Gong Myoung Returns With Netflix Action-Comedy Husbands in Action

Actor Gong Myoung has barely paused since finishing his military service in 2023. He has moved between dramas and films, taking on a wider range of genres than ever. He credits that drive to a lesson he learned in uniform: how much he loves his job.

"In the military, I realized just how much I love this work," Gong said. "That became the energy that kept me going after I was discharged." Now he is back with the comedy film Husbands in Action," directed by Park Kyu-tae.

The Netflix film follows an ex-husband and a current husband who team up to rescue the woman they both once loved after she is kidnapped by a crime ring. Gong plays Min-seok, a veterinarian and the current husband. Jin Seon-kyu plays the ex-husband, reuniting with Gong seven years after the hit comedy Extreme Job," directed by Lee Byeong-heon.

It was Gong's first time playing a husband on screen, and he leaned on Jin throughout the shoot.

"This was my first time playing a husband, so I felt I didn't have enough to draw from emotionally," Gong said. "Seon-kyu, who's actually a family man, helped me a lot with that. We met often and ran lines together. I think I grew a lot on the inside through this project."

Expectations were high for the reunion after Extreme Job, but reviews of Husbands in Action have been mixed. Some viewers called it a fun, light watch, while others said the story fell short. Gong said he read the responses himself and took them in stride.

"With comedies, reactions split based on what kind of humor you like," he said. "Some people had a great time. Others felt let down. That's just how it goes. I wasn't hurt by it."

That ease showed up again when the conversation turned to box office records. Extreme Job," in which Gong appeared, recently slipped from second to third on the all-time Korean box office chart after being overtaken by The King's Warden."

"People around me were more surprised than I was," he said. "My parents told me, 'You got caught.' That's how I found out. Sure, it's a little disappointing, but it also felt good to see theaters coming back to life. If we drop to fourth, though, then I might actually be sad. Ha ha."

Whatever the reception of Husbands in Action," Gong said the real takeaway from the film was the attitude he picked up from Jin. Asked what kind of senior actor he hopes to become, he said he wants to be someone juniors can talk to easily.

"Seon-kyu is the kind of senior who builds things together with the people he works with," Gong said. "He's 17 years older than me, but I can talk to him about anything. I want to be that kind of senior too. Someone who shares ideas openly with colleagues and makes the work together."