Friendly Rivalry
2025 South Korean television series From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Friendly Rivalry (Korean: 선의의 경쟁) is a South Korean teen mystery thriller television series based on the webtoon of the same name by Song Chae-yoon and Shim Jae-young, starring Lee Hye-ri, Chung Su-bin, Kang Hye-won, and Oh Woo-ri. It was released on U+ Mobile TV from February 10, to March 6, 2025, every Monday to Thursday at 00:00 (KST).[2][3]
| Friendly Rivalry | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster | |
| Hangul | 선의의 경쟁 |
| Revised Romanization | Seonuiui gyeongjaeng |
| McCune–Reischauer | Sŏnŭiŭi kyŏngjaeng |
| Genre | |
| Based on | Friendly Rivalry by
|
| Written by |
|
| Directed by | Kim Tae-hee |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Kim Dong-wook[1] |
| Country of origin | South Korea |
| Original language | Korean |
| No. of episodes | 16 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes[2] |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | U+ Mobile TV |
| Release | February 10 – March 6, 2025 |
Plot
Woo Seul-gi, a girl who grew up in an orphanage after getting lost during a school trip as a child, transfers to Chaehwa Girls' High School, one of the top 1% in South Korea. While facing a cutthroat college entrance exam competition, she gets entangled in the mystery surrounding the suspicious death of her father, who was a member of the CSAT committee.[4]
Cast
Main
- Lee Hye-ri as Yoo Jae-yi[5]
- Chung Su-bin as Woo Seul-gi[5]
- Kang Hye-won as Joo Ye-ri[5]
- Oh Woo-ri as Choi Kyung[5]
Supporting
- Choi Young-jae as Nam Byeong-jin[6]
- Kim Tae-hoon as Yoo Tae-joon[6]
- Chae Seo-eun as Jo A-ra[7]
- Kim Sang-ji as Kim Bum-soo[8]
- Na Hyun-jin as Goo Chae-ryung
- Chu Ye-jin as Yoo Je-na
- Han Lee-ie as Lee Si-woo
- Ma Hyeon-ji as Park Byung-hee
- Go Da-hyun as Kim Na-ri[9]
Production
Summarize
Perspective
Development
The series was planned by Studio X+U and produced by Ylab Plex and Studio X+U.[10] It is a dramatization of the webtoon of the same name written by Song Chae-yoon, illustrated by Shim Jae-young and produced by Ylab.[11] Friendly Rivalry was directed by Kim Tae-hee, who co-wrote the script together with Min Ye-ji.[12] At the series' press conference, Kim stated that she accepted the offer to direct it immediately when she was first asked to write the script because, "First, there was no good person among the characters, and second, the fact that there were a lot of women was appealing."[10] She also thought that it would be fun to picture "these slightly crazy girls, each hiding their own secrets, engaging in a bloody competition and alternatively becoming friends or enemies."[10] As for the script, Kim said that she wanted the drama to be persuasive to the viewers and hoped that the characters would be ultimately understandable,[10] stating "Our work is a story about everyone who has not learned how to lose in a society that only teaches how to win. If you know that there's definitely a next chapter in life even if you fall and fail, you just have to dust yourself off and get back up and start your own race again. I wrote and directed with the hope that Jae-yi, Seul-gi, Ye-ri, and Kyung will know that the true competition in life begins from that moment."[13]
Casting
![Thumb](#/media/File:"Friendly_Rivalry"_cast_at_the_drama_presscon,_6_February_2025_07.png)
On July 23, 2024, Studio X+U announced that Lee Hye-ri, Chung Su-bin, Kang Hye-won, and Oh Woo-ri would work together to tell the story of high school girls.[14] On July 24, Andbut Company stated that Choi Young-jae had been cast for the series.[15]
Lee Hye-ri stars as Yoo Jae-yi, the top student of Chaehwa Girls' High School and a hospital director's daughter. When questioned about the reasons behind her decision to take on a role that involved smoking and a same-sex kissing scene, she said that, despite being burdensome in some ways, she really wanted to participate, explaining: "When I looked into the story, I thought that there were parts that could only be understood when you are in your late 20s. That's why I took courage regardless of my age. It's not easy to participate in a school drama as time goes by, so I became even greedier."[10] She also added that Jae-yi was starkly different from her previous, warm and smiling roles.[10] Chung Su-bin said that she auditioned because it was a scenario never seen before in Korea that broke away from the framework of existing dramas.[10] Kang Hye-won shared that she had found the "girl thriller" genre attractive and interesting, with Oh Woo-ri adding that the charm of each character was the most important part.[10]
Filming
Filming started in August 2024;[16] as of October, more than half was done.[17]
Original soundtrack
Part 1
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Burn It Down" |
|
| Kim Ye-ji (Kardi) | 03:34 |
| 2. | "Burn It Down" (Inst.) |
| 03:34 | ||
| Total length: | 07:08 | ||||
Part 2
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Eternal Maze" | Jung So-hyun |
| Elaine | 3:17 |
| 2. | "Eternal Maze" (Inst.) |
| 3:17 | ||
| Total length: | 6:34 | ||||
Part 3
Part 4
References
External links
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