If you’re looking for a K-drama to ease you into spooky season without giving up the romance, Spooky in Love on Netflix might be one of the best new picks to add to your autumn watchlist.
Ghosts? Check. Unsolved murders? Check. A heroine who can see the dead? Yep. But at the centre of it all is an opposites-attract romance that somehow manages to be funny, sweet and surprisingly emotional.
Starring Park Eun-bin and Yang Se-jong, Spooky in Love mixes supernatural mystery, romantic comedy and crime into something that feels a little different from the usual K-drama rom-com.
And although we’re still waiting to see exactly how everything ends, I’m really enjoying this one.
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What Is Spooky in Love About?
Spooky in Love follows Cheon Yeo-ri (Park Eun-bin), a wealthy hotel heiress and CEO who appears to have just about everything — except a normal life.
Yeo-ri can see and hear ghosts.
Even more inconveniently, physical contact with her can temporarily allow somebody else to see them too. It’s one of the reasons she wears gloves, avoids touching people and has earned herself a reputation as something of a “reclusive princess.”
Then along comes Ma Gang-wook (Yang Se-jong).
He’s an ace prosecutor with a strong sense of justice who has been working to solve cold cases. He’s intelligent, determined and certainly not afraid of pursuing dangerous criminals.
There is, however, one fairly major problem.
He’s terrified of ghosts!
Naturally, putting him together with a woman whose life is quite literally filled with them goes about as smoothly as you’d expect.
After physical contact with Yeo-ri allows Gang-wook to see the spirits himself, their worlds become increasingly tangled. Her connection to the dead and his ability to investigate the crimes surrounding them make the pair an unexpectedly effective team — whether Yeo-ri particularly wants him around or not.
Netflix itself describes the series as quirky, suspenseful and romantic, and even officially lists “Opposites Attract” among its descriptors — which is probably the trope that best sums up why their relationship is so much fun to watch.
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Spooky in Love Review So Far: Why I’m Loving It
What I’m enjoying most about Spooky in Love is that it doesn’t seem interested in staying in one emotional lane.
One minute I’m laughing, particularly when Gang-wook’s confidence disappears the second anything remotely supernatural appears, and the next I’m genuinely emotional.
Because beneath all of the comedy, romance and ghostly chaos is something much sadder.
These ghosts were once people.
As Yeo-ri encounters the dead, we gradually discover their stories, the circumstances surrounding their deaths and, in some cases, the injustice that has prevented them from moving on.
And that’s where Spooky in Love has surprised me.
The drama can move from something ridiculous or romantic into a genuinely moving story about death, grief or injustice, and rather than those different tones fighting against one another, I think the contrast makes the emotional moments hit harder.
I’ve found myself laughing and then, not very long afterwards, crying 😭
That constant switching of emotions feels clever and surprisingly fresh.
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The Romance: Opposites Attract With a Supernatural Problem
Of course, I’m here for the romance — and thankfully Spooky in Love delivers on that too.
Yeo-ri has spent so long deliberately keeping people at arm’s length that letting somebody get close to her isn’t simple.
And importantly, she isn’t distant because she doesn’t care.
It’s almost the opposite.
Getting close to Yeo-ri can put other people in danger, so pushing Gang-wook away is her way of protecting him. Her isolation begins to make much more sense once you understand that.
Gang-wook, unfortunately for her carefully constructed walls, isn’t particularly interested in being pushed away.
The more she tries to keep him out, the more determined he becomes to stay.
Watching that resistance slowly break down has been one of my favourite parts of the drama so far. There’s bickering, forced proximity, reluctant teamwork, protective moments and that very K-drama brand of romantic tension where everybody watching knows exactly what’s happening before the characters are ready to admit it themselves.
And when Yeo-ri finally starts allowing herself to give in to what she feels?
That’s when it gets really fun.
Meet Cheon Yeo-ri – Park Eun-bin
Park Eun-bin plays Cheon Yeo-ri, CEO of Reina Hotel and the only biological relative of the group’s chairman.
On paper, she’s the classic K-drama chaebol heroine: beautiful, successful, enormously wealthy and occupying a powerful position within the family business.
But the supernatural element completely changes her character.
Yeo-ri can see and hear ghosts, and touching another person can open their ability to see the spirits too. It’s why her gloves aren’t simply a fashion choice and why she’s spent so much of her life maintaining physical and emotional distance from other people.
Park Eun-bin herself described the motivation behind Yeo-ri’s walls as essentially coming from a desire not to hurt other people.
And I think that’s important to understanding her.
She’s not the cold rich woman who needs the male lead to magically soften her. There’s already a lot of compassion underneath that exterior. She helps the dead resolve the grievances and settle business that’s keeping them behind, despite everything that ability has cost her personally.
Park Eun-bin balances those two sides beautifully — the polished hotel CEO who can command a room and the much more vulnerable woman who has become accustomed to being alone.
Meet Ma Gang-wook – Yang Se-jong
Then we have Yang Se-jong as Ma Gang-wook, an ace prosecutor at the Seoul District Prosecutors’ Office.
Gang-wook is known for his investigative ability, persistence and strong sense of justice. Once he takes on a case, he follows it through and refuses to bow to powerful people or organisations standing in his way.
Which makes his relationship with Yeo-ri particularly interesting.
She has access to information nobody else can obtain because the victims themselves can sometimes lead her towards the truth. Gang-wook has the legal and investigative skills to do something with it.
Together, they’re strangely perfect.
There’s just the tiny issue of him being absolutely terrified of the very ghosts that make their partnership possible.
That contradiction gives Yang Se-jong some of the drama’s funniest material, but Gang-wook isn’t simply there for comic relief. His empathy and determination are also exactly what Yeo-ri needs.
Where other people have understandably run from the frightening reality surrounding her, Gang-wook keeps coming back.
And that’s what makes their romance work for me.
Did You Know Spooky in Love Is Actually a Remake?
Here’s something you might not realise if you’ve simply discovered the drama through Netflix:
Spooky in Love is based on the 2011 Korean movie Spellbound.
Also known as Chilling Romance, the original starred Son Ye-jin and Lee Min-ki and blended horror, comedy and romance around a woman who could see ghosts.
There are significant differences.
In the movie, Lee Min-ki’s male lead is a street magician, rather than the prosecutor we meet in the 2026 drama. The original Yeo-ri also becomes involved in his horror-themed magic show.
The film proved a substantial hit in South Korea, drawing millions of admissions.
Rather than simply stretching that movie across 12 episodes, the television adaptation expands and changes the concept considerably. The investigative and cold-case element gives the ghosts’ individual stories more room, while characters and storylines have been developed specifically for the longer drama format.
Even Kang Min-hwan (Ong Seong-wu) — who complicates our central romance considerably — was created for the television adaptation rather than being lifted directly from the original film.
So if you finish Spooky in Love and find yourself wanting more, tracking down Spellbound could make for an interesting comparison.
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Is Spooky in Love Scary?
Now this depends on how easily you scare…
Don’t let the ghosts put you off if you’re normally a romance watcher rather than a horror fan.
There are creepy moments, ghosts and supernatural scares, but this isn’t straight horror.
In fact, director Lee Min-soo reportedly placed its fear factor at around five out of ten, explaining that the supernatural encounters are often used to bring the central characters together.
That feels about right.
It’s spooky enough to give the drama an autumn/Halloween atmosphere without losing the romantic-comedy heart of the story.
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Why Spooky in Love Is Going on My Autumn K-Drama List
Technically, Spooky in Love arrived during summer.
But I’m claiming it for autumn.
This feels like exactly the sort of drama I want when the evenings start getting darker and we’re moving towards Halloween: ghosts and murder mysteries without committing to full-on horror, balanced with enough romance and comedy to keep it cosy.
It’s spooky, but not too spooky.
It’s romantic without abandoning the mystery.
And it’s emotional without becoming relentlessly heavy.
If your ideal autumn watch involves curling up under a blanket with something that can make you laugh, swoon and occasionally hide behind said blanket, Spooky in Love deserves a place on the list.
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How Many Episodes Does Spooky in Love Have?
Spooky in Love consists of 12 episodes.
The series premiered on July 18, 2026, with episodes airing across Saturdays and Sundays. The final two episodes are scheduled for August 22 and August 23, 2026.
That means the wait is almost over — and if you’ve been holding off because you prefer binge-watching your K-dramas rather than waiting painfully for another episode, now is a very good time to start.
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Where Can You Watch Spooky in Love?
Internationally, Spooky in Love is streaming on Netflix, including Netflix UK.
The drama stars:
- Park Eun-bin as Cheon Yeo-ri
- Yang Se-jong as Ma Gang-wook
- Ong Seong-wu as Kang Min-hwan
- Jo Hye-joo as Cheon Ha-ri
- Kim Do-wan as Park Seung-jae
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Is Spooky in Love Worth Watching?
Based on what I’ve watched so far, YES!
If you enjoy K-dramas with opposites attract, supernatural romance, reluctant partners, forced proximity, mystery, protective leads and plenty of romantic tension, I’d absolutely give this one a try.
But what has elevated Spooky in Love for me is the heart underneath all of that.
The ghosts aren’t simply there to make us jump. Their stories matter. The mysteries surrounding their deaths give Yeo-ri and Gang-wook a reason to work together, but they also allow the drama to explore loss, injustice and grief.
And somehow Spooky in Love can make me laugh through one scene and cry through another without either feeling completely out of place.
With the finale still to come, I’m holding off on giving the drama a final rating.
But right now?
I’m really enjoying it — and it’s already earned itself a spot on my spooky-season watchlist.
I’ll update this review once I’ve watched the finale and we know exactly where Yeo-ri and Gang-wook’s rather unusual romance leaves us.
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