Chibi

Aww, glad to hear that! Hope we get a xianxia version of this soon! ^^ I agree the only way to be a manhwa-fan and watch the k-drama, is to treat them as two separate pieces of work! :P

Thank you so much. Hope our wish comes true! <3

Lvl 4 is the lowest/ easiest, lvl 1. is the highest! xD No worries! :P
Wow, it would be so much fun to converse with your kids in other languages! ^^
I currently read/write/speak Hindi, Bengali and English, and can read/write/ understand French, and speak/understand Japanese.

Wow, thank you so much! :') One of the sweetest compliments here! 😍

That's honestly a dream come true!! I'm in a similar position as you, but with Japanese! Took the course ages ago, yet to take the jlpt lvl 4 exam...
I have become super rusty too! Jap would be my 4th language, I'm trilingual since childhood! T_T My brain is always on a overdrive! xD

That's honestly a dream come true!! I'm in a similar position as you, but with Japanese! Took the course ages ago, yet to take the jlpt lvl 4 exam...
I have become super rusty too! Jap would be my 4th language, I'm trilingual since childhood! T_T My brain is always on a overdrive! xD

Absolutely! Netflix can go to territories that wouldn't be possible for general media, be it Korea or China. And Netflix can usually bring in money, that normal investors in Korea can normally only dream about, especially in fantasy genre. The fact that they invested into The King's Affection along with the Ministry of Cultural Affairs is quite evident in the entirety of the show! It's definitely a step in the right direction, and like you said, 'it has to start somewhere.' If Netflix can bring big money into the game. and produce beautiful works, I have zero complaints. TKA also might be a sign they wish to invest into hyper-Asian concepts like Xianxias and Wuxias, graduating from the regular fare like Saeguks and historical-costume dramas!
Also about the baby-faced fetish... Women have been infantilized and fetishized since ages. The entire 'female k-pop' industry is based on the 'visual concept of a teenage girl', and nothing can convince me otherwise.
In other creative media, 'Baby-faced fetish' is also a legit plot-device for easy angst (more so than manufactured tropes like 'forced separation' or 'selective amnesia'), so I can completely see why it's popular with authors and writers, everywhere!😅😅😅

Thank you so much, means a lot! I'm glad this article could give you a tiny peek into the legend & mythology! 😇
The series was indeed disappointing.. here's to looking forward to a better, more faithful and colorful adaptation in the future!😊

Ah, I think Misaeng was a web-comic originally too, right? The screenwriter did a terrific job, but I do think maybe her specialty is perhaps slice-of-life leaning, office k-dramas? BoTWG was a story of almost the opposite genre (grand fantasy with high-stakes), so maybe it was out of her domain? 😜
I always feel Korea doesn't have enough money to spend on fantasy. Like modern-romances are doable in that budget, but certainly not a story like BoTWG!
Honestly, I too am of the same opinion: 'if you can't do it right, might as well not do it, at all!'😅

I thought Secretary Kim was a nice adaptation of the web-comic. Same with Yumi's Cells this year (God, I hope they don't butcher the next 2 seasons)... but yeah, I admit those are exceptions, and most adaptations from Korea are not so well-made! T_T
'Japanese Drama' makes me instantly think of Fushigi Yuugi, and how awesome it would be to see the LA. Though, post Scarlet-Heart censorship, I don't think that can be made in China, without changing the story drastically! 😅
I hope your wish to see the c-drama remake of this manhwa, really comes true! 💖

Would have been groundbreaking, and a revolution in the historic niche of the k-ent industry, to say the least! :')

Greetings, fellow Manhwa-fan!!💖Your comment is extra-special! :) I'm extra touched you get to revisit the Manhwa through this article!

>>Now I'm in pain imagining about everything the live adaptation could have been but could never be<<
Same, my friend! It was one of my 'staring into the void' chain of thoughts, and that's how this article (and wishful post) came to be! Crying right alongside you, for all the wasted potential of the hard-work gone into conceptualizing what would be a mother to many popular xianxia works from China, both plot and styling-wise!😭

>>since China itself has a lot of domestic light novel material to adapt so the chances of buying rights to this manhwa are low...<<
A profoundly hurtful realization, but I'm desperately hanging onto a last thread of hope! :') Meanwhile, I'll happily imagine the drama-version in my head! 🤣

Ps. the drama adaptation was a class-A example of bamboozlement. Scammed all of us fans into thinking we'll get a good LA! 😅

Bai Lu's recent xianxia with Luo Yunxi is wow-ing everyone with their promotional materials! Here's something completely unrelated, but super pretty to feast your eyes on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FPR_BGI1fg😇

Yes, the artwork had a rabid fan-base back in the days. I would say it's heavily inspired by xxx Holic in styling, except this has Ancient costumes! 😇 I'm sad I could only provide a glimpse of the beauty drawn by the Artist, the cover pages of volumes, and chapter-covers were fully colored, you could probably look them up on google images! 💖 They were STUNNING, to say the least!
Here are the fully colored version... & the translated BnW version below, should you ever want to glance at prettiness (and maybe even follow the plot?!) Thanks to Haslina for sharing the link below! 💖
https://page.kakao.com/home?seriesId=49981874
https://mangaowls.com/single/1552/the-bride-of-the-water-god

Thank you so much for your appreciation! Yes, while I too am not overly familiar with the 'younger cast' and only picked them because they have been described to be that age..... the true stars are indeed the 'older generation'. I cannot believe they're reaching the age to play (super beautiful) 'parent characters' now! 😭

Aww, thank you, it's so nice to hear from a fan of the OG work! ^^
Let's call it a BoTWG 'spin-off'? :P

Cheng Yi is a great choice for Mui too! I would then age up Soah/ Nakbin... maybe Li Qin/ Bai Lu? They look pretty similar from certain angles and would look amazing with Cheng Yi! 💖

https://page.kakao.com/home?seriesId=49981874
The full-color version is being uploaded here although completely in Korean. I was following fan-translations for the plot, and admiring the artwork, side by side in this. It's fantastic (and legal too) 😍 Maybe this will motivate you to learn the language 😅😅

Try to get the full-color version, if you can! 💖

You're right, the entire premise of the Manhwa is hinged on Habaek's curse of appearing as a pre-teen during the day, and it's kind of problematic if they get an actual 13/14 y/o to play the part.

Even when they get 'really young' concubines in historical pieces, the age is never specified, although audience is expected to know she would be 15/16? But she's always played by an actress who's no longer a minor. Thus, even 'questionable stuff' by today's standards (which were widely okay historically, like underage consorts, male or female), is portrayed in a legally correct manner (underage characters played by non-underage actors).

I can see why you think this will land in hot soup (because it will. Netz, c or k, need stuff to blow out of proportions)... Even if censorship and conservative media is cool, netz won't be!.... I concede you this point too. 😅😅😅
However, Netflix is not a solution. K-ent still doesn't have the hardware to do a xianxia style story. Irrespective or whether they keep Habaek's curse intact for the story, or not.🤣

Okay, I see where you're coming from. IF China does remake their own version of the manhwa (following closely the original work), the author is the FIRST person who will be targeted, for sure. Because the manhwa showed everybody wearing Hanfu, and again the whole 'did the chicken or the egg come first' debate will start. It's tricky, I admit. I concede this point to you! 😇

Next, the 14 y/o thing. I guess you're coming from the POV of having known the original IP work first of ALP, and seeing that the whole 'kid-arc' didn't follow through completely. Because of either censorship, or because of the fear of c-netz reaction, whichever. I think the fear came from Shang'gu actually being an 8 y/o (although her 'divine age' was much greater!).... here, Habaek is cursed to possess his pre-adolescent body, but is mentally, very much an adult. Shang'gu wasn't an 'adult' either age wise, or mentally. I dunno, it completely depends on how well the script-writer writes this arc. For a greater-portion of the series, 'Habaek the child' is the water-god and a pawn of the Emperor, whereas his adult persona Mui is the one who is Soah's lover. Both are treated as completely separate entities, for a large majority of the story.

But I admit, just like Korea, China too is guilty of absolutely sabotaging and massacring the IPs they have bought with their own money. They are equally as guilty in this crime. There have been more angry fans for IP-adaptations than those satisfied. So I kind of agree with your point. But from technical-hardware POV, Korea (with or without Netflix's help) does NOT have the goods to produce a story like this. China does, it has potential, but there is also a huge fear of being completely sabotaged by censorship.... 😅😅

Ps. Hats off to you, bleach, conan, one piece etc readers have ALL my respect! 💖 Do tell me how your experience of re-reading is going! 😇
And initially I thought of Dilraba for Soah, but then, I don't think c-industry has anyone who *remotely* looks like her! I too honestly think every c-actress in the 20-24 age range is very cutesy looking, and most of the drop-dead gorgeous, womanly and feminine actresses are in their very late 20's and early 30's. But Manhwa age wise, they are unfortunately 'too old'. But I do believe a GOOD stylist worth his/her salt would be able transform the likes of Lusi into someone like Soah! ^^ (oh fairy godmother, are you there?) 🤣🤣

Would be fun from a reviewer's POV! 😇