Disney’s Korea-Japan romantic comedy premieres worldwide in October, starring Ji Chang-wook as a designer who loses everything and Imada Mio as the strawberry farmer he meets. It’s the first co-production between CJ ENM and Nippon TV.
Wookie is back!
Disney is releasing a Korean / Japanese rom-com in October!
Merry Berry Love premieres worldwide on Disney+, streaming internationally while airing weekly on Japan’s terrestrial broadcaster Nippon TV, where it runs on Wednesdays.
It stars Ji Chang-wook and Imada Mio. It is the first drama ever co-produced between a Korean production company and Nippon TV.
The story starts with a man losing everything
Lee Yu-bin, played by Ji Chang-wook, is a Korean spatial designer who built a successful career and then lost all of it overnight.
He relocates to Charo Island, a remote Japanese island, hoping to rebuild. There he meets Shirahama Karin, played by Imada Mio, a young farmer who has devoted her life to growing strawberries.
The series follows the two of them working out a romance across a language barrier, a cultural one, and a national one.
The supporting cast
Nam Yoon-su plays Park Gu-nam, a working holiday participant employed at Asahi Store, the island’s neighborhood supermarket, who carries an unrequited crush.
Kumada Rinka plays Mizuno Mari, Karin’s close friend and a tarot reader.
There are two different Hulus involved
Nippon TV owns Hulu in Japan, which is a separate service from the Hulu that Disney owns in the United States.
Same name. Not the same company.
So, in a fun twist, this show is a series co-produced by the company that runs Hulu Japan and is going to air on Disney+ globally, with Disney’s own Hulu airing it stateside.
Two corporations, two countries, two Hulus, one strawberry farm.
Korea and Japan made a drama together
CJ ENM, the Korean entertainment giant behind Parasite and Queen of Tears, develops and produces.
Nippon TV is co-producing.
The two had never worked together on a drama before.
The show was announced in November 2025 during the Disney+ Originals Preview at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, where both leads appeared.
“Chang-wook is older, so he is like a big brother to me, and I trust him a lot,” Imada said at the event.
Who made it
Kim Soo-jung, who directed the hit BL drama Semantic Error, helms alongside Noh Young-sub.
Lee Jae-yoon, writer of Divorce Insurance, wrote the script.
Filming took place across locations in both Korea and Japan.
When will it air?
Disney has confirmed the show will drop in October but hasn’t given a specific day.
Nippon TV’s Wednesday scheduling in Japan may end up determining the international release.
Disney hasn’t even said whether episodes will drop weekly or all at once on Disney+.
A Korean designer, a Japanese strawberry farmer, an island, Wookie, and two companies that had never worked together.
I am looking forward to it.
Article compiled with the help of the Pirates & Princesses newsroom.
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Hat Tips:
Variety (September 2026), the report on the October premiere and Hulu distribution that surfaced this coverage
The Korea Herald (July 30, 2026), the October premiere confirmation, the full cast including Nam Yoon-su and Kumada Rinka, and the character details
MyDramaList (July 30, 2026), the CJ ENM announcement, the Charo Island setting, and the Nippon TV Wednesday scheduling
Variety and Deadline (November 13, 2025), the original announcement at the Disney+ Originals Preview in Hong Kong, the Imada quote, the crew credits, and the Nippon TV ownership of Hulu Japan
Soompi (July 30, 2026), the poster reveal and the Nam Yoon-su casting details