Yumi's Cells wraps 5-year, 3-season run with Tving finale

Korean streaming drama "Yumi's Cells" aired its series finale May 5 on Tving, capping a five-year, three-season run in which actress Kim Go-eun portrayed protagonist Yumi's growth from an ordinary office worker to a confident adult.

The series stands alone in Korean drama history as the only production to trace a female protagonist's growth across a long-term, multiseason format, The Korea Times reported, marking a singular milestone in Korean television storytelling.

Season 3 returned to Tving after a four-year hiatus following Season 2, which aired in 2022. The new season ranked first on Tving in subscriber growth metrics for four consecutive weeks, according to The Korea Times.

Kim Go-eun played Yumi across the full five-year span of the production. Director Lee Sang-yup helmed all three seasons, maintaining creative continuity throughout. "From the first shoot, I was certain Yumi's casting was done well. I am proud that I seem to have successfully documented a specific period of Kim's life for a long time," Lee said, according to The Korea Times.

A different actor played the male lead in each season — Ahn Bo-hyun in Season 1, Park Jin-young in Season 2 and Kim Jae-won in Season 3. Kim Jae-won described the weight of joining the established series. "It felt like a precious daughter raised in a large family brought a new boyfriend home, and everyone folded their arms and asked, 'Where were you, and what kind of kid are you?'" he said. Kim added that he was relieved by the audience response: "I think it is a relief that I do not seem to have disappointed fans of the original Soon-rok."

A defining feature of the production was its blend of live-action drama with 3D animation — personified emotion characters called "cells" — to depict Yumi's inner life. Lee said he aimed to faithfully reproduce key images from the source webtoon, including "Soon-rok's giant Lust Cell," according to The Korea Times.

Lee offered a farewell to the character as the series closed. "I got the feeling that Yumi became a good adult in Season 3. I hope she lives well step by step, bravely and happily in the future too. I'm rooting for you, Yumi!" he said, according to The Korea Times.