6 best K-Dramas to watch if you liked 'Love Next Door'

On August 17, 2024, the first episode of Love Next Door was released, featuring Jung So-min and Jung Hae-in. Recently, the final episode was streamed on Netflix, receiving praise from fans for its unexpected plot twist.

The narrative follows Bae Seok-ryu, an overachiever who returns to South Korea from the USA after struggling with a bad breakup. After returning home, she reconnects with her childhood friend, Choi Seung-hyo, who is now an architect.

Love Next Door explores the theme of friends turning into lovers. Despite having a complicated history, these two fall for each other, creating a binge-worthy romcom.

Viewers looking to stream other shows similar to Love Next Door can explore the following recommendations mentioned in the article.

Our Beloved Lover, She Was Pretty, and other dramas similar to Love Next Door

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo
Bubble Gum
Our Beloved Lover
More Than Friends
My First First Love
She Was Pretty

1) Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo (2017)

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo (Image via Netflix)

Cast: Lee Sung-Kyung, Kyung Soo-jin,Nam Joo-hyuk

Streaming on: Netflix, Prime Video

Love Next Door tells the story of a romantic relationship between two friends, a theme similarly explored in Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo. The series follows two college students from different sports groups who meet on campus.

During an argument between these two, Kim Bok-joo (Lee Sung-kyung) falls into the water, and Jung Joon-Hyung (Kyung Soo-jin) saves her, which turns into a romantic encounter. Both of them fall for each other while going through ups and downs to achieve their goals.

2) Bubble Gum (2015)

Cast: Lee Dong-wook, Jung Ryeo-won, Lee Jung-hyuk

Streaming on: Prime Video, Apple TV

Fans of Love Next Door can relate to Bubble Gum, as both are based on the same theme, childhood friends turning into lovers. Park Ri-hwan (Lee Dong-wook) is the director of a hospital, and his childhood friend, Kim Haeng-ah (Jung Ryeo-won), is a radio producer.

Both have feelings for each other. However, complications arise when Yi-seul, who is a chaebol, expresses her feelings for Ri-hwan. Also, his mother does not want Haeng-ah and Ri-hwan to be together, leading to tension in this drama.

3) Our Beloved Lover (2022)

Cast: Choi Woo-shik, Kim da-mi, Kim Sung-cheol

Streaming on: Netflix

Our Beloved Lover revolves around the reunion of two teenage lovers. Choi Ung (Choi Woo-Sik) and Kook Yeon-Su (Kim Da-Mi) were in a relationship in school and met after five years as adults.

During their relationship, they participated in a documentary film that went viral. After five years, the producer summons them for another documentary. Despite having complications, these two fall for each other again.

4) More Than Friends (2020)

Cast: Shin Ye-eun, Ong Seong-wu, Kim Dong-jun

Streaming on: Hotstar, Netflix, Viki

Similar to Love Next Door, More Than Friends is a light-hearted romantic K-drama. Kyung Woo-yeon (Shin Ye-eun), a calligrapher, has had a huge crush on Lee Soo (Ong Seong-wu) for ten years. The girl met him at high school, and for some reason, both of them maintain a decent friendship.

Woo-yeon confessed twice her feelings to him, which left her with disappointment. However, the twist comes into the plot when a third person, Ohn Joon Soo, appears as the date of Woo-yeon. Lee Soo finds himself jealous, and the drama unfolds his actions to get her.

5) My First First Love (2019)

Cast: Ji Soo, Choi Ri, Kang Tae-oh

Streaming on: Netflix

My First First Love is a tale of five friends who start to live together. Yoon Tae-oh (Ji Soo) lives in his grandfather's house while some of his friends come one day and ask his permission to stay there.

Among these friends is his best friend, Song-i, along with Chae-hun, a close friend of Tae-oh. The narrative is quite simple and slow-paced, highlighting the ups and downs of these young adults. The drama explores romantic relationships among friends similar to Love Next Door.

6) She Was Pretty (2015)

Cast: Park Seo-jun, Hwang Jung-eum, Choi Si-won

Streaming on: Prime Video, Netflix

The narratives of She Was Pretty and Love Next Door are quite similar, both featuring moments from childhood when the two leads are good friends and later reunite after a long period when they are adults.

In She Was Pretty, Sung-Joon (Park Seo-Jun) used to be a fat boy in his school days, facing humiliation from his peers. Hye-Jin (Hwang Jung-Eum), on the other hand, was very popular in the school and comforted Sung-joon. Later, he shifts to the USA and returns to his hometown in his adulthood.

Like Love Next Door, this drama explores the romanticism between these two.

Interested viewers can stream Love Next Door on Netflix.

Edited by Shubham Soni