K-star Park Eun-bin stretches acting range in movie turned series Spooky In Love
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South Korean actress Park Eun-bin said movie-turned-series Spooky In Love allowed her to explore what she called a “transmedia” adaptation.
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM TVN_DRAMA/INSTAGRAM
- Spooky In Love, a 12-episode K-drama starring Park Eun-bin, reimagines the 2011 film Spellbound with new storylines and supernatural elements.
- The series expands on the original by introducing fresh supernatural lore, including a unique ghost-seeing ability linked to the protagonist's touch.
- Director Lee Min-su focuses on Korean-style comedy and accessible entertainment, prioritising local storytelling strengths over global tailoring.
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SEOUL – A hit South Korean feature film has been turned into a K-drama, with Park Eun-bin – one of the industry’s most bankable stars – leading the charge.
Spooky In Love, starring Park and actor Yang Se-jong, reimagines the hit 2011 romantic comedy Spellbound as a 12-episode series, expanding the original supernatural love story for the television format.
It follows Yeo-ri (Park), a chaebol heiress cursed with the ability to see ghosts, who finds herself falling for headstrong prosecutor Ma Kang-wook (Yang).
While the tvN project shares the same Korean title as the original film, which starred Lee Min-ki and Son Ye-jin, this adaptation overhauls the narrative, characters and overall world.
For Park, who is on a hot streak that includes Netflix’s The Wonderfools (2026) and Disney+’s Hyper Knife (2025), Spooky In Love offered an opportunity to explore what she described as a “transmedia” adaptation.
Speaking at a press conference in Seoul on July 14, she expressed her excitement about stretching the boundaries of the original.
“The idea of turning a film into a drama series struck me as an exciting challenge,” Park said. “While the film runs for about two hours, a 12-episode series gives us at least six times more room to expand the story and introduce new settings and elements.”
The 33-year-old emphasised that the series goes far beyond simply stretching out the film’s original plot, introducing fresh mechanics to the supernatural lore.
“My character is still named Yeo-ri, but unlike in the film, she’s no longer Kang Yeo-ri. Beyond the name, we’ve reimagined many aspects of the story, so I focused on bringing out what makes the drama version unique,” she said.
“One of the key supernatural elements involves Yeo-ri’s hands. Anyone she touches can also see ghosts. That lets us explore the premise in a much richer way and gives viewers something entirely new.”
Beyond the expanded mythology, Park was drawn to the drama for its blend of tones and narrative formats, which allowed her to showcase a different side of her acting range.
“Working on this project made me realise how much I enjoy stories that combine multiple genres,” she said. “Romance makes up a significant part of the series, but it’s also layered with occult elements, investigative teamwork and action. Bringing all of these together is what makes the project so compelling.”
The adaptation arrives at a time when K-dramas are competing in an increasingly crowded global streaming environment. Yet, even with a worldwide footprint secured via Netflix, director Lee Min-su said his priority was to lean into the distinctive strength of South Korean storytelling rather than tailor the series for a global audience.
He added: “The comedy Korean actors create and the humour that naturally grows out of character relationships feel different from what you see in dramas from other countries.”
To achieve that, Lee focused on crafting a broad, accessible comedic tone.
“I put a great deal of effort into creating comedy that’s easy to enjoy and delivers those fun, dopamine-inducing moments,” he said. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Spooky In Love is available on Netflix.