Love Next Door

Love Next Door (Korean: 엄마친구아들) is a 2024 South Korean television series written by Shin Ha-eun, directed by Yoo Je-won, and starring Jung Hae-in and Jung So-min. It aired on tvN from August 17, to October 6, 2024, every Saturday and Sunday at 21:20 (KST). It is also available for streaming on Netflix in selected regions.

Love Next Door
Promotional poster
Hangul	엄마친구아들
Literal meaning	Mom's Friend's Son
Revised Romanization	Eommachinguadeul
McCune–Reischauer	Ŏmmach'in'guadŭl
Genre	Romantic comedy[1]
Written by	Shin Ha-eun
Directed by	Yoo Je-won
Starring	Jung Hae-in Jung So-min
Music by	Lim Ha-young[2]
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	16
Production
Executive producers	Lee Young-ok (CP)[2] Han So-jin (CP)[2]
Producers	Jang Kyung-ik[2] Yoo Sang-won[2] Jo Moon-joo[2] Kim Nu-ri[2] Lee Sang-hee[3]
Cinematography	Yoo Hyuk-joon[2] Hyeon Seung-hoon[2]
Editors	Kim In-young[2] Lee Soo-yong[2]
Running time	70–80 minutes
Production companies	Studio Dragon[4] The Modori[4]
Original release
Network	tvN
Release	August 17 (2024-08-17) – October 6, 2024 (2024-10-06)

Synopsis

Love Next Door is a story of a woman who lives the perfect life abroad, being employed by one of the best companies in the world and engaged to an international lawyer. She suddenly returns to Korea. Her mother's friend's son, who is one of her childhood friends, is a top architect in Korea.^[5]

Cast and characters

L to R: Jung Hae-in, Jung So-min, Kim Ji-eun, and Yoon Ji-on at the press conference in August 2024

Main

• Jung Hae-in as Choi Seung-hyo^[6][7]

The son of Seok-ryu's mother's friend. A young architect who is attracting attention and the CEO of "the Architecture Atelier In", he is loved by everyone because he is perfect not only in his skills but also in appearance and personality. The only dark past in his life is Bae Seok-ryu.^[8]

• Jung So-min as Bae Seok-ryu^[9][10]

A product manager of a global conglomerate called Greip. She suddenly breaks down one day and returns to her hometown to reboot her life.^[8]

• Kim Ji-eun as Jeong Mo-eum^[11][12]

Seok-ryu and Seung-hyo's childhood friend. As part of the three musketeers, she knows the dark history of the two better than anyone else. She is a 119 paramedic overflowing with passion and justice. Since childhood, she has dreamed of being a hero, so she takes great pride in saving people's lives.^[8]

• Yoon Ji-on as Kang Dan-ho^[13]

A field-oriented reporter who only pursues facts. Strong in conviction and responsibility, he meets unexpected changes as he moves next door to Mo-eum's family.

Supporting

• Park Ji-young as Na Mi-sook^[14]

Seok-ryu's mother, who has a blunt and strong lifestyle.

• Jo Han-chul as Bae Geun-sik^[15]

Seok-ryu's father, who runs a small snack restaurant in the neighborhood.

• Jang Young-nam as Seo Hye-sook^[15]

Seung-hyo's mother, who works at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and loves her work a lot.

• Lee Seung-joon as Choi Kyung-jong^[15][16]

A professor of emergency medicine and Seung-hyo's father.

• Jeon Seok-ho as Yoon Myung-woo^[17]

The co-CEO of "the Architecture Atelier In" and Seung-hyo's college senior.

• Kim Geum-soon as Do Jae-sook^[17]

Mo-eum's mother, who is a local problem-solver.

• Han Ye-ju as Bang In-sook^[17]

She has a lot of inner anger.

• Lee Seung-hyub as Bae Dong-jin^[18]

Seok-ryu's younger brother, who dreams of becoming a health trainer.

• Shim So-young as Lee Na-yun^[19]

An employee of "the Architecture Atelier In".

• Seo Ji-hye as Jang Tae-Hui^[20]

Seung-hyo's ex-girlfriend.

• Lee Ji-hae as Hwang Young-in^[21]

Dan-ho's boss at work, the head of the social affairs department of Cheongwoo Ilbo.

• Han Joon-woo as Song Hyeon-jun^[22]

Seok-ryu's ex-fiancé.

• Lee Si-hyung [ko] as Park Jeong-woo^[21]

The chief of Hyereung 119 Safety Center Paramedic.

Special appearances

• Roh Yoon-seo as herself^[23]
• Lee Bong-ryun as Im Kyung-ran^[24]

Production

Development

In August 2023, the series was developed under the working title Mom's Friend's Son. Director Yoo Je-won and writer Shin Ha-eun, who previously worked on Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021), reunited for the series.^[1]

Casting

In November 2023, Jung Hae-in and Jung So-min were in talks for the lead roles; both of their agencies stated they were positively considering the offers.^[25][26] The next month, Jung Hae-in had taken on the role of Choi Seung-hyo.^[7] In January 2024, Jung So-min confirmed her role as Bae Seok-ryu.^[10] On March 8, 2024, Kim Ji-eun confirmed her participation.^[12] On March 13, Yoon Ji-on also confirmed his appearance, and the complete cast of the drama was announced.^[27]

Release

Love Next Door premiered on tvN on August 17, 2024, every Saturday and Sunday at 21:20 (KST).^[28] The series is also available for streaming exclusively on Netflix.^[29]

Original soundtrack

Part 1

Released on August 18, 2024

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Any Day With You"	Muzie Jeon Chae-eon	Muzie SpaceCowboy Jade Jeon	Muzie	4:11
2.	"Any Day With You" (Inst.)		Muzie SpaceCowboy Jade Jeon		4:11
Total length:					8:22}

Part 2

Released on September 1, 2024

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"What are We"	Ogi (Galatika *)	Whyminsu Okhan Uenver	Ha Sung-woon	3:37
2.	"What are We" (Inst.)		Whyminsu Uenver		3:37
Total length:					7:14

Part 3

Released on September 8, 2024

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Reaching for You"	Flum3n Iris (MonoTree)	Flum3n Iris Sam Carter (MonoTree) Chegim	Zerobaseone	3:25
2.	"Reaching for You" (Inst.)		Flum3n Iris Carter Chegim		3:25
Total length:					6:50

Viewership

Season		Episode number																Average
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
	1	1.296	1.605	1.143	1.793	1.334	1.728	1.073	1.722	1.170	1.535	1.511	1.968	1.333	1.750	1.453	2.095	1.532

Love Next Door : South Korea viewers per episode (millions)

Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by Nielsen Korea.^[30]

Average TV viewership ratings

Ep.	Original broadcast date	Average audience share (Nielsen Korea)[30]
		Nationwide	Seoul
1	August 17, 2024	4.899% (1st)	5.854% (1st)
2	August 18, 2024	5.977% (1st)	6.656% (1st)
3	August 24, 2024	4.276% (1st)	4.789% (1st)
4	August 25, 2024	6.581% (1st)	7.233% (1st)
5	August 31, 2024	4.760% (1st)	5.249% (1st)
6	September 1, 2024	6.788% (1st)	7.627% (1st)
7	September 7, 2024	3.978% (1st)	4.426% (1st)
8	September 8, 2024	6.472% (1st)	7.489% (1st)
9	September 14, 2024	4.545% (1st)	5.254% (1st)
10	September 15, 2024	5.547% (1st)	5.678% (1st)
11	September 21, 2024	5.981% (1st)	6.515% (1st)
12	September 22, 2024	7.348%(1st)	8.270%(1st)
13	September 28, 2024	5.410% (1st)	5.857% (1st)
14	September 29, 2024	7.110% (1st)	8.179% (1st)
15	October 5, 2024	6.065% (1st)	6.987% (1st)
16	October 6, 2024	8.458% (1st)	9.469% (1st)
Average		5.887%	6.596%
In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings. This drama aired on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC, and EBS).

References

1. '갯차' 감독X작가, '엄마친구아들'로 의기투합..신상 로코 기대 ['Gaetcha' director X writer, 'Mom's friend's son'.. Looking forward to the new Rocco]. 스타뉴스 (in Korean). August 8, 2023. Archived from the original on August 29, 2023. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
2. Love Next Door. Episode 1. August 17, 2024. tvN.
3. "Love Next Door". Studio Dragon. Archived from the original on August 29, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024.
4. Yoo, Jeong-min (March 13, 2024). '엄마친구아들' 정해인·정소민, 쌍방 흑역사 '소꿉남녀' 로맨스 ['Mom's Friend's Son' Jung Hae-in and Jung So-min, a romance of 'childhood boy and girl' with dark history for both sides]. iMBC (in Korean). Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on August 5, 2024. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
5. 황, 재하 (March 13, 2024). 정해인-정소민, 로맨스 드라마 '엄마친구아들'에서 호흡. Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 20, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
6. '엄마친구아들', 정해인X정소민→'갯차' 감독X작가 드림팀 완성. www.xportsnews.com (in Korean). March 13, 2024. Archived from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
7. OSEN (December 13, 2023). 정해인, 데뷔 10년만에 첫 로코 tvN '엄마친구아들' 확정 [공식]. m.osen.co.kr (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
8. 정해인·정소민→김지은·윤지온...'엄마친구아들' 명품 라인업. 싱글리스트 (in Korean). March 13, 2024. Archived from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
9. 정해인·정소민의 로맨스...tvN '엄마친구아들' 라인업 공개. MK스포츠 (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
10. 정소민, '엄마친구아들' 출연 확정..정해인과 소꿉남녀 케미 예고. 브레이크뉴스. January 3, 2024. Archived from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
11. 김지은은 엄친딸, 정해인은 '엄마친구아들'. Newsis (in Korean). March 8, 2024. Archived from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
12. 김지은, '엄마친구아들' 출연 확정...정해인X정소민과 호흡 [공식]. 싱글리스트 (in Korean). March 8, 2024. Archived from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
13. 윤지온, '엄마친구아들' 출연...정해인·정소민과 호흡. Hankook Ilbo (in Korean). March 13, 2024. Archived from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
14. 박지영, tvN '엄마친구아들' 출연 확정...베테랑 엄마로 변신 예고. 글로벌에픽 (in Korean). March 13, 2024. Archived from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
15. OSEN (March 13, 2024). '엄마친구아들' 정해인X정소민X김지은X윤지온, 쌍방 흑역사 '소꿉남녀' 로맨스. m.osen.co.kr (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
16. '갯마을차차차' 작감이 만든 '엄마친구아들'..정해인♥정소민 첫만남 포착. Naver. Archived from the original on July 10, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
17. 김, 지우. 정해인·정소민 '엄마친구아들'...이 라인업은 사랑입니다. 마이데일리 (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
18. 김, 양수 (March 13, 2024). 엔플라잉 이승협, 2024년 열일...'선재 업고 튀어'→'엄마친구아들'. 아이뉴스24 (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
19. 정해인X정소민X김지은X윤지온 '엄마친구아들', 로맨스 드림팀 완성. stoo (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
20. Kim, Saet-byeol (August 30, 2024). 서지혜, '엄마친구아들' 특별출연...정해인 前 여자친구로 활약 [Seo Ji-hye, special appearance on 'Love Next Door'...Acted as Jung Hae-in's former girlfriend] (in Korean). The Fact. Archived from the original on September 3, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2024 – via Naver.
21. 엄마친구아들 | tvN. tvn.cjenm.com (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 20, 2024. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
22. Moon, Ji-yeon (September 6, 2024). '엄마친구아들'서 분위기 변화? 정해인♥정소민, 자전거 데이트 [Change of atmosphere in 'Mom's Friend's Son'? Jung Hae-in♥Jung So-min, bicycle date] (in Korean). Sports Chosun. Archived from the original on September 8, 2024. Retrieved September 8, 2024 – via Naver.
23. '엄마친구아들' 정해인, 건축가로 강렬 첫 등장...노윤서 깜짝 출연 ['Mom's Friend's Son' Jung Hae-in, strong first appearance as an architect... Noh Yoon-seo makes a surprise appearance]. Nate (in Korean). August 17, 2024. Archived from the original on August 19, 2024. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
24. "이봉련·노윤서, '엄마친구아들' 특별출연 "'일타스캔들' 의리"". Sports Today. August 13, 2024.
25. 정해인 측 "'엄마친구아들' 출연, 검토 중". sports.khan.co.kr (in Korean). November 3, 2023. Archived from the original on December 13, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
26. [공식] 정소민 측 "'엄마친구아들' 출연 검토 중". sports.khan.co.kr (in Korean). November 30, 2023. Archived from the original on December 18, 2023. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
27. 박, 진영 (March 13, 2024). 정해인·정소민·김지은·윤지온, '엄마친구아들' 믿고 볼 라인업 완성. 아이뉴스24 (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
28. Young-eun, Shin (July 10, 2024). '엄마친구아들' 정해인 온다...8월 17일 첫방송 [공식] ['Mom's Friend's Son' Jung Hae-in is coming... First broadcast on August 17 [Official]] (in Korean). Maeil Business Newspaper. Archived from the original on July 10, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2024 – via Naver.
29. Chin, Carmen (July 29, 2024). "'Love Next Door': Jung Hae-in, Jung So-min reconnect in new teaser". NME. Archived from the original on August 9, 2024. Retrieved August 14, 2024.
30. Nielsen Korea ratings:

    • "Ep. 1". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). August 17, 2024. Archived from the original on August 20, 2024. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
    • "Ep. 2". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). August 18, 2024. Archived from the original on August 18, 2024. Retrieved August 18, 2024.
    • "Ep. 3". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). August 24, 2024. Archived from the original on August 24, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
    • "Ep. 4". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). August 25, 2024. Archived from the original on August 25, 2024. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
    • "Ep. 5". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). August 31, 2024. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
    • "Ep. 6". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). September 1, 2024. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
    • "Ep. 7". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
    • "Ep. 8". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). September 8, 2024. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
    • "Ep. 9". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). September 14, 2024. Archived from the original on September 14, 2024. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
    • "Ep. 10". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). September 15, 2024. Archived from the original on September 15, 2024. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
    • "Ep. 11". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). September 21, 2024. Archived from the original on September 22, 2024. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
    • "Ep. 12". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). September 22, 2024. Archived from the original on September 22, 2024. Retrieved September 23, 2024.
    • "Ep. 13". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). September 28, 2024. Retrieved September 29, 2024.
    • "Ep. 14". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). September 29, 2024. Archived from the original on September 29, 2024. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
    • "Ep. 15". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). October 5, 2024. Archived from the original on October 6, 2024. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
    • "Ep. 16". Nielsen Korea (in Korean). October 6, 2024. Archived from the original on October 6, 2024. Retrieved October 6, 2024.

External links

• Official website (in Korean)
• Production website at Studio Dragon (in English and Korean)
• Love Next Door at IMDb 
• Love Next Door at HanCinema