Currently broadcast on tvN, “Love Next Door” entered Netflix’s global Top 10 non-English series by ranking in fifth place, marking its national and international success.
Indeed, this drama caused a sensation on the international scene, rising in just two days to 5th place in the Top 10 non-English-speaking series on Netflix, as shown in the global ranking of the 10 best non-English-speaking series on Netflix for the week of August 12 to 18. It also ranked among the top 10 most-watched series on FlixPatrol in 75 countries, including major Western countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Canada and Australia, without forgetting the international viewers who congratulated the alchemy between the two main actors and the excellence of the dialogues.
Aired on August 18, the second episode of Love Next Door also averaged 6,7% and peaked 7,8% in the Seoul metropolitan area, as well as averaged 6,0% and peaked by 6,9% nationwide, according to Nielsen Korea. In addition to holding the top spot in its time slot across all cable and general programming channels, the series also ranked second in integrated TV-OTT buzz as reported by FUNdex during the third week of August. As for the stars of the series, Jung Hae In and Jung So Min also won first and second place in the most popular actor category.
The fruit of the work of director Yoo Je Won and screenwriter Shin Ha Eun, who previously teamed up for ‘Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha’, the new tvN series ‘Love Next Door’ tells the story of childhood friends who grew up sharing their embarrassing past and who find themselves at the age of 34. While the storyline intriguingly presents “the story of a successful woman who leaves the city in which she thrived”, the series also stands out for the fact that it involves Jung So Min, a comedy queen much-loved romantic who produced hits such as “Alchemy of Souls” and “Love Reset”, to Jung Hae In, who makes her romantic comedy debut after a ten-year absence. Well known for his roles as an endearing young man in Something in the Rain and One Spring Night, Jung Hae In’s realistic romance with fellow cast member Jung So Min has sparked a lot of interest.
The Korean title is “Mom’s Friend’s Son”, a Korean societal term for “the perfect man” who meets various criteria, reflecting parents’ desire to highlight or compare their children, emphasizing how they are perceived by others. Seung Hyo (Jung Hae In), recognized director of an architectural firm, is in a way the “son of mom’s friend”. When he was very young, he left France where he lived with his diplomat mother to return to Korea where he experienced difficulties until he met Seok Ryu (Jung So Min), who helped him adapt. to his new environment. Secretly returning to Korea, Seok Ryu, who is now in his thirties, meets Seung Hyo in their neighborhood and, despite the long separation, they find each other as if they had met yesterday.
For her part, Seok Ryu makes it her mission to restart her life full of glitches, although for the moment she only wants to sleep as she pleases and then open her eyes and take the bus. to its last stop and back. Seok Ryu used to be the exemplary eldest daughter who got a scholarship to the United States and made enough money to cover all her personal expenses, but the problem is that life in the United States didn’t work out. It didn’t go smoothly because in addition to having encountered problems at work, she was also cheated on by her fiancé. Seok Ryu ultimately chooses to return to Korea after being despaired by words of comfort such as “It’s okay to rest” and “You’ve had a hard time.”
Unfortunately, her family fails to understand her feelings especially her mother, who always bragged about her children, thus lamenting her daughter’s return. While Seok Ryu realizes that his mother is ashamed that she is unemployed and broke off her engagement, Seung Hyo is the only person she can rely on to the point where they understand each other without needing to lots of explanations.
The two then sit together in the rain on a gymnastics field that they found too high as children. As Seok Ryu laments having to be his mother’s “gift package” rather than pursuing his own happiness, Seung Hyo comforts him with profound words: “ The feeling of being able to count on someone, of wanting to trust and cherish them comes like a package. If you didn’t worry about it in the first place, there wouldn’t be any hard feelings.. ” However, this doesn’t mean that the two are always 100% honest about their feelings, but the series captures the subtle emotions that come and go between them and this is especially the case at the end of the second episode, where a moment teenage infatuation passes between the two friends who are now neighbors. The question is how these feelings, unperceived or ignored at the time, will bring them together today, at the dawn of their thirties.
One thing that also sparks excitement is how Seung Hyo comforts Seok Ryu by playing to his strengths. Seok Ryu’s mother, who initially couldn’t accept her daughter’s current situation, eventually changes her mind and asks Seung Hyo to return her daughter’s room to the state it was in before. This is where Seung Hyo meticulously recreates everything, including the layout of the bed and wardrobe, down to the glow-in-the-dark stars that once twinkled on the ceiling.
We look forward to the story of the comfort and excitement exchanged between two people who have distanced themselves from their past and lead busy lives.
What do you think of this series?