‘Woldam of Youth’ makes a quick return with only the name of the original Chinese work changed

《Taeyuna’s Listening Bodbo》
Reporter Tae Yu-na and Ten Asia will properly cover all aspects of the drama based on what she heard and saw on the spot. We will be the eyes and ears of readers in an age where dramas are flooding in on numerous channels.

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'Jamjungrok', which had been criticized since its production due to the controversy over the northeastern fair novel and the writer's anti-Korean (Korean-hating) ideology, quickly changed its name to 'Youth, Woldam' following 'Youth, Let's Live' and took home theaters by storm. ‘Worth of Youth’ is a rebirth through ‘adaptation’ of the Northeast Project novel that was set in the Tang Dynasty and used samgyetang as if it were a Chinese food. However, until now, the difference from the original is not known.

'A Tale of Youth', which first aired on the 6th, is a work that depicts the romance between a crown prince who is under a mysterious curse and a genius girl who is pointed out as the culprit of a family murder case. It is based on the Chinese web novel ‘Jamjungrok’. 'Jamjungrok' is a popular work that sold 1 million copies in China alone at the time of publication, ranking first among the best-selling web novels in China.

However, 'Jamjungrok' was controversial from the time it was produced. In March 2021, an article was published stating that Park Hyung-sik had decided to appear in 'Jamjungrok' as his return film after being discharged from the military. At the time, when 'Joseon Exorcism' was abolished after two episodes due to controversy over historical distortion, anti-Chinese sentiment was sparked and sparks flew. In addition, controversy arose over whether the author of the original novel had anti-Korean ideology when he shared (Li Weibo) a publisher's post calling Yun Dong-ju a Korean-Chinese poet, and the flames became more intense. In addition, as China continues to manipulate samgyetang as a Chinese food as part of the Northeast Project, 'Jamjungrok' also contains the word samgyetang, so it was even stigmatized as a Northeast Project novel.

Due to this controversy, 'Jamjungrok' was scheduled to be broadcast in the second half of 2021, but was completely re-edited. Some people announced that they were planning to make it a purely Korean original play rather than a Chinese original, but this was not true. The settings of the original work, including material, characters, and narrative, were borrowed and adapted anew. The production team's position is to add Korean sentiment to the charm of the original work.

However, despite the word 'adaptation', 'Jamjungrok' and 'Woldam of Youth' are very similar to the original work, from synopsis to characters and character relationships. It would be more appropriate to call it a remake rather than an adaptation. As the production was delayed and the programming was pushed back for over a year, only the title was changed and it was only seen as a 'blindfold' to hide the fact that it was a Northeast Fair novel.

‘Youth Month’ will not see the light of day until 2023. However, even putting aside all the anti-Korean and Northeast Project issues, the recently unveiled 'Worth of Youth' does not seem attractive in its own right. Above all, the awkward historical tone and acting of the female protagonist Jeon So-ni hinders immersion. Rather, it is a pity that more attention is paid to sub-hostess Pyo Ye-jin than to Jeon So-ni.

Even though it was reorganized for a long time, 'A Tale of Youth' could not be separated from the original and lost interest in the work itself. Will 'A Tale of Youth', which has all the elements of a genius male lead, a cross-dressing woman, and mystery, but fails to show much charm, be able to attract viewers until the 20th episode? This is why I am worried about the future of ‘Youth Month’, which has just taken its first step.

Taeyuna, Ten Asia Reporter youyou@tenasia.co.kr