Merry Berry Love

After a devastating failure as a spatial designer in South Korea, Lee Yu Bin retreats to a remote Japanese island to start over. There, he meets Shirahama Karin, a strawberry farmer living with a mysterious illness. Though they come from different countries and lead completely opposite lives, their chance encounter blossoms into a heartfelt cross-border love story that changes them both.

If you meant the 3rd pair, Merry Berry Love × Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha, I'd write it like this:

1. City person × countryside life ?
2. Both have healing romance.
3. Small community = everyone knows everything ?
4. Nature, food and cozy vibes.
5. Two very different people slowly fall in love.
6. Fresh start + finding happiness.
7. Basically: leave the city, find love ?

After a devastating failure as a spatial designer in South Korea, Lee Yu Bin retreats to a remote Japanese island to start over. There, he meets Shirahama Karin, a strawberry farmer living with a mysterious illness. Though they come from different countries and lead completely opposite lives, their chance encounter blossoms into a heartfelt cross-border love story that changes them both.

After a devastating failure as a spatial designer in South Korea, Lee Yu Bin retreats to a remote Japanese island to start over. There, he meets Shirahama Karin, a strawberry farmer living with a mysterious illness. Though they come from different countries and lead completely opposite lives, their chance encounter blossoms into a heartfelt cross-border love story that changes them both.

After a devastating failure as a spatial designer in South Korea, Lee Yu Bin retreats to a remote Japanese island to start over. There, he meets Shirahama Karin, a strawberry farmer living with a mysterious illness. Though they come from different countries and lead completely opposite lives, their chance encounter blossoms into a heartfelt cross-border love story that changes them both.

After a devastating failure as a spatial designer in South Korea, Lee Yu Bin retreats to a remote Japanese island to start over. There, he meets Shirahama Karin, a strawberry farmer living with a mysterious illness. Though they come from different countries and lead completely opposite lives, their chance encounter blossoms into a heartfelt cross-border love story that changes them both.

Haruka spends a night with a stranger in anger at her earnest boyfriend's cheating. Later, the stranger turns out to be Han Ji Ho, the new Director at her workplace. Even worse, Haruka and Ji Ho become entangled with a conglomerate family after finding out about premarital pregnancy and face tons of obstacles to tackle. Will they safely reach a happy ending?

After a devastating failure as a spatial designer in South Korea, Lee Yu Bin retreats to a remote Japanese island to start over. There, he meets Shirahama Karin, a strawberry farmer living with a mysterious illness. Though they come from different countries and lead completely opposite lives, their chance encounter blossoms into a heartfelt cross-border love story that changes them both.

Yes — **Merry Berry Love** has a lot in common with **Welcome to Samdal-ri**, and that seems very intentional. Ji Chang-wook is even returning to romantic comedy with *Merry Berry Love* after *Samdal-ri*.

### ? The biggest similarities

| | **Welcome to Samdal-ri** | **Merry Berry Love** |
| ------------------------ | -------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| ? Setting | Jeju Island | Remote Japanese island |
| ? Male lead | Cho Yong-pil | Lee Yu-bin |
| ? Female lead | Cho Sam-dal | Shirahama Karin |
| ? Career problem | Sam-dal's career collapses | Yu-bin loses his career/success |
| ?? Return to rural life | Sam-dal returns to Jeju | Yu-bin starts over on an island |
| ?? Romance | Old love rekindled | New island romance |
| ? Healing | Community + hometown help Sam-dal heal | Island life + Karin help Yu-bin rebuild |
| ? Tone | Warm romantic comedy | Warm romantic comedy |

The core similarity is **“successful city person loses their old life ? returns/ends up in a quieter island community ? meets someone ? heals and falls in love.”**

In *Samdal-ri*, Sam-dal returns to Jeju after her photography career falls apart. In *Merry Berry Love*, Yu-bin loses everything as a successful spatial designer and travels to Charo Island, where he ends up working around Karin's strawberry farm.

### ?? But there is one BIG difference

**Samdal-ri = “returning home.”**
Sam-dal already belongs to Jeju. The story is about **reconnecting with her roots, family, friends, and first love.**

**Merry Berry Love = “starting over somewhere new.”**
Yu-bin is an outsider in Japan. He has to adapt to island life, strawberry farming, and a different culture while developing feelings for Karin.

So I'd describe it as:

> **Welcome to Samdal-ri:** *“I lost my success, so I went home and found myself again.”*
> **Merry Berry Love:** *“I lost my success, went somewhere completely new, and built a new life.”*

And if what you loved about *Welcome to Samdal-ri* was **Ji Chang-wook + countryside/island scenery + healing + slow romance + funny everyday moments**, *Merry Berry Love* looks like it is deliberately targeting that same comfort-drama feeling.

**One important caveat:** *Merry Berry Love* premieres **October 7, 2026**, so the comparison is currently based on its official premise, trailers, and promotional material rather than the complete aired story.

If you want, I can also compare **Yu-bin vs Yong-pil** and **Karin vs Sam-dal** — their personalities and relationship dynamics look especially interesting.

After a devastating failure as a spatial designer in South Korea, Lee Yu Bin retreats to a remote Japanese island to start over. There, he meets Shirahama Karin, a strawberry farmer living with a mysterious illness. Though they come from different countries and lead completely opposite lives, their chance encounter blossoms into a heartfelt cross-border love story that changes them both.

After a devastating failure as a spatial designer in South Korea, Lee Yu Bin retreats to a remote Japanese island to start over. There, he meets Shirahama Karin, a strawberry farmer living with a mysterious illness. Though they come from different countries and lead completely opposite lives, their chance encounter blossoms into a heartfelt cross-border love story that changes them both.

After a devastating failure as a spatial designer in South Korea, Lee Yu Bin retreats to a remote Japanese island to start over. There, he meets Shirahama Karin, a strawberry farmer living with a mysterious illness. Though they come from different countries and lead completely opposite lives, their chance encounter blossoms into a heartfelt cross-border love story that changes them both.

After a devastating failure as a spatial designer in South Korea, Lee Yu Bin retreats to a remote Japanese island to start over. There, he meets Shirahama Karin, a strawberry farmer living with a mysterious illness. Though they come from different countries and lead completely opposite lives, their chance encounter blossoms into a heartfelt cross-border love story that changes them both.

After a devastating failure as a spatial designer in South Korea, Lee Yu Bin retreats to a remote Japanese island to start over. There, he meets Shirahama Karin, a strawberry farmer living with a mysterious illness. Though they come from different countries and lead completely opposite lives, their chance encounter blossoms into a heartfelt cross-border love story that changes them both.

After a devastating failure as a spatial designer in South Korea, Lee Yu Bin retreats to a remote Japanese island to start over. There, he meets Shirahama Karin, a strawberry farmer living with a mysterious illness. Though they come from different countries and lead completely opposite lives, their chance encounter blossoms into a heartfelt cross-border love story that changes them both.