Lovestruck in the City

Lovestruck in the City () is a South Korean streaming television series starring Ji Chang-wook and Kim Ji-won. Directed by Park Shin-woo, the series portrays the love stories of young people navigating life in a busy city.

The series, the first instalment in the multi-part City Couple's Way of Love project, premiered on KakaoTV on December 22, 2020, and was released every Tuesday and Friday at 17:00 (KST). It is available internationally on Netflix.

Synopsis

The series is presented in an interview format, with six individuals discussing their experiences with dating.

Cast

Main

Ji Chang-wook as Park Jae-won, a 32-year-old architect. who team leader of the first architectural team at "Working People", firm founded by his father and uncle. He is honest, positive, and likable, always kind to everyone. He cannot forget the "camera thiefÃ¢ÂÂ, a woman who stole his heart and then disappeared. He is Kyung-joon's cousin.
Kim Ji-won as Lee Eun-oh / Yoon Seon-ah, a 29-year-old freelance marketer. CEO of a marketing agency, "Marketing Agency O3Ã¢ÂÂ, that she founded less than a year ago, the one-person company is on the verge of starvation. A true Seongsu-dong resident, she repays any blow with two strikes and doesn't hesitate to act impulsively. She lives an ordinary life but adopts an alter ego Ã¢ÂÂYoon Seon-ahÃ¢ÂÂ, while using this identity at Yangyang Beach, she meets Park Jae-won and falls in love with him.
Kim Min-seok as Choi Kyeong-jun, a 29-year-old architect and Assistant Manager of the first architecture team of the Ã¢ÂÂWorking PeopleÃ¢ÂÂ, a firm founded by his father and uncle. A cynical observer of worldly affairs. Rin-i's boyfriend and Jae-won's cousin.
So Joo-yeon as Seo Rin-i, a 29-year-old part-timer with multiple jobs and Kyeong-jun's girlfriend. She is close friends with both Kang Geon and Eun-oh. A freelancer with a solid, four-dimensional world of her own. She decided to live a "life of doing what she wants and living hand-to-mouth" instead of a "stable life of doing things she doesn't want to doÃ¢ÂÂ.
Ryu Kyung-soo as Kang Geon, a 29-year-old novelist who has not dated in two years. A rookie in the literary world who won a literary award the year he graduated from college, he is now a writer living in a small studio who has yet to publish a single collection of short stories. He is Eun-oh's roommate and best friend.
Han Ji-eun as Oh Seon-yeong, a 30-year-old high school physical education teacher who describes herself as a serial dater; Geon's ex-girlfriend.

Supporting

Son Jong-hak as CEO Park, Jae-won's father and Kyeong-jun's uncle
Hong Su-zu as Hae-na, an actress
Lee Suk-hyung as Kang Byung-joon, a police officer

Special appearances

Lee Sang-yoon as Go Gyeong-gu
Lee Sang-woo as Bin, the owner of "Bin-Bin Surfing" (Ep. 1, 3Ã¢ÂÂ4, 12)
Park Jin-joo as Ra-ra, the owner of a beachfront ramyeon shack (Ep. 1, 3Ã¢ÂÂ4, 12)
Choi Min-ho as Oh Dong-sik, a police officer
Pyo Ye-jin as Yoon Seon-ah
Yang Dae-hyuk as Yoon Byung-soo, Hae-na's manager
Marychou
Jung Ji-hyun as a customer at Ra-ra's ramyeon shack
Min Sang-woo as a customer at Ra-ra's ramyeon shack
Hwang Hee as Cha Chi-hoon (Ep. 17)
Kim Do-geon as Seon-yeong's ex-boyfriend (Ep. 7)

Episodes

Production

Development

The series was originally planned for 16 episodes but was extended to 17 episodes to include the romance of police officer Oh Dong-sik, played by Choi Min-ho.

Casting

In July 2020, Kim Ji-won and Ji Chang-wook were reported to be in talks to star in the series. In September 2020, Ji Chang-wook and Kim Ji-won were confirmed as the lead actors. Later that month, Kim Min-seok and So Joo-yeon were also confirmed to join the cast in supporting roles. The script reading took place in September 2020.

Filming

On November 12, 2020, still photographs from the series were released. Additional stills were released on November 19, 2020, alongside the announcement of the release date.

Filming was temporarily suspended on November 24, 2020, after an extra tested positive for COVID-19. On November 26, it was confirmed that Kim Ji-won tested negative for the virus. On December 4, 2020, character posters were released. The production team commented, "We aim to provide a variety of entertainment by presenting the stories of strong characters."

Promotion and release

Ji Chang-wook, Kim Min-seok, and Ryu Kyung-soo, cast members of Lovestruck in the City, appeared in the 260th episode of the variety program Knowing Bros, which aired on December 19, 2020, to promote the series.

On December 2, 2020, it was officially announced that the premiere of the series, originally scheduled for December 8, was postponed to December 22 due to COVID-19 concerns and in consideration of on-site and staff safety.

Original soundtrack

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Part 13

Reception

Joel Keller of Decider wrote that the six main characters are distinct from one another and noted similarities between Jae-won and Eun-o and the characters Ross and Rachel from the American sitcom Friends. He concluded that "Lovestruck in the City is a light rom-com that is a good entry into the world of K-dramas, because the character types are very familiar to people used to American and British sitcoms involving will-they-won't-they romances."