'Spellbound': Park Eun-bin and Yang Se-jong bewitch viewers in hunting new remake of Son Ye-jin and Lee Min-ki's epic romance

Park Eun-bin and Yang Se-jong are confirmed to lead CJ ENM's entertainment channel's upcoming supernatural romance drama 'Spellbound,' set to premiere in 2026. Park will portray Cheon Yeo-ri, a glamorous hotel heiress hiding a chilling secret-she can see ghosts-while Yang takes on Ma Gang-wook, a principled prosecutor whose forensic instincts collide with the supernatural world. The series reimagines the 2011 romantic comedy film 'Spellbound,' which starred Son Ye-jin and Lee Min-ki and became the seventh highest-grossing Korean film that year with 3 million admissions and INR 191 crore (₩22 billion) at the box office, according to Yonhap News.The original film followed a street magician who fell for a woman whose ghostly visions inspired his horror magic show, but the cable adaptation transforms the male lead from entertainer to legal eagle. Yang's character Ma Gang-wook is described as a "passionate, empathetic prosecutor" whose involvement with Cheon Yeo-ri stems from a criminal investigation that drags him into her paranormal world. This shift from comedy-focused romance to "investigative occult romance drama" promises forensic procedural elements alongside ghostly encounters, with producers teasing "thrilling catharsis" when Yeo-ri's psychic abilities interlock with Gang-wook's scientific methods.​'Spellbound' joins the growing trend of Korean films being repackaged for streaming audiences, following a public broadcaster's 2024 drama adaptation of 'Miss Granny' and a major streaming platform's recent series version of crime thriller 'Fabricated City'. The original 'Spellbound' proved so commercially viable that it inspired international remakes in Vietnam and China, making it a natural candidate for domestic television expansion. Son Ye-jin's 2011 performance as the ghost-seeing heroine Yeo-ri earned 590,232 ticket sales during its opening weekend alone, ultimately cementing its status as "by far the most successful Korean romantic comedy in recent years" at that time.For Park Eun-bin, the role marks her first collaboration with Yang Se-jong and her return to genre-blending drama after acclaimed performances in legal series and period pieces. The production team emphasized that Cheon Yeo-ri "can see ghosts but is fearless," a character twist that suggests the drama will subvert typical horror romance tropes where the female lead needs male protection. Meanwhile, the series promises the leads will "weave in and out of each other's lives through a series of encounters that seem coincidental yet fated," hinting at destiny-driven plotting that could rival the chemistry of the original film's stars.