Ji Chang-wook Makes His Korean-Japanese Co-Production Debut in Upcoming Disney+ Romance

Actor Ji Chang-wook will make his first appearance in a Korean-Japanese co-production drama when Merry Berry Love arrives in October, CJ ENM announced on July 30. The project represents the first joint production between CJ ENM and Japan's terrestrial broadcaster Nippon TV, a pairing that signals the growing ambition of Korean content companies to build original IP directly with major Japanese broadcast partners rather than simply selling finished series.

The drama will be available through Disney+ and Nippon TV simultaneously, giving it both a streaming foothold and a traditional broadcast window in Japan, a distribution structure that has become increasingly common for higher-profile Korean-Japanese co-productions.

Merry Berry Love centers on a romance between a Korean spatial designer and a Japanese strawberry farmer who meet by chance on a picturesque island. Ji Chang-wook plays Lee Yoo-bin, a designer who once achieved considerable success in Korea before losing everything overnight and arriving on Charo Island looking for a way forward. Japanese actress Imada Mio plays Karin, a local farmer whose life becomes entangled with his. Nam Yoon-su also appears in a supporting role as Park Gu-nam, who works a part-time job on the island.

Ji Chang-wook said through the drama's official website that he had long wanted to participate in a project with Japan, and that finding a role that felt right for him while also being accessible to Japanese viewers made the opportunity particularly meaningful. He described the series as bright, light-hearted, and full of warmth, and asked audiences to look forward to it.

For CJ ENM, the production is consistent with a broader strategy of anchoring Korean dramas in pan-Asian co-production frameworks rather than relying solely on the Korean domestic market. Nippon TV, for its part, has steadily expanded its involvement in Korean content over the past several years, making this formal co-production a natural next step in that relationship. Merry Berry Love is scheduled for release in October.