Welcome to Samdal-ri

The FL decides to visit a province in the countryside to fulfill her late bestfriend’s wish to travel there together with her.

She worked as a Hotel Front Office Manager in the city, so the ML asked for her help regarding his tourism business in the village.

The whole experience she gets there heals her broken soul. This drama also revolves around tourism and business management.

In this Thai drama, the FL is a city girl who visits a rural village to take her nephew to live with her in the city, after her brother and sister-in-law’s death.

There, she encounters the ML, the brother of her late sister-in-law who is also the owner of a coffee estate in the village. His decision not to let his nephew follow her forces her to stay there and convince his family.

While staying there, she does whatever it takes to successfully bring her nephew with her despite the ML’s fight against her plan.

- Both have friendship to lover story
- Both Leads love each other, in WTSR they were lover from the start but in YAMLF they are friends first
- The story of WTSR is a little deep but YAMLF is very touching and simple.
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Two childhood friends with a unique connection from a small village move to the big city where they become lovers. In Xiao Fang, they become pregnant. In Welcome to Samdal-ri they separate. However, in both dramas they have to move back to the small village when dealing with consequences in life. Humor, healing, love, loss, sadness, retribution, anger... all and more seem like they will be fair game in this drama.

their relationship is kinda similar bc in the present we see them struggle with their relationship and theyre not in sync they fight and we see flashbacks when their relationship was good so in both cases we wondered what went wrong in their relationship and throughout the series we see the reasons of why the relationship failed and we see how they reconcile again and that they always have loved each other its just that the circumstances prevented them from resolving their conflict and basically miscommunication between the two

Doctor on the Edge is also very similar to Welcome to Samdal-ri because both are healing seaside romances set in close-knit island communities where the setting becomes a character in its own right. Welcome to Samdal-ri takes place on Jeju Island, where Sam-dal returns home after her career collapses in Seoul and reconnects with her first love, Yong-pil. Meanwhile, Doctor on the Edge follows a city doctor who arrives on a remote island and gradually becomes involved in the lives of its residents while finding romance there.

What makes them feel especially alike is the emphasis on community. In both dramas, the story isn’t just about the main couple; the island residents, their friendships, family relationships, and everyday lives are equally important. The leads slowly heal through their interactions with the people around them, and the romance develops naturally within that warm, supportive environment.

They also share a strong theme of rediscovering what truly matters in life. Sam-dal returns to Jeju after losing her place in the city and finds healing through her hometown and the people she left behind. Likewise, Ji-ui’s move to the island in Doctor on the Edge forces him to step away from the fast-paced medical world and reconnect with people on a more personal level.

Overall, Doctor on the Edge feels like it belongs in the same family as Welcome to Samdal-ri and Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha: a heartfelt seaside romance filled with beautiful coastal scenery, lovable residents, emotional healing, community spirit, and a protagonist whose life is transformed by an island they never expected to call home.

If you enjoyed Family By Choice, you’ll likely love Welcome to Samdal-ri! Both dramas celebrate the importance of community and relationships built on trust and love. While Family By Choice focuses on found families and emotional bonds that transcend blood ties, Welcome to Samdal-ri portrays life in a close-knit rural village where friendships and shared experiences form the backbone of happiness. Both series blend heartfelt moments with humor and showcase characters overcoming personal struggles with the help of their "chosen" family. If you cherish meaningful stories about connection and healing, Welcome to Samdal-ri will surely resonate with you.

warm, comforting and makes you appreciate what you have <33 i love how in the end of both the dramas the character realises that they are surrounded by love in midst of crisis. Every character has their own story :)

Healing drama, friendship, various relationships, opposite attraction, childhood sweetheart, family setting

In both stories female lead comes to the country side after having a conflict in her job. Both stories have a male lead living in the country side village who is popular among the people in the village.

Same kind of Theme, but in Wood job you have a perspective from a youth, so things are less dense and many times kind of funny.
But the connection that he finds in the countryside is very well explored with a light touch of romance.

Both leads born on the same day in welcome to Samdal-ri as well. More mature though.........................

Yes — **Merry Berry Love** has a lot in common with **Welcome to Samdal-ri**, and that seems very intentional. Ji Chang-wook is even returning to romantic comedy with *Merry Berry Love* after *Samdal-ri*.

### ? The biggest similarities

| | **Welcome to Samdal-ri** | **Merry Berry Love** |
| ------------------------ | -------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| ? Setting | Jeju Island | Remote Japanese island |
| ? Male lead | Cho Yong-pil | Lee Yu-bin |
| ? Female lead | Cho Sam-dal | Shirahama Karin |
| ? Career problem | Sam-dal's career collapses | Yu-bin loses his career/success |
| ?? Return to rural life | Sam-dal returns to Jeju | Yu-bin starts over on an island |
| ?? Romance | Old love rekindled | New island romance |
| ? Healing | Community + hometown help Sam-dal heal | Island life + Karin help Yu-bin rebuild |
| ? Tone | Warm romantic comedy | Warm romantic comedy |

The core similarity is **“successful city person loses their old life ? returns/ends up in a quieter island community ? meets someone ? heals and falls in love.”**

In *Samdal-ri*, Sam-dal returns to Jeju after her photography career falls apart. In *Merry Berry Love*, Yu-bin loses everything as a successful spatial designer and travels to Charo Island, where he ends up working around Karin's strawberry farm.

### ?? But there is one BIG difference

**Samdal-ri = “returning home.”**
Sam-dal already belongs to Jeju. The story is about **reconnecting with her roots, family, friends, and first love.**

**Merry Berry Love = “starting over somewhere new.”**
Yu-bin is an outsider in Japan. He has to adapt to island life, strawberry farming, and a different culture while developing feelings for Karin.

So I'd describe it as:

> **Welcome to Samdal-ri:** *“I lost my success, so I went home and found myself again.”*
> **Merry Berry Love:** *“I lost my success, went somewhere completely new, and built a new life.”*

And if what you loved about *Welcome to Samdal-ri* was **Ji Chang-wook + countryside/island scenery + healing + slow romance + funny everyday moments**, *Merry Berry Love* looks like it is deliberately targeting that same comfort-drama feeling.

**One important caveat:** *Merry Berry Love* premieres **October 7, 2026**, so the comparison is currently based on its official premise, trailers, and promotional material rather than the complete aired story.

If you want, I can also compare **Yu-bin vs Yong-pil** and **Karin vs Sam-dal** — their personalities and relationship dynamics look especially interesting.

In both dramas, the main characters have been separated due to communication problems and personal situations, but reunite, after going their separate ways, years later.

The girl return back to her county after the breaking up, the same at both dramas. The cinema photography also really similar.