All anime lovers can relate to this; nothing is more fulfilling than watching your favorite 2-D characters brought to life via live action dramas. Major kudos to the gods of K-drama (aka producers) for continuously working their magic with manhwa-soap opera adaptations which turns out surprisingly good. In fact, better than the original sometimes.
If you think you know your manga, see it for yourself if 5 of these examples are among the best manga-drama adaptation in Korea to date:
1. Goong: Palace Story by Park So-Hee
Adapted by Princess Hours
The story took place in Korea during the 21st century where monarchy still holds its power over the country. It revolves around the relationship between a normal high school girl and the reserved Crown Prince who is betrothed to one another and eventually gets married. This drama has received major success across Asia with several spin-offs of its own. They followed the manhwa well and is able to portray modern royal families with a touch of their own, especially through the beautiful setups and costumes.
2. The Girl Who Sees Smells by Man Chwi
Adapted by The Girl Who Sees Smells
This drama is based on the popular webtoon with the same title “The Girl Who Sees Smells”, which is about a girl who uses her ability of seeing smells into good use by helping a detective to solve a series of murder cases. While the webtoon gives off a darker vibe, the drama focuses on the romance aspects and also added in a few comedic moments to lighten up the mood which hopefully could appeal to their target audiences. However, the director stayed true to its webtoon roots by illustrating scents with cartoon-like images in the drama itself. Despite of the low ratings by netizens, the drama manage to hold its place as one of the most influential dramas.
3. Full House by Won Soo-Yeon
Adapted by Full House
Another series which bears the original title of its manhwa, Full House is classic drama is considered as the pioneer of all romantic comedy genre in the K-drama world which has also gained its fame and success throughout Asia. It is about an aspiring writer who had no choice but to live with a rude superstar in “Full House”, a house that was build by her late father after it was unexpectedly sold to him. This drama follows pretty closely to the main source, with only minor changes to the characters name which was originally in English, and some other incidents which took place in the story.
4. Scholar Who Walks the Night (written by Jo Joo-Hee and illustrated by Han Seung-Hee)
Adapted by Scholar Who Walks the Night
The story revolves around a girl who was once from a noble family who disguised herself as a man in order to make ends meet. She then meets a handsome mysterious scholar who was walking on the streets during nightfall and he turns out to be a vampire! In the drama, the scholar is surely charming as a vampire because Lee Joon Gi was cast for this lead role and the rest, they said, is history.
5. Moonlight Drawn by Clouds by Yoon Yi Soo
Adapted by Love In The Moonlight
Based on a youth romance saguek (historical period drama) web novel, Love In The Moonlight is about a courageous girl who disguise herself as man to counsel men on dating. Things took an unexpected twist when she meets the Crown Prince who takes an interest in her and ends up disguising as a eunuch in the palace. This drama is a massive hit all across Asia, with six nominations at the 53rd Baeksang Arts Awards!
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Which are your favorites?
