10 Kdramas Like Love Next Door You Must See

‘Love Next Door,’ the Netflix Kdrama, charts the tale of an endearing love story between two childhood friends who grew up next door to each other with their mothers as best friends. As such, Bae Seok-ryu and Choi Seung-hyo have been in each other’s lives for as long as they can remember but remain stubbornly in denial about their close bond. Consequently, after a mysterious turn of events brings Seok-ryu back from America to her hometown, freshly unengaged—much to her family’s vexation—she finds her paths once again crossing with Seung-hyo. In the wake of her drastic life choices, the two childhood friends find their friendship rekindled, as well as some hidden feelings of the past that might have never gone away in the first place.

Set in an idyllic small town, where anyone’s business is everyone else’s, ‘Love Next Door’ has all the elements that create a compelling childhood-friends-to-lovers narrative. Therefore, in presenting the push-and-pull tale of Seok-ryu and Seung-hyo’s relationship, the show also delves into themes of self-discovery and nostalgia in a way that is bound to ignite a craving for similar slice-of-life stories!

10. Twenty-Five Twenty-One (2022)

‘Twenty-Five Twenty-One’ is the ideal choice for fans of ‘Love Next Door,’ who enjoyed flashbacks to Seok-ryu and Seung-hyo’s young adult life and found themselves captivated by the show’s side characters. This show, set in 1998, centers around the rivals Na Hee-do and Back Yi-jin, two skilled fencers with drastically different backgrounds. After Hee-do joins the team at 18, freshly out of her dissolved high school fencing team, she develops an easy distaste for the 21-year-old Yi-jin. As the years pass, their dynamic remains the same, even as their lives continue to change for better or for worse.

The show features an entertaining extended cast of characters whose interpersonal relationships keep the audience invested in various storylines. Therefore, if ‘Love Next Door’ has left you craving an engaging character and a familiar setting, you should try ‘Twenty-Five Twenty-One’.

9. Doona! (2023–)

‘Doon!‘ is a coming-of-age romance show about the heartfelt relationship between a pop star and a university student. After garnering massive success as an idol in a girl group, Lee Doo-na abruptly leaves the spotlight and hides away in a shared house. Fatefully, Lee Won-jun, a regular university student, ends up sharing the same house, landing the unlikely pair in each other’s life. As the two get to know each other, an unexpected force attracts them to one another despite the many complications that stand in their path.

While the central romance remains an instrumental part of the narrative, this show also bestows a notable significance on themes of friendship and self-acceptance as the titular character finds herself in a quest to re-discover her dreams. As a result, ‘Doona!’ creates a setting with rich side characters and relationships that fans who enjoyed ‘Love Next Door’s’ Hyereung-dong neighborhood will gravitate towards.

8. When the Weather Is Fine (2020)

‘When the Weather Is Fine,’ based on an eponymous novel by Lee Do-woo, transports the viewers into a quaint Korean small town as it follows the charming love story between a cellist and a bookstore owner. Mok Hye-won has been betrayed and berated by life to the point where she has closed off her heart for the better. Additionally, she also leaves the big city life, swapping it out for the quiet familiarity of her hometown, Bookhyun. However, a chance meeting with the local bookstore runner, Lim Eun-seob, threatens to bring down all the walls Hyeo-won has created. As the two grow closer, the cellist finds a new perspective in life—and maybe even a new chance at love!

Hye-won’s escape into small-town life resembles Seok-ryu’s return to her own hometown, offering a different perspective on one’s hunt for self-actualization as an adult. Furthermore, the show’s enhanced focus on drama instead of comedy allows it to chart a unique path that still parallels the narrative in ‘Love Next Door.’

7. Something in the Rain (2018)

‘Something in the Rain’ deals with the concept of finding love in unexpected yet obvious places—a premise that ‘Love Next Door’ surpasses. The show follows the life of Yoon Jin-a, a woman in her thirties who enjoys professional success but often falls short in romance. Therefore, she finds herself in for a surprise when her best friend’s younger brother, Seo Joon-hee, returns from his stay abroad, emerging as a mature young man. As the unlikely duo reconnects, they find an undeniable spark between them that rewrites the course of their relationship forever. The show’s depiction of the awkward hesitancy that comes with being in love with someone one has known for a long time will remind viewers of the early stages of Seok-ryu and Seung-hyo’s relationship.

6. Summer Strike (2022)

‘Summer Strike’ is for the people who resonate with Seok-ryu’s burnout storyline. This show’s protagonist, Lee Yeo-reum, realizes she is sick of the life she has created for herself, where she is constantly drowning in work. As such, she quits her job and moves to a small town to start her life anew. Consequently, she embarks on new adventures, rewriting her story. In the process, she meets An Dae-beom, the resident shy librarian, who ends up becoming an unexpectedly important part of Yo-ruem’s new life.

Much like Seok-ryu from Love Next Door, Yeo-reum in ‘Summer Strike’ undergoes drastic changes in her life that compel her to look for a new start. However, the latter’s unique approach offers a refreshing take on the concept that fans of the former will find fascinating.

5. Fight For My Way (2017)

The comedy-romance show ‘Fight For My Way,’ will appeal to viewers who are looking for a slice-of-life narrative about young people incessantly chasing after their dreams. Ko Dong-man and Choi Ae-ra have helmed big dreams from their school days. However, as an adult, those dreams seem infinitely out of reach now. White Dong-man, a taekwondo champion, continues pursuing his passion by going after the UFC title in Ae-ra all but gives up on her aspirations and joins a department store. Thus, the two attempt to navigate the complexities of life with their close friends, Kim Joo-man and Baek Seol-hee, by their sides.

‘Fight For My Way’ has all the building blocks of ‘Love Next Door’ that fans of the genre might have fallen in love with. The central foursome in both shows remains inherently evocative of the other. Similarly, Dong-man and Ae-ra’s immature refusal of their feelings mirrors Seok-ryu and Seung-hyo’s early dynamic.

4. Uncontrollably Fond (2016)

‘Uncontrollably Fond’ charts the course of a complicated relationship between two high school sweethearts who find their paths entangled again in their adult lives. Even though Shin Joon-young and No Eul dated as teenagers, their relationship came to a heartbreaking end, sending them on separate paths. Nevertheless, years later—after Joon-young became a successful singer and Eul, a celebrated documentary producer—life brings the two exes back into each others’ orbits. Naturally, old flames inevitably threaten to reignite as the two navigate their new professional relationship and inevitably end up reminiscing over the past.

Joon-young and Eul’s romance mirrors the playful connection between ‘Love Next Door’s’ Seok-ryu and Seung-hyo, as both couples’ relationships build upon the nostalgia of the past. Likewise, both romances also hold unseen yet intense complications that will pull at the viewers’ heartstrings.

3. Welcome to Samdal-ri (2023)

For fans of ‘Love Next Door,’ whose favorite aspect of the show emerged as Seok-ryu’s road to self-discovery in her thirties, ‘Welcome to Samdal-ri’ will prove to be the ideal next pick. The show revolves around Cho Sam-dal, a famous photographer in Seoul, under the alias Jo Eun-hye. However, right as her career reaches new heights, an incident forces her to leave it all behind and return to her hometown of Samdal-ri. There, she meets her old childhood friend, Cho Yong-pil, again, who helps her re-discover her identity and passion.

Despite the dissimilarity between Sam-dal and Yong-pil’s relationship in comparison to Seok-ryu and Seung-hyo’s bicker-ish dynamic, the intrinsic ease and familiarity between the former pair will remind fans of the latter. On the other hand, Sam-dal’s journey in ‘Welcome to Samdal-ri’ will effortlessly appeal to viewers who find themselves rooting for Seok-ryu.

2. A Love So Beautiful (2020)

‘A Love So Beautiful,’ the Korean remake of the eponymous Chinese romantic comedy show, offers an absorbing story about first love in all its glory and gloom. Shin Sol-i, a 17-year-old high schooler, has been in love with Cha Heon, the most swoon-worthy guy in school, for many years. Nevertheless, her attempts to make her feelings known repeatedly fail. As a result, things become complicated when Woo Dae-sung, a national swimmer and a new transfer student, becomes smitten by Sol-i. With a wrench thrown in their dynamic, Sol-i and Heon find themselves navigating uncharted waters.

Coincidentally, the central couple in ‘A Love So Beautiful’ are also long-time next-door neighbors, much like Seok-ryu and Seung-hyo from ‘Love Next Door.’ Even so, the former duo’s relationship presents a drastically different outcome born of such close proximity. Thus, this show will prove to be a refreshing change from ‘Love Next Door’ while also retaining familiar elements.

1. More Than Friends (2020)

If you’re a fan of long-held secrets about crushes that drench a relationship in copious amounts of pining, then ‘More Than Friends’ might be the right pick for you! This show follows two characters, Lee Soo and Kyung Woo-yeon, who have been friends since high school. Yet, owing to a misunderstanding, both have managed to keep their feelings for the other a secret. Therefore, as Woo-yeon finds herself falling for her coworker, On Joon-soo, an opportunity arrives to let go of her past. However, the past isn’t quite so easy to let go of, especially as Soo continues to be a vital part of her life as her best friend.

Woo-yeon and Soo sport a similar profound bond that Seok-ryu and Seung-hyo’s relationship presents in ‘Love Next Door.’ Furthermore, the complications presented in their relationship due to other potential love interests remain comparably reminiscent of the latter couple. Naturally, this romance will appeal to fans of the latter show.