Sooyi

The drama seems so far to be following the webtoon's plot because actually Professor Jung's character is important since like I said his past life is one of the biggest questions in the webtoon, alongside who's the husband plot. So it's natural he's played by an actor who's used to leading roles. Moreover, in episode 3, Oknam becomes desperate for Professor Jung to recover his memory as her husband (she still thinks he is her husband), so she puts his hands on her face (to make him remember) and he sees a flashback of Fairy Oknam with a red-robed woman (past form of Professor Jung). Then, the scene jumps up to him waking up late for his lecture, just like in the webtoon ????

Lol it was the opposite with the webtoon fans because they thought Professor Jung Yihyun was the husband because he's the typical angry guy who is the male lead (I really prayed he wasn't because he is so rude, though he has more marking moments with the fairy). But some sharp-eyed readers thought it wasn't the case due to some clues.

I am worried about the episode count because the webtoon really focuses on the past life of Professor Jung Yihyun to the point the "who's the husband?" plot takes a back seat (I mean it becomes less important). The author also develops on Buddhist themes, so it's really a gem. So I wonder if 16 episodes are enough to thoroughly depict the themes.

Actually, Kim Geum's character looks much older in the webtoon (no, he's not a Ph.D student with a baby face). So I actually pictured him as Lee Taehwan.

The webtoon's finished and unfortunately, you have to pay to read the full webtoon. You could only read a few episodes for free however, here is the link (in Korean): https://comic.naver.com/webtoon/list.nhn?titleId=693431

Lol it was the opposite for me because Kim Geum was so nice to the fairy and he straightforwardly believed the female lead was a fairy (but I guess it's because he witnesed the fairy's powers). But I tuned in the story because the author weaved an excellent character arc for Professor Jung and his friendship with Kim Geum. I found it more passionate that the fairy's reunion with Kim Geum ????

I'm planning to catch up with the drama during the weekend. Lol I remember Professor Jung was so atrocious to the fairy at the start of the webtoon that I wanted to hit him and prayed he wasn't the fairy's hudsband.

I haven't watched the drama adaptation but the webtoon was indeed cringey in the beginning that I dropped it but I picked it up again when more episodes got uploaded and it became better. Hoping the drama follows the webtoon's execution~

According to the webtoon, Kim Geum's character is the woodcutter, the fairy's husband. But apparently, in the life before that, he was an immortal alongside Professor Jung's past incarnation (who was a woman that time) who had a crush on the fairy.
The author gave a less "creepy" interpretation of the Fairy and the Woodcutter folk tale because Kim Geum's immortal self was going on a trial (like a punishment) in the mortal world where he would be reborn as a woodcutter and marry the fairy. He told the fairy what would happen to both of them, so she became very relaxed(?) about the whole scenario.
Kim Geum and Professor Jung's connection spanned from long time ago. During Professor Jung's first life, he was a child in a village who was told to be cursed so he was sacrificed to appease the gods (and that's how he became an immortal since he was wronged, to my understanding). Kim Geum lived in the same village and when he learned of Professor Jung's sacrifice, he rushed to save him but it was too late. It's because of his inability to save Professor Jung during their first life that Kim Geum tried to help him during their following lifetimes together. This is why as an immortal, he accepted to share Professor Jung’s punishment (he was starting fires in an act of rebellion toward the Heavens for not helping out the mortals) but the latter thought he betrayed him for not sharing his ideals. As a result of Kim Geum’s intervention, Professor Jung became a deer and he tried to have revenge by coercing mortal Kim Geum to steal the fairy’s clothes so he can fly back to the Heavens (but the robes lost their magic after Kim Geum touched them), and in exchange, Kim Geum could have a wife. Later, he became angry at his failure to return to the skies and the couple’s happiness, and in a fit of anger, accidentally killed Kim Geum.
In the end, I understand that Kim Geum and Professor Jung both gained back their memories and statuses and Professor Jung finally realized that people did care for him and he let go of his inner demons, finally living to his truest. Kim Geum and the fairy rekindle but it’s more like Kim Geum catching up with daughter, the tiger XD

I'm sorry I read the webtoon in Korean on Naver (and it's no longer free because the webtoon has ended). I found out that Snow Flower Scans are translating this into English, but it's 8 episdoes so far.

I read the source webtoon and it's a breezy read. It has the typical falling for a man out of one's league and the tsundere male character in the surroundings, but the author interprets them in her own way. But I can't believe Yoon Park's the swimming instructor because the latter is written as cute but not attractive and the actor mostly played characters who have everything. Guess I'll watch it for his performance!

I read the novel summary and the reviewer said there's basically no physical affection between the leads, even though they progress into lovers (I am okay with unspoken chemistry though). So I hope the scriptwriter would develop the chemistry between the leads, without being bound to solely kisses. But we have Mark Chao on board so no worries I guess XD

I don't think so since the drama itself was based on (brutal) historical events.

Do you mean "main love interest"? I think Mao Zijun will be the heroine's husband who has an unrequited love for her :/ considering that the heroine (based on a real historical figure) was a concubine to Nie Yuan, who gave her to Mao Zijun's king character. A historian who really hated her wrote that she continued to have relations with her former husband and that her son with the king was his.

I think it has to do that Koreans don't have a heavy penchant for harcore fantasy like China and Japan. unTouchable is a Korean webtoon about vampires in the modern world but it instead got adapted in China

I mean a *drama/movie* adaptation.

Lol the tropes of Jane Austen novels are frequently used in contemporary Korean dramas. So a novel adaptation wouldn't be strange whether it's a sageuk or a modern drama.

Lol I like the two authors you mentioned (Kazuo Ichiguro and Cecilia Ahern) but I am vouching for another of their books to be adapted in Korea. It's cliché but I would like to see a Korean remake of "Never Let Me Go". I definitely see Won Jinah as Kathy, Esom as Ruth and Kang Haneul as Tommy. And it would be cute if "If You Could See Me Now" had a drama adaptation starring Yoon Shiyoon and Lee Yooyoung as the leads.

I don't really agree with the two top books you mentioned because I think Twilight is fine on its own. While I loved it, the story didn't really appear to resonate with the Korean audience. I remember when Eclipse was premiering, there were so many negative reviews on Korean sites. I think it's because people found Bella and Edward's relationship went over the line when it comes to risks and is inappropriate because Bella was a minor at the start of the saga.

Forbidden relationship was actually a trend on TV in the early 2000s, but nowadays I think Koreans don't like the angst betwen the leading couple when they find out they are related whether biologically or legally.

This is a nice article since it grades villainous second male leads from pity to absolute irredeemable. However, I wouldn't consider Li Jing from TMPB as "villainous", though he betrayed Bai Qian's heart. I would consider him weak-hearted because he is prone to temptations while at the same time, he still cared for Bai Qian and did things for her, ultimately sacrificing his life.