“Love Next Door” Might Exist In The Same Universe As Another Beloved K-Drama

Did you catch the reference?

Spoiler Alert

This article reveals plot details of a current movie or series.

Currently, tvN‘s new K-Drama Love Next Door (also known as Mom’s Friend’s Son) is gaining popularity internationally via Netflix. It stars Jung So Min as Bae Seok Ryu, a young woman who had worked in the U.S. as a project manager for a prestigious company, Greip. She mysteriously returns home to Korea, where she meets her childhood friend Choi Seung Hyo (Jung Hae In), an architect with a start-up architectural firm, Atelier.

A woman attempting to reboot her life returns to Korea and becomes entangled with her childhood friend — with whom she shares a complicated history.

— Netflix

Jung Hae In (left) and Jung So Min (right)

Viewers were surprised when a recent episode referenced another beloved K-Drama.

We were introduced to the fictional K-Pop boy group DOS in the 2021 tvN K-Drama Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, starring Shin Min A and Kim Seon Ho.

In Episode 4 of Love Next Door, Seung Hyo visited Seok Ryu in the U.S. in a flashback. He brought her a bunch of stuff from Korea, including a DOS poster.

| tvN

Viewers thought DOS sounded familiar. They remembered that the group was from Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, so technically, the K-Dramas must exist in the same universe.

love how writernim is still using her quirks from her previous drama up till now. also, the fictional boyband DOS exists in both hometown cha cha cha and love next door. makes me wonder how long has DOS been in the industry if they were already a thing when seokryu was in college https://t.co/gVQilvPLLk pic.twitter.com/Ra3G9XGhVX

— 💬 (@surfingdusik) August 25, 2024

Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha and Love Next Door actually share the same screenwriter and director. Shin Ha Eun wrote both, and Yoo Je Won directed both.

Shin Min A (left) and Kim Seon Ho (right) | tvN

That’s not all the K-Dramas have in common. Actor Jo Han Chul plays a dad in both!

“Love Next Door” | tvN

“Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha”

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