Friendly Rivalry (South Korean Drama)

Friendly Rivalry (Korean: 선의의 경쟁) is a South Korean mystery-thriller television series that premiered in 2025. The drama was broadcast on the U+mobiletv network and consists of 16 episodes. The series is an adaptation of the webcomic Sunuiui Gyeongjaeng, which was written by Song Chae-Yun and illustrated by Sim Jae-Young, and serialized on Naver from June 30, 2020, to December 15, 2021.

Plot

The story follows Woo Seul-Gi (Chung Su-Bin), a student who grew up in an orphanage in a provincial area. After moving to Seoul, she enrolls at Chaehwa High School, an elite institution catering to the top 1% of students in South Korea. Initially struggling to integrate with her peers, she forms a friendship with Yu Je-I (Hyeri).

Yu Je-I is portrayed as the most influential student at the school, possessing high academic intelligence, a wealthy background, and social status. Aware of her perceived superiority, she is depicted as cunning and manipulative. Her interest in the transfer student, Woo Seul-Gi, leads to a complex and volatile relationship characterized by both friendship and obsession.

Production

The series was directed by Kim Tae-Hee, who also contributed to the screenplay alongside Min Ye-Ji and the original webcomic creators. The show aired from February 10 to March 6, 2025. As a nod to the source material, the original webcomic writer, Song Chae-Yun, makes a cameo appearance in the final episode as the character Director Song Jae-Hui.

Cast

• Hyeri as Yu Je-I
• Chung Su-Bin as Woo Seul-Gi
• Kang Hye-Won as Ju Ye-Ri
• Oh Woo-Ri as Choi Gyung
• Kim Tae-Hoon as Yu Tae-Jun
• Choi Young-Jae as Nam Byeong-Jin