# Love on the Menu (사랑이 온다)
**Love on the Menu** (사랑이 온다, *Sarangi Onda*, also known as *Love Is Coming*) is a South Korean weekend family drama broadcast on KBS2 since July 25, 2026, written by Lee Kyung-hee and directed by Hong Seok-gu, starring [Ha Seok-jin](https://www.edgepedia.org/ha-seok-jin) and Ahn Hee-yeon (Hani of the group EXID). It follows two former lovers who reunite eight years after a painful breakup and, while rebuilding their own relationship, piece together their broken families around a shared table.[1](https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?board_seq=468841&id=&lang=k&menu_cate=enternews) • [2](https://asianwiki.com/Love_on_the_Menu)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Network and slot | KBS2, Saturdays and Sundays at 19:55, about 85 minutes per episode[3](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/93245/love-on-the-menu) |
| Premiere | July 25, 2026[1](https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?board_seq=468841&id=&lang=k&menu_cate=enternews) • [2](https://asianwiki.com/Love_on_the_Menu) |
| Length | 50 planned episodes; DramaWiki lists 51, airing into 2027[2](https://asianwiki.com/Love_on_the_Menu) • [4](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Love_on_the_Menu) |
| Writer and director | Lee Kyung-hee (*I'm Sorry, I Love You*, *Uncontrollably Fond*); directed by Hong Seok-gu (*Queen of the House*, *My Only One*)[1](https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?board_seq=468841&id=&lang=k&menu_cate=enternews) |
| Leads | Ha Seok-jin as restaurant owner-chef Kim Mu-jin; Ahn Hee-yeon (Hani) as side-dish shop worker Han Gyu-rim[1](https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?board_seq=468841&id=&lang=k&menu_cate=enternews) |
| Ratings | Episode 12 (August 30, 2026) set the drama's own record at 16.6%, reported the next day at about 17%[5](https://eldhds.tistory.com/2137) • [6](https://v.daum.net/v/20260831163237756) |
| Production | Monster Union and Contents Zium[7](https://www.booklien.com/drama/love-is-coming) |
## Premise and characters
Kim Mu-jin (Ha Seok-jin) is the owner-chef of an Italian restaurant, born into a wealthy family; Han Gyu-rim (Ahn Hee-yeon) works at a market side-dish shop and supports her siblings. The two were lovers years earlier, but Gyu-rim, burdened by her family's debts and circumstances, pushed Mu-jin away, and he left for Italy to become a chef. Eight years later he returns to Korea, opens his restaurant, and the two meet again.[2](https://asianwiki.com/Love_on_the_Menu) • [8](https://www.soompi.com/article/1851677wpp/ha-seok-jin-sees-lee-ju-yeon-as-family-while-she-longs-for-more-in-love-on-the-menu)
Around the central romance, the drama layers several families. Gyu-rim's household includes her father Han Seok-joong (Ryu Seung-soo), younger sister Han Gyu-young (Park You-na), younger brother Han Gyu-o ([Bae Yoon-gyu](https://www.edgepedia.org/bae-yoon-gyu)), and twin youngest siblings Han Gyu-min (Kim Min-seo) and Han Gyu-seo (Park Soo-oh).[4](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Love_on_the_Menu) • [9](https://www.kdrama-tracker.com/drama/310326) Cho Heung-sik (Bae Jung-nam) is a close friend who harbors feelings for Gyu-rim, and fashion designer Jang Seo-hyun (Lee Ju-yeon) has loved Mu-jin since childhood, though he sees her as family.[8](https://www.soompi.com/article/1851677wpp/ha-seok-jin-sees-lee-ju-yeon-as-family-while-she-longs-for-more-in-love-on-the-menu) • [9](https://www.kdrama-tracker.com/drama/310326) KBS frames the show as a "family recipe drama" about gathering the scattered pieces of a broken family to set the warmest table of one's life.[10](https://enterpick.com/love-on-the-menu/)
The story also follows the parents' generation. Gyu-rim's mother Go Yun-hee (Yoon Yoo-sun) remarried Jang Hoon-tae (Kwon Hae-hyo), whose daughter is Jang Seo-hyun, and Mu-jin's mother Hong Ok-seon (Jin Kyung) is a group chairwoman who opposed the couple's relationship years earlier.[11](https://self-explorer.tistory.com/510?category=1290175) • [5](https://eldhds.tistory.com/2137)
## Production and scheduling
KBS announced the series in June 2026 as a new weekend drama pairing Ha Seok-jin and Ahn Hee-yeon, with Lee Kyung-hee, the writer of *[Uncontrollably Fond](https://www.edgepedia.org/uncontrollably-fond)*, *The Innocent Man*, and *I'm Sorry, I Love You*, and director Hong Seok-gu, whose credits include *Queen of the House* and *My Only One*.[1](https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?board_seq=468841&id=&lang=k&menu_cate=enternews) The drama took over the KBS2 Saturday and Sunday evening slot previously occupied by *[Recipe for Love](https://www.edgepedia.org/recipe-for-love-tv-series)*.[2](https://asianwiki.com/Love_on_the_Menu) • [10](https://enterpick.com/love-on-the-menu/)
Regular episodes were not broadcast on September 26 and 27, 2026, because of KBS's coverage of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.[2](https://asianwiki.com/Love_on_the_Menu)
## Reception
**Ratings rose steadily through the summer.** The drama set a new self-best rating on August 15, 2026,[12](https://kagit.kr/ko/hub/kdrama-love-on-the-menu) and episode 12, broadcast on August 30, 2026, set the drama's own record at 16.6%.[5](https://eldhds.tistory.com/2137) A TV Report piece the next day described the series as continuing to rise after renewing its self-best at about 17%.[6](https://v.daum.net/v/20260831163237756) Commentators attributed the show's appeal to its core audience of middle-aged women, combining the familiar weekend-drama formula with fast pacing and polished healing elements.[13](https://m.wikitree.co.kr/articles/1157714)
On streaming, the drama first entered Wavve's Korean drama ranking on August 23, 2026, stayed on the chart for more than 50 days, and reached first place on October 12, 2026.[14](https://mobolrang.com/story/ahn-hee-yeon/) Domestically, viewers can follow the series on Wavve, Coupang Play, and KBS's official VOD service in addition to the live broadcast.[7](https://www.booklien.com/drama/love-is-coming) • [10](https://enterpick.com/love-on-the-menu/) Internationally it is distributed through Viu[15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fe-Ea5xMdc) and KOCOWA.[16](https://tv.apple.com/kr/show/%E1%84%89%E1%85%A1%E1%84%85%E1%85%A1%E1%86%BC%E1%84%8B%E1%85%B5-%E1%84%8B%E1%85%A9%E1%86%AB%E1%84%83%E1%85%A1/umc.cmc.4bhwqntt5x8eslw7q9zty3ebq)
The drama follows the classic KBS weekend-family formula, using the dinner table and recipes as devices that keep its large cast of characters in one place, and its long run of 50 or more episodes demands a substantial viewing commitment.[10](https://enterpick.com/love-on-the-menu/) • [4](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Love_on_the_Menu)
## Other works of the same title
The Korean title 사랑이 였다 was also used, as 사랑이 온다, for a 2010 stage play written by Bae Yong-ki and directed by Shim Jae-chan, which examined domestic violence from men's perspective within a family story; the play and the 2026 television drama are unrelated.[17](https://oak.go.kr/repository/journal/18940/NRF015_2012_vn36_5.pdf)
## References
1. [하석진·안희연의 로맨스…KBS '사랑이 온다' 내달 첫선, KBS WORLD Korean](https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?board_seq=468841&id=&lang=k&menu_cate=enternews)
2. [Love on the Menu, AsianWiki](https://asianwiki.com/Love_on_the_Menu)
3. [Love on the Menu, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/93245/love-on-the-menu)
4. [Love on the Menu, DramaWiki](https://wiki.d-addicts.com/Love_on_the_Menu)
5. [사랑이 온다 19회 회차 줄거리, eldhds.tistory.com](https://eldhds.tistory.com/2137)
6. [KBS, 결국 해냈다…시청률 '17%' 자체 최고 ('사랑이 온다'), TV리포트 via Daum](https://v.daum.net/v/20260831163237756)
7. [사랑이 온다 — 편성·출연·시청 포인트, 북리엔](https://www.booklien.com/drama/love-is-coming)
8. [Ha Seok Jin Sees Lee Ju Yeon As Family While She Longs For More In "Love On The Menu", Soompi](https://www.soompi.com/article/1851677wpp/ha-seok-jin-sees-lee-ju-yeon-as-family-while-she-longs-for-more-in-love-on-the-menu)
9. [Love on the Menu (2026), Korean Drama Tracker](https://www.kdrama-tracker.com/drama/310326)
10. [사랑이 온다 다시보기 | KBS 50부작 주말극 총정리, Enterpick](https://enterpick.com/love-on-the-menu/)
11. [KBS 주말드라마 '사랑이 온다' 완전 총정리, self-explorer.tistory.com](https://self-explorer.tistory.com/510?category=1290175)
12. [사랑이 온다, Kagit](https://kagit.kr/ko/hub/kdrama-love-on-the-menu)
13. [또 16.6% 시청률 터졌다…요즘 엄마들 사이서 난리 났다는 '한국 드라마' 정체, 위키트리](https://m.wikitree.co.kr/articles/1157714)
14. [운동장에서 「사랑이 온다」까지, 하니, 머볼랭](https://mobolrang.com/story/ahn-hee-yeon/)
15. [Love on the Menu | Coming to Viu 26 Jul!, Viu Singapore on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fe-Ea5xMdc)
16. [사랑이 온다, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/kr/show/%E1%84%89%E1%85%A1%E1%84%85%E1%85%A1%E1%86%BC%E1%84%8B%E1%85%B5-%E1%84%8B%E1%85%A9%E1%86%AB%E1%84%83%E1%85%A1/umc.cmc.4bhwqntt5x8eslw7q9zty3ebq)
17. [가족서사 연구 논문 (2012), 한국학논총 via oak.go.kr](https://oak.go.kr/repository/journal/18940/NRF015_2012_vn36_5.pdf)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › Korean contemporary drama › Romance and melodrama series › Romance melodrama miniseries › Tearjerker melodrama series*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license