Yumi's Cells

This article is about the television series. For the manhwa that this series is based on, see Yumi's Cells (webtoon). For the film, see Yumi's Cells: The Movie.

Yumi's Cells (Korean: 유미의 세포들; RR: Yumiui sepodeul) is a 2021 South Korean television series directed by Lee Sang-yeob and starring Kim Go-eun, Ahn Bo-hyun, and Park Jin-young. Based on the eponymous webtoon, it is a cell-based psychological romance that unravels the daily life of an ordinary office worker Yumi through the eyes of the cells in her head.^[5] The series premiered on tvN on September 17, 2021, and aired every Friday and Saturday at 22:50 (KST).^[6] It was also released simultaneously on both online streaming services TVING^[7] and iQIYI.^[8]

Yumi's Cells
Promotional poster for season 2
Hangul	유미의 세포들
RR	Yumiui sepodeul
MR	Yumiŭi sep'odŭl
Genre	Psychological drama Romantic drama
Created by	Song Jae-jeong[1]
Based on	Yumi's Cells by Lee Dong-gun
Developed by	Tving (Plan Production) Studio Dragon[2]
Written by	Kim Kyung-ran[1] Kim Yoon-joo[1]
Directed by	Lee Sang-yeob[1]
Starring	Kim Go-eun Ahn Bo-hyun Park Jin-young
Music by	Kim Tae-seung
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	28
Production
Executive producer	Joo Moon-soo
Producers	Jo Moon-joo Song Jae-kwon Kwon Mi-kyung Jang Woo-sik Han So-jin Yoo Seul-gi
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	60 minutes[3][4]
Production companies	Studio Dragon Merrycow Creative Studio N Locus Corporation (Animation)
Original release
Network	tvN
Release	September 17, 2021 (2021-09-17) – present

On September 8, 2021, TVING announced that the drama had sold broadcast rights in more than 160 countries around the world, including Europe, North America and Southeast Asia.^[9][10]

The second season premiered exclusively on TVING on June 10, 2022, releasing two episodes every Friday at 16:00 (KST).^[11][12] It was later aired on tvN from November 16, 2022, every Wednesday and Thursday at 22:30 (KST).^[13] On September 15, 2022, it was announced that season 2 had been sold to Amazon Prime Video for broadcasting in Japan.^[14] It was also available on Amazon Prime Video in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.^{[citation needed]}

The third season will be released in 2026 on TVING.^[15]

Series overview

Season	Episodes		Originally released		Time slot	Avg. viewership (thousands)
			First released	Last released
1	14[3]		September 17, 2021 (2021-09-17)	October 30, 2021 (2021-10-30)	Fridays and Saturdays at 22:50 (KST)	681
2	14[4]		June 10, 2022 (2022-06-10)[12]	July 22, 2022 (2022-07-22)	Fridays at 16:00 (KST)[12]	—
3	TBA		2026 (2026)[15]	TBA	TBA	—

Synopsis

Season 1

The drama tells the story of an ordinary office worker from the perspective of the brain cells in her head that control her every thought, feeling and action.^[16]

Yumi (Kim Go-eun) is an ordinary woman. Her love-cell falls into a coma following the shock of a failed relationship. The drama will depict her growth and transformation as her cells work hard to wake up the love cell.

Goo Woong (Ahn Bo-hyun) is a game developer who is an engineer to the core. Although he doesn't speak emotionally, he tries to wake up Yumi's love-cell with his simple and honest personality.

Season 2

After parting with Goo Woong, Yumi starts a new relationship with her co-worker Babi (Jinyoung) but they start to have issues after some time when he doesn't tell her the truth about certain things.

Cast

Character appearances

Character	Portrayed by	Season
		1	2	3
Main
Kim Yumi	Kim Go-eun	Main
Goo Woong	Ahn Bo-hyun	Main
Yoo Babi	Park Jin-young	Main
Shin Soon-rok	Kim Jae-won			Main
Kim Joo-ho	Choi Daniel			Main
Recurring
Ruby	Lee Yu-bi	Recurring
Seo Sae-yi	Park Ji-hyun	Recurring
Yumi's mother	Yoon Yoo-sun	Recurring
Baek Na-hee	Cho Hye-jung			Recurring

Main

• Kim Go-eun as Kim Yumi, an ordinary office worker.^[17]
• Ahn Bo-hyun as Goo Woong, a game developer and Yumi's second boyfriend and Sae-yi's love interest.^[18]
  • Jun Ho-young as teen Goo Woong
• Park Jin-young as Yoo Babi, Yumi's co-worker and boyfriend.^[19]

Season 3

• Kim Jae-won as Shin Soon-rok, employee of a publishing company in charge of Yumi's works and her boyfriend.^[20]
• Choi Daniel as Kim Joo-ho, the lead writer^[21]

Yumi's cells

• Love Cell (voice: Ahn Soi)

Yumi's prime cell that represents the people. It's the driving force behind Yumi's actions. Other cells wear blue, but it wears pink.

• Emotional Cell (voice: Park Ji-yoon)

Emotional cell, responsible for emotion. It has a nocturnal temperament, so at night, it flutters blue leaves and gets wet with sensitivity.

• Rational Cell (voice: Shim Kyu-hyuk)

The opposite cell responsible for ideal thinking. When working or having an important conversation, this is Yumi's busiest cell from the moment she wakes up to the moment she goes to sleep.

• Hungry Cell (voice: Lee Jang-won)

Cell responsible for appetite and cravings. When this cell wakes up, Yumi's appetite explodes.

• Naughty Cell (voice: Ahn Young-mi)

Clumsy sexuality cell that promotes racy thoughts. It spits out obscene words from time to time, most of which are muted.

• Detective Cell (voice: Jeong Jae-heon)

Detective cell that analyzes and predicts people and situations around it. Serious reasoning with a tragic appearance.

• Fashion Cell (voice: Kim Yeon-woo)

Fashion cell responsible for the sense of fashion.

• Hysterious (voice: Um Sang-hyun)

Hysterious is responsible for hysteria.

• Anxiety Cell (voice: Sa Moon-yeong)

Cell responsible for anxiety. It senses anxiety and even helps Yumi.

• Inner Feeling Cell (voice: Sa Moon-yeong)
• Rampage Cell (voice: Jeong Jae-heon)
• Fussy Cell (voice: Sa Moon-yeong)
• Lullaby Cell (voice: Jeong Jae-heon)
• Cheapskate Cell (voice: Ahn Soi)
• Reaction Doll No.1 (voice: Ahn Soi)
• Stomach Cell (voice: Shim Kyu-hyuk)
• I've-Seen-It-Somewhere Cell
• Cleaning Cell
• Tongue Cells (voice: Yoo Se-yoon)^[22]

Goo Woong's cells

• Rational Cell (voice: Um Sang-hyun)
• Humor Cell (voice: Jeong Jae-heon)
• Love Cell

Babi's cells

• Tongue Cells (voice: Kang Yu-mi)

Supporting

• Park Ji-hyun as Seo Sae-yi, Goo Woong's colleague. She dreams of becoming the best game art director.^[23]
• Lee Yu-bi as Ruby, Yumi's co-worker who prides herself on mastering various dating techniques.^[24]
• Joo Jong-hyuk as Louis

A game developer workaholic. Goo Woong, Seo Sae-yi, and he were college classmates, who have set up and run an online game company.^[25]

• Jeong Soon-won as Nam Joo-hyuk, Chief Nam.^[26]
• Kim Cha-yoon as Lee Bonnie, an employee of Daehan Noodles' marketing department.^[27]
• Mi–ram as Aida, Yumi's only friend and her co-worker.^[28]

Season 3

• Cho Hye-jung as Baek Na-hee^[29]

The youngest writer who admires and follows Kim Yumi

• Park Se-in as PD Jang, Yumi's PD^[30]

Others

Season 1–2

• Yoon Yoo-sun as Yumi's mother
• Sung Ji-ru as Yumi's father
• Kwon Seung-woo as Kang Han-byeol, Assistant Manager of Daehan Noodles' marketing department
• Kim Mi-soo as Ja-young, Babi's ex-girlfriend

Season 1

• Park Bo-eun as Information desk employee (ep. 8)
• Jung Soo-ji as Si Leon (ep. 7–8)
• Kim Hye-in as Hong Na-ri (ep. 7–8)
• Jo Mo-se as wedding guest (ep. 13)
• Kang Chan-yang as grocery store cashier (ep. 11)

Special appearance

Season 1

• Choi Min-ho as Chae U-gi, Yumi's co-worker and unreciprocated crush.^[31]
• Ahn Young-mi as Nung-cheol (Voice)^[32]
• Lee Sang-yi as Ji Wu-gi, Yumi's ex-boyfriend.^[33]

Season 2

• Shin Ye-eun as Yoo Da-eun, part-time worker at Jeju branch of Daehan Noodles.^[34]
• Pyo Ji-hoon as Control Z, an illustrator who works with Yumi.^[35]
• Jeon Seok-ho as Ahn Dae-young, editor-in-chief of Julie's Literature History.^[36]

Production

Casting

On December 31, 2020, it was reported that webtoon Yumi's Cells published on Naver by Lee Dong-gun with 3.2 billion accumulated views was being made into a television series and Kim Go-eun was confirmed as the female lead.^[37] In April 2021, the lead cast line-up was announced as Kim Go-eun, Ahn Bo-hyun, Lee Yu-bi, and Park Ji-hyun.^[38]

Filming

Filming of the series began in April 2021.^[39] On June 18, Ahn Bo-hyun revealed in an interview that he was currently filming Yumi's Cells and he has developed naturally tanned skin tone for the role of Goo Woong.^[40]

Animation

Yumi's Cells is being produced using a new format which combines live-action and 3D animation. It is the first time in a Korean drama that such a format is used to produce a TV series while using the Unreal Engine as its source.^[41] The 3D animation is produced by Locus Corporation (also known as Sidus Animation Studios), the producer of Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs,^[42] which is also producing an animated feature film based on the property with Studio N.^[43]

Original soundtrack

Season 1

Original soundtrack for Season 1

Yumi's Cells
Soundtrack album by Various
Released	2021
Genre	Soundtrack
Language	Korean English
Label	Genie Music Stone Music Entertainment

Part 1

Released on September 17, 2021^[44][45]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"If I Could Read Your Mind" (나를 신경 쓰고 있는 건가)	Lim Soo-ho N!ko Strongman Dailog	Lim Soo-ho N!ko Strongman Dailog	Wendy (Red Velvet)	3:01
2.	"If I Could Read Your Mind" (나를 신경 쓰고 있는 건가) (Inst.)		Lim Soo-ho N!ko Strongman Dailog		3:01
Total length:					6:02

Part 2

Released on September 18, 2021^[46]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Nightfalling"	BYMORE Ail Lee JohnOfa Rhee	BYMORE Ail Lee JohnOfa Rhee	John Park	4:09
2.	"Nightfalling" (Inst.)		BYMORE Ail Lee JohnOfa Rhee		4:09
Total length:					8:16

Part 3

Released on September 25, 2021^[47]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Ling Ling"	Jo Hyu-il	Jo Hyu-il	Jo Hyu-il	3:49
2.	"Ling Ling" (Inst.)		Jo Hyu-il		3:49
Total length:					7:38

Part 4

Released on October 1, 2021^[48]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Like a Star"	YOSKE Kim Mi-ryang	Lee Min-young YOSKE Yeul	Doyoung	4:00
2.	"Like a Star" (Inst.)		Lee Min-young YOSKE Yeul		4:00
Total length:					8:00

Part 5

Released on October 2, 2021^[49]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Spotlight" (주인공)	Sanghyun Nah	Sanghyun Nah	Band Nah	4:00
2.	"My Heart" (내 마음)	Choi Soo-mi	Kim Byeong-gyu	Say Sue Me	3:30
Total length:					7:30

Part 6

Released on October 8, 2021^[50]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"My Day" (오늘도 내 하루는)	J.UNA	J.UNA	J.UNA	3:41
2.	"My Day" (오늘도 내 하루는)(Inst.)		J.UNA		3:41
Total length:					7:22

Part 7

Released on October 9, 2021^[51]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Belief"	Jehwi Kim Dam-so Su2	Jehwi	Jung Seung-hwan	4:53
2.	"Belief" (Inst.)		Jehwi		4:53
Total length:					9:46

Part 8

Released on October 15, 2021^[52]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Our Story" (우리의 이야기)	Kim Min-seok	MeloMance	MeloMance	3:59
2.	"Our Story" (우리의 이야기(Inst.)		MeloMance		3:59
Total length:					7:58

Part 9

Released on October 16, 2021^[53]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"I'm in Paris"	Kako	Kako, Curtis F	Dvwn	2:35
2.	"I'm in Paris" (Inst.)		Kako, Curtis F		2:35
Total length:					5:10

Part 10

Released on October 22, 2021^[54]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Holiday"	Jehwi Su2	Jehwi	Jehwi	3:56
2.	"Holiday" (Inst.)		Jehwi		3:56
Total length:					7:52

Part 11

Released on October 23, 2021^[55]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Timing" (타이밍)	Sunwoo Jung-a	Sunwoo Jung-a	Sunwoo Jung-a	3:53
2.	"Timing" (Inst.)		Sunwoo Jung-a		3:53
Total length:					7:46

Season 2

Original soundtrack for Season 2

Yumi's Cells Season 2
Soundtrack album by Various
Released	2022
Genre	Soundtrack
Language	Korean English
Label	Genie Music Stone Music Entertainment

Part 1

Released on June 10, 2022^[56]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"About You"	Yokse Daymoon (ALive Knob) Ile (ALive Knob) JL (ALive Knob)	Yokse Iver (ALive Knob)	Woodz	3:15
2.	"About You" (Inst.)		Yokse Iver (ALive Knob)		3:15
Total length:					6:30

Part 2

Released on June 17, 2022^[57]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Everyday"	Son Go-eun (MonoTree)	Son Go-eun (MonoTree) Nopari	George	3:44
2.	"Everyday" (Inst.)		Son Go-eun (MonoTree) Nopari		3:44
Total length:					7:28

Part 3

Released on June 24, 2022^[58]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Shining on Your Night" (달이 될게)	$ÜN Rudbeckia Lee Yumi	$ÜN Rudbeckia Park Jae-hyung	Jinyoung	3:42
2.	"Shining on Your Night" (달이 될게; Inst.)		$ÜN Rudbeckia Park Jae-hyung		3:42
Total length:					7:24

Part 4

Released on July 1, 2022^[59]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"My Day" (오늘도 내 하루는 ;Acoustic Ver.)	J.Una	J.Una	J.Una	4:12
2.	"My Day" (오늘도 내 하루는; Acoustic Ver.; Inst.)		J.Una		4:12
Total length:					8:24

Part 5

Released on July 2, 2022^[60]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Between Hearts" (마음 사이)	88KEYS	88KEYS	Ku One-chan	3:26
2.	"Between Hearts" (마음 사이; Inst.)		88KEYS		3:26
Total length:					6:52

Part 6

Released on July 8, 2022^[61]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Where My Heart Falls" (내 마음 내리는 곳에)	Vendors (CALi) Jeong Jae-yeon	Vendors (YEZI) Vendors(CALi) Vendors (Fascinador)	Kevin Oh	4:08
2.	"Where My Heart Falls" (내 마음 내리는 곳에; Inst.)		Vendors (YEZI) Vendors(CALi) Vendors (Fascinador)		4:08
Total length:					8:16

Part 7

Released on July 15, 2022^[62]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"The Island" (섬)	88KEYS	88KEYS	88KEYS	4:00
2.	"The Island" (섬; Inst.)		88KEYS		4:00
Total length:					8:00

Part 8

Released on July 16, 2022^[63]

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Dark Hearts Will Pass Away Tonight" (어두운 마음은 오늘 밤 지나갈거야)	Kim Yoon-ju	Kim Yoon-ju	Kim Go-eun	3:20
2.	"Dark Hearts Will Pass Away Tonight" (어두운 마음은 오늘 밤 지나갈거야; Inst.)		Kim Yoon-ju		3:20
Total length:					6:40

Viewership

Yumi's Cells : South Korea viewers per episode (thousands)

Season		Episode number														Average
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
	1	521	616	538	823	654	753	658	714	832	783	528	739	617	769	681
	2	320	343	N/A	N/A	272	255	299	N/A	269	N/A	270	291	267	247	N/A

Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by Nielsen Korea.^[64]

Season 1

Average TV viewership ratings

Ep.	Original broadcast date	Average audience share (Nielsen Korea)[64]
		Nationwide	Seoul
1	September 17, 2021	2.072% (2nd)	2.386% (2nd)
2	September 18, 2021	2.390% (2nd)	2.564% (3rd)
3	September 24, 2021	1.871% (2nd)	2.323% (2nd)
4	September 25, 2021	2.545% (3rd)	3.301% (2nd)
5	October 1, 2021	2.036% (2nd)	2.333% (1st)
6	October 2, 2021	2.384% (3rd)	2.889% (2nd)
7	October 8, 2021	2.089% (3rd)	2.458% (3rd)
8	October 9, 2021	2.093% (3rd)	2.235% (3rd)
9	October 15, 2021	2.660% (2nd)	3.089% (2nd)
10	October 16, 2021	2.312% (4th)	2.700% (2nd)
11	October 22, 2021	1.906% (3rd)	2.341% (2nd)
12	October 23, 2021	2.340% (3rd)	2.965% (3rd)
13	October 29, 2021	2.037% (2nd)	2.590% (2nd)
14	October 30, 2021	2.485% (2nd)	2.828% (2nd)
Average		2.230%	2.643%
In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings. This drama airs on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS).

The release of the second season on June 10 saw the number of TVING's paid subscribers increasing by more than 60% from the first to the second week,^[65] and the series took first place among all the platform original contents for five weeks in a row.^[66]

Season 2

Average TV viewership ratings

Ep.	Original broadcast date	Average audience share (Nielsen Korea)[67]
		Nationwide	Seoul
1	November 16, 2022	1.379% (4th)	1.483% (4th)
2	November 17, 2022	1.384% (7th)	1.415% (6th)
3	November 23, 2022	1.047% (15th)	N/A
4	November 24, 2022	0.730% (30th)
5	November 30, 2022	1.326% (7th)	1.170% (8th)
6	December 1, 2022	1.068% (14th)	N/A
7	December 7, 2022	1.359% (4th)	1.414% (5th)
8	December 8, 2022	1.133% (9th)	1.259% (7th)
9	December 14, 2022	1.247% (8th)	N/A
10	December 15, 2022	1.253% (8th)	1.584% (5th)
11	December 21, 2022	1.246% (11th)	N/A
12	December 22, 2022	1.307% (9th)	1.586% (4th)
13	December 28, 2022	1.204% (11th)	N/A
14	December 29, 2022	1.168% (12th)
Average		1.204%	—[a]
In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings. N/A denotes that ratings were not known. This drama airs on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS).

Awards

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination

Award ceremony	Year	Category	Nominee	Result	Ref.
APAN Star Awards	2022	Top Excellence Award, Actress in an OTT Series	Kim Go-eun	Nominated	[68]
		Excellence Award, Actor in an OTT Series	Ahn Bo-hyun	Won	[69]
		Best Couple	Park Jin-young and Kim Go-eun	Nominated	[70]
		Popularity Star Award, Actress	Kim Go-eun	Nominated	[71]
Asia-Pacific Broadcasting+ Awards	2023	Excellence Award for Animation Story Telling	Yumi's Cells (s. 2)	Won	[72]
Asian Academy Creative Awards	2022	Best Original Programme by a Streamer/OTT (Korea)	Yumi's Cells (s. 1–2)	Won	[73]
		Grand Award for Best Original Programme by a Streamer/OTT		Won	[b][75]
Baeksang Arts Awards	2022	Baeksang Arts Technical Award (Animation)	Eom Young-shik and Kim Da-hee	Nominated	[76]
Blue Dragon Series Awards	2022	Best Drama	Yumi's Cells	Nominated	[77]
		Best Leading Actress	Kim Go-eun	Won	[78]
Korea Communications Commission Broadcasting Awards	2023	Excellence Award in the OTT/Web/App Content Category	Yumi's Cells (s. 2)	Won	[79]

Listicle

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement

Publisher	Year	Listicle	Placement	Ref.
NME	2021	The 10 best Korean dramas of 2021	5th	[80]

Notes

1. Due to some ratings not recorded, the exact average rating is unknown.
2. National winners automatically compete with the winners from other countries for the Grand Award.^[74]