South Korea, by and large, is still a conservative country. But things are slowly beginning to change. It wasn’t too long ago that most film and TV producers from the Land of the Morning Calm were hesitant to embrace the Boys’ Love (BL) genre. Nowadays, more and more production houses are doing just that.

The latest BL series to come out—pun intended—of South Korea is titled My Sweet Dear. Filmmaker So Jun Moon has signed on to direct it from a script written by the tandem of Jang Joo Yeon and Jang Mi, aka Aurora Crew. As a director, Jun Moon’s credits include the successful BL series You Make Me Dance and the film Shining Moment. For their part, Aurora Crew is a drama writing team that gave South Korea the hits Gag Concert and Now I’m Going to Meet You.

My Sweet Dear stars Lee Chan Hyung as a culinary whiz named Yoon Do Gun. Because of Do Gun’s hard work and talent, the restaurant he works at became a bright spot in South Korea’s dining scene. Unfortunately, he and its owner have very different ideas as to how Laura Dining should be run. He’s adventurous while she’s pragmatic—and stubborn. For instance, he wants to create new dishes and surprise customers by putting fresh twists on old ones. She’d rather maintain the status quo by ensuring their menu is packed with tried and tested crowd-pleasers.

Do Gun’s clash with the owner of Laura Dining comes to a head when she hires a new chef named Choi Jung Woo (played by Jang Eui Soo) to work alongside him. Jung Woo is no slouch in the kitchen, but his talent lies in duplicating other chefs’ recipes. He can’t develop his own.

Although Do Gun and Jung Woo get off on the wrong foot, they become closer and closer as time goes by. Could their rivalry turn to romance as the heat intensifies in the kitchen?

Jang Eui Soo debuted as a model in 2008 and has since appeared in many campaigns and music videos. He did a photoshoot for BNT International in 2015 and worked the runway for Seoul Fashion Week in the same year. He made his acting debut in 2012 with the drama A Gentleman’s Dignity, which he followed with a role in the movie Northern Limit Line.

From 2018 to 2019, he played supporting roles in the K-Dramas Bad Papa and He is Psychometric. His first lead role was in Jal Pa Gin Love, but he didn’t rise to prominence until he was cast in South Korea’s first-ever BL series Where Your Eyes Linger. Eui Soo enjoyed a surge in popularity and received critical acclaim for his performance opposite Han Gi Chan.

Lee Chan Hyung was born on November 3, 1997, in Incheon, and he made his acting debut in the 2019 K-Drama Re-Feel. He has since appeared in various series like A-Teen 2, Hospital Playlist, and The Uncanny Counter, where he played the spirit who gave Mae Ok her powers. All eyes will be on him as he takes on his first role in a BL series.

The team behind My Sweet Dear issued a statement asking audiences to give the show and its stars a lot of love and support, saying they expect their project to bring a “heart attack” warning in the hearts of viewers.

The Jang Eui Soo-Lee Chan Hyung starrer is scheduled to premiere in October. Who's excited for it?