Lee Joo-bin, Ahn Bo-hyun’s ‘Spring Fever’ opens Prime Video’s 2026 K-drama slate
MANILA, Philippines — Prime Video seems to have found its next K-drama crowd-pleaser in “Spring Fever.”
The romantic-comedy starring Lee Joo-bin and Ahn Bo-hyun quickly picked up steam after its Jan. 7 premiere, reaching No. 2 worldwide in the international streamer’s TV Shows category, according to the OTT tracking site FlixPatrol.
If you’re in the mood for a healing drama with “small-town romance” vibes — in the same mold of “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha” and “Welcome to Samdal-ri,” et al. — this one might be worth adding to your queue.
In “Spring Fever,” Lee Joo-bin is Yoon Bom, a former Seoul teacher who relocates to a rural seaside town after a painful past. Once lively and outgoing, Bom becomes emotionally withdrawn and guarded as she starts to rebuild her life while teaching at the local high school.
Things get more interesting when she meets Seon Jae-gyu (Ahn Bo-hyun), a local tough guy who turns out to be a softie and devoted uncle to his orphaned nephew, one of Bom’s students. Unknown to Bom, she shares a past connection with Jae-gyu that comes to light as the story unfolds with new episodes every Monday and Tuesday night.
The STAR recently caught up with Bo-hyun (“Flex X Cop,” “Yumi’s Cells”) and Joo-bin (“The Divorce Insurance,” “Queen of Tears”) in an exclusive virtual interview to talk more about their latest K-drama project. Here are excerpts, translated to English, from the quick chat.
My first question is for both of you, what made you join “Spring Fever”?
Bo-hyun: “First of all, the script was just really intriguing and the dialogue from my character was done in a dialect (Busan dialect) that I felt very confident in. So I wanted to do that well and then… I felt like reading about this character through the script, I thought I could do a great job bringing a lot of fun and liveliness to it. So that’s why I decided to join.”
Joo-bin: “For me, first of all, when I read the script, it was just such a fun read, and I thought that I could do a great job in portraying the character in a very fun way. Also, the location for our filming process was going to be a seaside village. So, I felt like being part of the production would feel like I was traveling every day, and I thought that each moment was going to be just filled with happiness. So that’s why I wanted to do it.”
What do you think is the most unique charm of “Spring Fever”?
Bo-hyun: “Well, first of all, most of the characters and actors in the show will be speaking in a dialect and I believe over 90 percent of the scenes are going to either show the ocean or some part of nature or be outdoors. That’s going to be visually really entertaining, I think. And compared to all different types of rom-com series, I think we really have great banter between the characters and also great chemistry.”
Jo-bin: “Bo-hyun quite literally said everything that I wanted to say. So all I can say is I completely agree.”
How would you describe your working relationship and on-screen chemistry?
Jo-bin: “Because Bo-hyun and I are both the type of people who take time to warm up to others, so we actually got together before we began filming with the director as well. We would discuss the show and the script.
“I think that process allowed us to become friends very slowly and we got to feel quite at ease with one another. And after our first shoot, both of us had some concerns about whether we were really portraying these characters in the right way, but after the first shoot, when I saw how Bo-hyun was portraying the character Jae-gyu, I felt like he was completely in tune with the character.
“So, I thought then that I would just follow his lead. And as for our chemistry, I think that we stayed loyal to the script and we had a lot of fun. And I think our chemistry was even better than what I had imagined initially.”
Bo-hyun: “I was really curious as to how Lee Joo-bin was going to portray the character Yoon Bom that’s written in the script. And when we started filming, I felt like Joo-bin did an amazing job really portraying the emotional ups and downs of the character.
“And as for the chemistry, I think compared to other rom-com characters and genres… you know how these characters in a rom-com usually play games, right? But it’s not played out here in a cliche way. The other person isn’t pushed away even if you try to keep a distance, and if you try to pull the other person to yourself, they won’t be pulled. So, I feel like there is a very unique chemistry that only our show has.”
Just a follow up question to Bo-hyun, can you share a specific moment when you felt that the chemistry with Lee Joo-bin really clicked?
Bo-hyun: “I think in action sequences. Compared to anything that I’ve done before, the action sequences that she and I had to portray in this series had to be a little playfully over-the-top, at times, a bit delightfully comic, too.
“So, in order to portray that in that way, there’s a lot that goes into it, in preparing for that. And I was very pleasantly surprised to see that Joo-bin was really good at that. You know, she had that physicality. And sometimes we actually wrapped up a lot earlier than scheduled.
“So, I think it was those moments where I felt like we really had great chemistry.”
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