Wonderland (2024): Blurring the line between AI and Life #436

I couldn’t possibly finish a Park Bo-gum watch-list without watching his 2024 movie, Wonderland. I only vaguely knew that he was in it, but had no clue about his role or the plot. And honestly? That made the watch even more interesting.

The Plot of Wonderland

At the heart of Wonderland lies a futuristic service where people can reunite with their lost loved ones through AI. But instead of making it all about the technology, the film wisely gives us characters—each carrying their own little tragedy.

1. Jeong-in & Tae-joo (Suzy & Park Bo-gum):
Jeong-in’s boyfriend, Tae-joo, is left in a coma after an accident. Unable to face a world without him, she turns to Wonderland and creates a digital version of him to live with. But here’s the catch—when the real Tae-joo eventually wakes up, he finds himself competing with his own AI clone for a place in Jeong-in’s heart. The film lingers beautifully on her dilemma: do you choose messy reality, or the illusion that never disappoints?

Once again, Park Bo-gum picked a role that feels worlds apart from his previous work. The Tae-joo we first see in a hospital bed is barely recognizable. When he wakes up, his damaged nerves make it harder for him to readjust to the world. But then, in contrast, we see the familiar “Bo-gum charm” radiating through the AI version—smiling from the International Space Station, video-calling his girlfriend every day, singing to her, cheering her up, and (let’s be honest) stealing our hearts too.

2. Bai Li & Jia (Tang Wei & her daughter):
Then there’s Bai Li, who knows her time is short because of illness. She leaves behind an AI version of herself in Wonderland, pretending she’s “working abroad,” so she can continue video-calling her little girl. With the help of her own mother (played by Nina Paw), this facade continues even after her death. It’s gut-wrenching—because while the daughter still hears her mom’s voice, we, the audience, know it’s just a ghost woven out of code.

3. The Founders, Hyeon-soo & Hae-ri (Choi Woo-shik & Jung Yu-mi):
Wonderland isn’t a cold corporate experiment—it was created by a couple of scientists who genuinely believed they were offering comfort for the grieving. They’re not villains, but the way they tweak emotions as if adjusting volume knobs makes you wonder: at what point does compassion turn into control?

4. Sung-joon (Gong Yoo):
And of course, the cameo that had everyone buzzing—Gong Yoo as Sung-joon. He plays a Wonderland psychotherapist who checks in on “unstable” AIs, especially Bai Li. But here’s the kicker: the film keeps it deliberately vague whether he’s simply an advanced AI, or a real person logging in through an avatar. That’s why his interactions with Bai Li feel so strangely human. A chummy smile at the airport, a calming word in the desert—too natural for mere coding, too fleeting for real love.

Honestly, I was invested in seeing more of Sung-joon and Bai Li, even though Gong Yoo hadn’t caught my attention yet back then. Later, when I finally watched him in Goblin (2016), Coffee Prince (2007), and The Trunk (2024), I had my “Oh wait… who’s this extremely handsome, ridiculously talented man, who also happens to be way too old for me?!” moment.

Final Verdict

Wonderland explores AI as both a blessing and a curse. Tae-joo has to literally compete with his own AI clone to return to his girlfriend’s life. Bai Li’s clone soothes Jia in the beginning but leaves her in a painful delusion when she insists on meeting her already-dead mother. Even the founder, Hae-ri, interacts with AI versions of her parents—only to confess that she once rebooted their clones because it was too much for her to handle. Each “update” she created felt slightly wrong, slightly off, like memory slipping through your fingers.

The concept of Wonderland is undeniably intriguing. But the film itself struggles to tell one complete story—it plays more like a long trailer packed with three fascinating storylines, none of which get enough room to fully breathe.

That said, it left me thinking, which is more than I can say for many shinier, louder sci-fi films. I’d give it a 7.5/10—a rating that’s definitely more generous than what I’ve seen floating around on other forums, but it earned that much from me.