First look at 'Soul Mate' romance drama between Korean and Japanese men

Netflix has announced Soul Mate, a romance drama series that traverses the cities of Berlin, Seoul, and Tokyo to tell the 10-year-long love story between two young men starring Hayato Isomura and Ok Taec-yeon.

The series is written and directed by Shunki Hashizume, whose credits include Scroll and More Than Words; executive producer is Dai Ota.

The story begins when Ryu Narutaki (Isomura) leaves everything behind in Japan and is saved by a boxer named Johan Hwang (Taec-yeon) in a foreign land. The series will focus on when "people from different cultures and backgrounds meet in a foreign land and their lives intersect" said Ota.

Isomura, whose credits include Extremely Inappropriate!, (Ab)normal Desire, and The Moon said: "Filming in Japan, Korea, and Germany gives the project a truly global feel.”

Taec-yeon, of Korean boy band 2PM whose credits include Vincenzo and La Grande Maison Paris added: "To prepare, I lost weight and underwent boxing training, and I’ve continued to train diligently during filming to portray Johan as best as I can."

• Netflix's Korean and Japanese co-produced romance series based on 'Les Emotifs' has begun filming