars
• My Drama List: 8.3 out of 10 stars
• But Why Tho?: 8 out of 10 stars
• Common Sense Media: 3 out of 5 stars

My personal rating is the same as MDL.

“Trigger” grabbed my attention immediately. It’s hard to imagine living in a gun-free country where the police are shocked to find illegal firearms. Probably because I’m American, where people can freely and legally purchase military-style weapons. What’s that like? Oh! You live in a free country, and every time you go to worship services or the grocery store or the doctor’s office or even the hospital, you HOPE you don’t get SHOT!! It makes you feel so safe.  (NOT!)

LINKS OF INTEREST:

Review | Netflix K-drama Trigger review: stylish but troubling series imagines Korea awash with guns | South China Morning Post

Breaking Down the Ending of Netflix K-Drama ‘Trigger’ | TIME

‘Trigger’ Netflix Review: Korean Dystopian TV Starts With A Bang That Fades Into The Noise | DMTalkies

REVIEW: ‘Trigger’ Is Netflix’s Most Disturbing Series | But Why Tho?

Review: Netflix’s South Korean Series ‘Trigger,’ Is a Devastating Critique of America

TRAILER/TEASER:

K-Content, Netflix. “Trigger.” YouTube, Video, 9 July 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JUx8MqpRuM.

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