Dear My Friends (South Korean Television Series)

Dear My Friends is a South Korean television series that aired on the cable network tvN in 2016. The drama explores the lives and relationships of older individuals and their younger counterparts, highlighting the complexities of intergenerational friendship and family dynamics.

Promotional poster for the drama Dear My Friends

Production

The series was written by No Hee-kyung and directed by Hong Jong-chan. The production team held the first script reading on February 2, 2016, at the CJ E&M Center in Sangam-dong, Seoul. Principal photography for the series commenced on February 24, 2016. As part of the production, actors Ko Hyun-jung and Zo In-sung filmed on location in Slovenia and Croatia for one week, beginning on March 3, 2016.

The drama aired on Fridays and Saturdays at 20:30 KST from May 13 to July 2, 2016. It occupied the time slot previously held by the series Memory and was succeeded by The Good Wife.

Cast

The series features an ensemble cast, including:

Ko Hyun-jung as Park Wan
Kim Hye-ja as Jo Hee-ja
Na Moon-hee as Moon Jung-a
Ko Du-shim as Jang Nan-hee
Park Won-suk as Lee Young-won
Youn Yuh-jung as Oh Choong-nam
Joo Hyun as Lee Sung-jae
Kim Young-ok as Oh Ssang-boon
Shin Goo as Kim Suk-kyoon
Zo In-sung as Seo Yeon-ha

Reception

The series received critical recognition for its writing and performances. At the 53rd Baeksang Arts Awards in 2017, it won the award for Best Drama, and No Hee-kyung received the award for Best Screenplay. Additionally, No Hee-kyung was honored with the Best Screenplay award at the 9th Korea Drama Awards in 2016, and the series received the Content Main Prize at the tvN10 Awards.