Jung Hae-in to Play the Titular Role in ‘Mom’s Friend’s Son’

Jung Hae-in will play the titular role in the forthcoming romantic comedy K-drama Mom’s Friend’s Son. This succeeds his stellar runs in the action military drama D.P. (2021) and D.P. Season 2 (2023). The part of the female lead character, albeit offered to Jung So-min, is still pending confirmation.

While D.P. deals with the dark side of the South Korean military, wherein Private Ahn Jun-ho (Jung) and Corporal Han Ho-yeol (Koo Kyo-hwan) collaborate to find the escapees, Mom’s Friend’s Son is about a woman trying to piece together her turbulent past and meeting her mom’s friend’s son Choi Seung-hyo (Jung) in the middle of it, years later.

Running the architectural studio “In,” Seung-Hyo is one of Korea’s best-known young architects. He is incredibly handsome and endearing, not to mention almost spot-on in his line of work. In summary, he boasts a perfect profile. He does, however, regret some of the experiences he had. Such instances are reminiscent of Bae Seok-Ryu. When they were four years old, their moms became friends, and they spent a big part of their childhood together before losing touch.

Seok-Ryu’s always had the highest academic standing at her school during her time there. Following her graduation from college, she got through a leading corporation and endeavored in the role of a project manager; still, she resigned from her post for personal reasons and hasn’t had a job thereafter. After all these years, she inadvertently runs into Seung-hyo while attempting to get her life back together. What ensues is what the arc of Mom’s Friend’s Son underlines.

In a piece I published for the “Actor You Need to Know” series, I discussed how Jung Hae-in’s unorthodox roles are evident in his filmography. Any artist worth their salt will admit that he nails the character’s essence when you watch him perform. By dropping the persona and using himself, I’d say Jung does fantastically at pulling it off. I’m interested to see how he employs that in Mom’s Friend’s Son in a manner that is more novel.

The plot synopsis and genre hint that Seung-Hyo and Seok-Ryu’s memories are bittersweet and that each of them is experiencing a distinct present, and I’m expecting it to be a healing K-drama. The woman has to cope with constraints, while the man is in an advantageous scenario. Their serendipitous encounter ought to clear the air between them, mend their bonds of camaraderie, and open the road for love.

Yoo Je-won will be directing Mom’s Friend’s Son, a household name for hit dramas such as High School King of Savvy (2014), Oh My Ghost (2015), Abyss (2019), Hi Bye, Mama! (2020), Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha (2021), and Crash Course in Romance (2023).