Ji Chang Wook Returns to Rom-Coms After 3 Years With ‘Merry Berry Love’

Ji Chang Wook is returning to romantic comedy and this time, his love story crosses borders.

The Korean actor will star opposite Japanese actress Imada Mio in the upcoming series “Merry Berry Love” a Korea-Japan co-production set to premiere globally on October 7 through Disney+ and Japan’s Nippon TV.

The project marks Ji Chang Wook’s first rom-com in roughly three years and brings together two stars from Korea and Japan for a romance set on a picturesque Japanese island.

Ji Chang Wook Plays a Man Who Loses Everything Overnight

Ji Chang Wook stars as Lee Yubin, a successful Korean spatial designer whose seemingly perfect life suddenly collapses.

After losing everything overnight, Yubin ends up on the fictional island of Charo, where his polished city life is replaced by something completely different: working among strawberry fields.

The dramatic change in circumstances sets up both the comedy and romance at the heart of the series.

Ji Chang Wook has previously built a reputation for romantic roles through dramas including “Suspicious Partner,” “Lovestruck in the City” and “Welcome to Samdal-ri.”

“Merry Berry Love” now puts him back in lighter romantic territory after several years of projects spanning action, crime and more intense genres.

Imada Mio Becomes His Strawberry-Farmer Love Interest

Japanese actress Imada Mio plays Shirahama Karin, a farmer who has devoted herself almost entirely to growing strawberries.

Her quiet island life changes when Yubin arrives.

The two characters come from completely different backgrounds he is a Korean urban professional whose career has collapsed, while she has built her life around farming on the island. Their initially difficult relationship gradually develops into a story of healing, growth and romance.

The contrast also gives the drama its title a playful meaning: sweet strawberries, complicated emotions and a romance that is expected to be both “sweet and sour.”

‘Merry Berry Love’ Is a Major Korea-Japan Collaboration

The drama is especially notable because it is the first joint production between CJ ENM and Nippon TV, one of Japan’s major terrestrial broadcasters.

Rather than simply casting actors from two countries, the project was built as a cross-border production from the beginning.

Ji Chang Wook previously said he had wanted to participate in a project involving Japan for some time and felt excited to find a role that suited him while also being approachable for Japanese viewers.

The supporting cast adds another Korean star to the mix.

Nam Yoon Su plays Park Gu Nam, a working-holiday visitor who decides to remain on the island because of love. The character is expected to bring additional romantic energy and potentially another complicated relationship into the story.

Japanese actress Kumada Rinka also joins the drama as Mizuno Mari, a tarot reader specializing in romance.

Together, the characters create a broader ensemble around Yubin and Karin as the two leads slowly become closer.

Ji Chang Wook Trades Designer Life for Strawberry Fields

Early promotional material has emphasized Ji Chang Wook’s transformation from perfectionist designer to unexpected farm worker.

The main trailer shows Yubin struggling through physical work in the strawberry fields before gradually becoming more comfortable on the island and increasingly attached to Karin.

That contrast could become one of the drama’s biggest appeals. Instead of the sleek, powerful characters Ji Chang Wook has played in some of his darker projects, “Merry Berry Love” puts him in a warmer setting where romance develops through ordinary moments, physical comedy and an unfamiliar way of life.

“Merry Berry Love” premieres worldwide on October 7, 2026, on Disney+. The drama will also air weekly on Nippon TV in Japan.

With Ji Chang Wook returning to romantic comedy, Imada Mio playing his Japanese love interest and a Korea-Japan production team behind the series, “Merry Berry Love” is shaping up to be one of the more unusual cross-border romance projects arriving this fall.