tvN’s “Spooky in Love” Turns a Ghost-Seeing Romance Into a Justice-Driven Thriller

tvN is set to premiere Spooky in Love, an occult romance remake of the 2011 film Spellbound, bringing together a chaebol heiress who can see ghosts and a prosecutor who becomes terrified of them—only to develop empathy as the story unfolds. The drama stars Park Eun Bin as Cheon Yeo Ri, CEO of a top luxury hotel, and Yang Se Jong as Ma Gang Wook, an ace prosecutor whose life changes after he winds up holding Yeo Ri’s hand and gains the ability to see ghosts. The series will debut on July 18 at 9:10 p.m. KST.

A remake built on chemistry, fear, and “fated” stakes

According to the show’s promotional materials covered by Soompi, Spooky in Love is framed as a “chaotic partnership” between its two leads. Yeo Ri’s world is already full of supernatural encounters due to her ability to see ghosts. Ma Gang Wook, by contrast, is portrayed as a character driven by justice and human feeling—but when he suddenly can see the dead, his carefully held perspective begins to fracture.

Yang Se Jong said he was drawn to the premise for its character arc structure—specifically how both characters’ stories shift as the series moves toward its ending. In comments relayed by Soompi, he highlighted the changing dynamic between Cheon Yeo Ri and Ma Gang Wook over time, including how each person confronts their own problems as the supernatural escalates.

Yang Se Jong: Justice first, then an evolving relationship to ghosts

In describing what he found most appealing about his role, Yang Se Jong pointed to a key moment when Ma Gang Wook’s perspective on ghosts changes. The actor emphasized that the transformation isn’t just about fear or spectacle; it ties back to Ma Gang Wook’s core traits—his sense of justice and his underlying humanity. That combination suggests the drama may treat ghostly encounters not only as plot devices, but as prompts that force characters to reconsider what “right” means when the invisible world intrudes on everyday life.

Yang Se Jong also discussed the acting process for the ghost-seeing element. He said that there were “a lot of scenes where I encountered ghosts,” and that he frequently relied on imagination while shooting. On set, he aimed to stay consistent with the emotions he felt in each moment, implying that Spooky in Love is likely to lean on performance-driven intensity rather than purely visual effects to convey the supernatural.

How the story’s key ingredients are framed ahead of release

When asked to name the drama’s key elements, Yang Se Jong identified three recurring themes: a change in the relationship between the leads, the appearance of ghosts, and fated relationships. He teased that viewers should watch closely for what kinds of incidents occur as ghosts appear—and, crucially, “what kind of relationship develops between the two [leads].”

The emphasis on relationship evolution suggests the romantic component is not simply a backdrop for supernatural plot turns. Instead, the drama appears positioned to make each ghostly development a mechanism for drawing the leads closer—or pushing them apart—while testing how Ma Gang Wook and Cheon Yeo Ri interpret each other’s motives and vulnerabilities.

What’s notable about the pairing: heiress power meets prosecution mindset

Park Eun Bin plays Cheon Yeo Ri as a chaebol heiress and hotel CEO, a role designed to bring both authority and curiosity into the narrative. Her ability to see ghosts establishes her as someone who lives with the supernatural already in her daily decision-making. Yang Se Jong’s prosecutor character, meanwhile, introduces a contrasting viewpoint—someone trained to evaluate evidence and enforce order, suddenly confronted with phenomena that don’t fit typical legal logic.

Taken together, the premise sets up a classic genre tension: what happens when a person of strict logic meets a world of spirits, and the “unexplainable” becomes the catalyst for emotional and ethical change. For viewers accustomed to either romance-forward K-dramas or plot-forward fantasy thrillers, Spooky in Love signals an attempt to blend both.

What happens next: premiere date and early expectations

Spooky in Love will premiere on July 18 at 9:10 p.m. KST. With its ghost-seeing transformation triggered by a single seemingly ordinary action—holding hands—the series may quickly establish its rules and tone within the first episodes. The early release will likely determine whether the drama’s “occult romance” label leans more heavily toward emotional character work or toward mystery and incident-driven plotting.

In the meantime, viewers will be looking for how the remake reframes Spellbound for a modern audience, as well as how the chemistry between Park Eun Bin and Yang Se Jong translates on screen. If the storytelling follows the direction implied by the actor’s remarks—especially the emphasis on perspective shifts and relationship changes—Spooky in Love could carve out a distinctive niche in the summer K-drama lineup.