You might have noticed a romantic K-drama pattern developing off-screen (Queen of Tears, looking at you), but Netflix’s Love Next Door has gone against the grain and split opinion. Any good K-drama – whether it’s on Netflix or not – needs some kind of romantic chemistry to make it memorable. Whether it’s devastating like Lovely Runner or less popular like Hierarchy , getting the people talking is all that matters.
Netflix’s Love Next Door has done the same, but for a more surprising reason. Its lead actors, Jung Hae-in and Jung So-min aren’t a couple off-screen..
. and fans have noticed. Across many new TV shows this year, fans have frequently seen real-life couples take on the roles of fictional ones.
Queen of Tears is a great example, with Kim Ji-won and Kim Soo-hyun rumored to be together off-screen. According to fans, the chemistry makes a big difference to the show’s drama, and it’s split fans. Posting side-by-side clips of how the “Jung couple” and “Kim couple” act on press trips, one fan wrote : “The difference between dating and non-dating co-stars.
..” “The difference is that some fans are being delusional,” one replied, with another weighing in: “When you allow the world of imagination to mingle with the real world.
It’s always going to look funny. I’ve never been interested in the Kim couple, but I’m surprised that you have fantasies about other couples.” “Isn’t the Kim couple enough to create imagination?” Though not.