Resurrection, Full House join the ranks of U.S. remake hopefuls
by girlfriday
KBS is making a big push for a revival of some their drama classics to be remade for Hollywood. The network has struck a co-production deal with producer Michael Uslan of the Batman film franchise (beginning with Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman to the current installments), to produce U.S. remakes for five of KBS’s drama titles, including Resurrection (2005) and Full House (2004).
Plans are in the works for KBS and Uslan’s production company U2K to take the titles to the American Film Market this November, in the hopes of striking a deal (or five). The full list of shows hasn’t been released, but Resurrection is the big headliner among them. The 2005 drama from PD Park Chan-hong and writer Kim Ji-woo starred Uhm Tae-woong in a dual role as twin brothers in a twisty revenge tale. It spawned a revenge series from the PD-writer team, who went on to do Devil and Shark.
Resurrection is a revenge classic that could really be adapted for any setting and era, so I could easily see it becoming an American series. It kind of reminds me of Ringer back in 2011, where Sarah Michelle Gellar played twins in a swapped-lives thriller. I remember at the time, javabeans and I going, That is so K-drama!
On the other hand, marquee Hallyu drama Full House, from PD Pyo Min-soo and writer Min Hyo-jung and starring Rain and Song Hye-gyo, has been remade numerous times already in the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, and coming in 2015 — China and Turkey. And then there was Full House Take 2. Let us not speak of that again. On paper, a Full House remake seems so easy — everyone’s doing one, and all you need is an actor, an actress, and a house right? If only it were that easy.
I’m sure we’ll be hearing about it if any of KBS’s titles get picked up. I could really go for a dark gritty remake of Resurrection — it’d give me something to watch on American TV, anyway.
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Tags: Full House, Hollywood, remakes
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1 graey
October 19, 2015 at 3:25 AM
Full House? Nope. I can't visualize it. A girl, a guy, one house. Sounds like a sitcom to me. I don't know how it'll fit with all the makjang lol.
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gem28
October 19, 2015 at 8:40 PM
Full House, won't work as a tv series. A made for TV movie could work. As a series, I don't know why but I think Master's Sun has a good chance of working as a 12-16 episode per season drama. It has horror and per weekly case structure, it could work really well.
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2 Dakchigo
October 19, 2015 at 3:29 AM
The nicest word I can think of to describe Full House's Philippine version is "horrifying."
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Ia
October 19, 2015 at 4:37 AM
Well, 99% of their dramas are makjang so no comment..
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Lux
October 19, 2015 at 5:17 AM
Lmao +10000
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Althea
October 19, 2015 at 7:57 AM
Lol. I agree 1,000%
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LMAO
October 20, 2015 at 5:09 AM
TRUEST WORDS ever spoken. OLD writers must retire [be kicked out lmao]. All em know is to recycle recycle reeeeecyyyyycle stories BOOOOOO
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Yoori
October 19, 2015 at 8:50 AM
I didn't think it was THAT bad, the actors were cute.
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Yoori
October 19, 2015 at 8:51 AM
Just Kidding! I was thinking of the THAI version!
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CLINTON CARTER
October 19, 2015 at 4:18 PM
i loved the thai version
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whitewire
October 20, 2015 at 5:05 AM
LOOOOOOOOL
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ageha
October 19, 2015 at 6:51 PM
I mean, to be honest, that word can be attached to the Korean version as well. So much yelling at each other, it made no sense that they could even LIKE, let alone love, one another. Nothing subtle or charming about that series what-so-ever.
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Woongskie
October 19, 2015 at 9:44 PM
But I think 49 days, Only You, and My Girl Remakes are pretty good there in PH. They give it a touch of Kdrama feel in some Episodes, especially in My Girl and 49 Days
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Lux
October 20, 2015 at 1:49 AM
My favorite PH remake would probably be Temptation of Wife (or maybe my inner Marian Rivera fangirl self just clouded my judgements) but I gotta give props to the WORST of the worst aka Coffee Prince lmao
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whitewire
October 20, 2015 at 5:10 AM
Marian Rivera - what a beauty! ♥
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3 natalie?
October 19, 2015 at 3:53 AM
If they want to do a remake/adaptation of kdrama into american tv series can they consider I Remember You ... I like the story but it just lacks a little bit of thrill plssssss ???
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nomad
October 19, 2015 at 8:08 AM
oh agreed agreed!!!
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4 Mandy
October 19, 2015 at 4:00 AM
I'm still not sure why Full House is as popular and loved as it is and why it merits for so many remakes. Rain will forever remain a favourite for me, but I'll never understand how Full House was the drama that shot him to stardom. Specially when he did those Lee Kyung-hee ones and were another level amazing in them.
Anyway, so many kdramas said to have been in talks of getting adapted in the US, but other than that embarrasing version of BOF, I don't remember any materializing. Good Doctor, Nine, YFAS (which I really hoped to see!).
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Mili Vi
October 19, 2015 at 4:34 AM
The american BOF was a school play, full of amateurs. :(
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whitewire
October 20, 2015 at 5:11 AM
American BOF wins the most laughing stock of `em all.
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kanz
October 19, 2015 at 6:03 AM
Full House is not my first kdrama per se, but I admit it's the first kdrama that made me an addict.
To this day I also still wonder why I like it so much.. I would even re-watch it now if any local TV station here re-airing the drama for the umpteenth time. How Han Ji Eun and Lee Young Jae bicker around in their house still echoed in my memory..
I'll forever be grateful to Rain and Song Hye Kyo for making me love kdramas so much. :D
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eunchans
October 19, 2015 at 1:10 PM
I'm not entirely sure either, but I always think that it's best to watch it when you're just getting into kdramas, because it popularised so many cliches and tropes that are now really overused in rom coms. Now it does seem quite dated and unoriginal (not that any rom com is really original, but you know what I mean). It was quite fun and addictive when I watched it many years ago though. But it's definitely nowhere on my list of favourite rom coms.
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gem28
October 19, 2015 at 8:44 PM
I agree Emma. Full House is a great getting to know Korean Drama first series. I remember trying to re-watch Boys Over Flower, I cringed throughout on a second watch and fast forwarded most parts and finally gave up, These show look great on a first watch and look completely stupid when you try watching again.
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5 daktari34
October 19, 2015 at 4:34 AM
I'm wondering how they will stretch out a one season plot in k-dramas to a multi season show in Hollywood?
Wouldn't it just hurt the story and force a lot of filler episodes?
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6 Ceci
October 19, 2015 at 4:53 AM
If you are not watching anything on American TV, I think you are missing a lot as there are many good shows airing.
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Adal
October 19, 2015 at 5:36 AM
Ehhhh, that there are good shows is a matter of opinion, I guess. There are certainly a number of new shows on American TV now, with interesting concepts. Minority Report, Limitless, Quantico and all. While my husband raves about their strong plots and action scenes, it leaves me cold because I personally find American comedy quite bland, and their dramas surprisingly lacking heart. I think 'heart' is what attracted me to kdramas in the first place, and kept me there. Added to that is you never know what shows would get canceled among the new ones in the next season, and I hate becoming attached to a show, only to have it canceled after falling in love with it. I've been burned too many times, I guess.
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juniper
October 19, 2015 at 6:55 AM
Yeah, I'm not really into American comedy, either. The only American sitcom I've watched that I think is legitimately good is Arrested Development. (Veep is made by British people so it doesn't count lol--and of course it's not even as funny as The Thick of It, which was made by the same British people, for British people.)
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Lilly
October 19, 2015 at 7:26 AM
I have been watching Scream Queens and it is funny to me because I actually know people who speak in some of those over the top politically correct ways they hit on a lot and it makes me laugh to see that made fun of so well.
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juniper
October 19, 2015 at 7:45 AM
I'll have to check that one out :)
soapbox
October 19, 2015 at 7:47 AM
Do you watch Louie? It's a mixture of comedy and depressing. I personally like it.
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juniper
October 19, 2015 at 9:12 AM
I'm scared of watching it, actually haha. I know a lot of who people that love it, but it seems so depressing. I'll have to check it out, now, though :)
soapbox
October 19, 2015 at 9:34 AM
@juniper
That's true lol, Louie something you'd need to be in the mood for.
How about Flight of the Conchords? It's light and clever, one of my all time favorite comedies. It's an HBO show but it doesn't really feel like American comedy.
juniper
October 19, 2015 at 10:15 AM
@soapbox. Okay, I'll check that one out, too! Thanks for all these recs :) It's beginning to seem like maybe I just haven't seen enough American comedies haha. I mostly stick to British sitcoms--my parents got me started early on Monty Python, and the rest is history.
Trinity 🍆
October 19, 2015 at 12:53 PM
I love American comedies but only if they aren't sit-coms. Arrested Development, Brooklyn 99, 30 Rock, Parks & Recs, etc..
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dizzyMongoose
October 20, 2015 at 7:45 AM
B99 is great. I've also heard good things about Fresh Off the Boat.
nomad
October 19, 2015 at 8:10 AM
It's the concept of milking it till it dries up that burns me. Shows should have a define ending, otherwise it'll just go around in circles and eventually bore you to death.
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juniper
October 19, 2015 at 9:29 AM
+1. Six-seven seasons is enough to destroy even the best of shows--just look at things like Buffy or The X-Files. Besides concepts drying up, I also hate it when characters become unrecognizable in a show's efforts to stay fresh and relevant.
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Maris
October 19, 2015 at 10:11 AM
So on the spot with "heart"......
That's what grabs me too....every time I experience it..
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Trinity 🍆
October 19, 2015 at 1:04 PM
I love both American and Korean shows. They are both quite different from each other but offer different types of enjoyment.
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soapbox
October 19, 2015 at 6:05 AM
Yeah it's been a great time for shows in the past few years. Off the top of my head-- The newest one I've come to absolutely love is Fargo, season one was perfection and I have high expectations for season two. Better Call Saul is off to a good start too. Netflix has House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. Ever since Breaking Bad ended I thought I wouldn't find anything else to hold my interest but alas. One thing's for sure though, shorter seasons and miniseries = better format
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soapbox
October 19, 2015 at 6:25 AM
How could I forget Mr Robot! That is unforgivable.
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juniper
October 19, 2015 at 7:07 AM
I love Breaking Bad, too! I'm just glad that Better Call Saul is different enough from Breaking Bad that I don't feel like I have to compare the two.
Yeah, agree on the shorter seasons thing. Unless we're talking episodic shows like sci fi or procedurals, 12 episodes is so much better than 22--imo that made a huge difference for masterpieces like The Wire and Breaking Bad, or even Mad Men. Filler can really bog shows down.
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juniper
October 19, 2015 at 6:33 AM
Agreed. Off the top of my head, there's Game of Thrones, Orphan Black, Better Call Saul, Veep, Mad Men just ended, even reality shows like Drag Race...And even if you're not interested in currently airing shows, there are enough classic American shows to last a lifetime, probably (unless you're a TV junkie, like me lol).
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soapbox
October 19, 2015 at 6:39 AM
Veep is everything <3
I've been meaning to watch Orphan Black too.
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juniper
October 19, 2015 at 7:00 AM
If you love Veep, have you seen The Thick of It? It's by the same people and as much as I enjoy Veep, I love that show even more.
Orphan Black is lots and lots of fun--I totally recommend it. It's probably not as "good" as some of the other shows that have been mentioned on this thread, objectively, but it's awesome and I love it haha.
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soapbox
October 19, 2015 at 7:23 AM
I'll definitely check out these two recommendations since it looks like we have similar taste.
Kiara
October 19, 2015 at 10:12 AM
I've been meaning to watch Orphan Black too. It's on my netflix list. It's good to hear good reviews on it.
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Ananta
October 20, 2015 at 8:05 AM
Yes, I don't get why so many people think so bad about american tv. I personally really love some tv series, thought I don't watch them on television, so I can choose what I want to watch.
There are some good old ones, too. Like Bewitched, The Addams Family and I Dream of Jeannie.
American tv series may not be perfect (endless seasons, cancellation) but they do have good qualities, too.
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7 luriru
October 19, 2015 at 5:01 AM
It sounds more like movies. Full House could be a summer romcom. Tighten up the story arc and it would work. Think Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler type of show.
A revenge drama as a TV drama would be interesting if they picked a specific number of seasons and stuck with it. Rather like a police procedural with an over all big bad or big bads that need to go away but also individual episodes. I think though that if they want a major hit like NCIS they will need a dose of bring to justice for the show to last. We like our truth, justice and the American way bit too much for a multi season flat out revenge with no mercy.
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Adal
October 19, 2015 at 5:26 AM
Well they did try Revenge in the multi season format. It started out strong but after many seasons it fizzled out, and eventually got canceled. The only way kdramas can be successfully transitioned to American tv is if it maintained a finite number of episodes. A clear start, middle and end. Otherwise, it becomes a totally different show.
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Kiara
October 19, 2015 at 9:56 AM
I liked the first season of "Revenge" a lot and I tried to watch the rest later but it felt like I didn't miss anything and dead people kept coming back to life lol.
I'd watch any joined BBC project. I love my English period dramas. If I want to laugh I'd watch Jimmy Fallon. His spoofs on ‘Downton Abbey’(“Downton Sixbey”) was hilarious.
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8 weirdnshort
October 19, 2015 at 6:08 AM
Oh yes. That show would work well.... serial killers.
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natalie
October 19, 2015 at 9:42 PM
I did not like I remember you solely because of the topic of serial killers but because of the brotherhood of hyun and min. How Hyun seem cannot give up on Min's humanity.
The drama also raise a good point about serial killers, is it really nature vs nurture etc Its just yunno I think its fascinating ?
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natalie
October 19, 2015 at 9:52 PM
oh and how min wish for hyun to acknowledge him ?✌️ I also like Jang Nara's characterization! ?
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9 weirdnshort
October 19, 2015 at 6:12 AM
Oops this was regarding @natalie's comment for I remember you (i couldn't post a reply properly.
Regarding full house... i can't see that working a show. Movie perhaps but not a series.
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10 juniper
October 19, 2015 at 6:24 AM
Don't really think Resurrection would work outside of its cultural context. imo, the American concepts of family and revenge are different enough from the Korean concepts that it would be better to just take the basic set-up (twins switching lives) and do their own thing from there. If they do a blow-for-blow remake it's going to turn into something as silly as The Departed vs. Infernal Affairs. Plus, it's not like they're going to put together a team remotely equivalent to the original's.
idk, I'd rather they not touch that one. But they haven't gotten around to remaking You From Another Star afaik, so maybe Resurrection will escape this fate, too...
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knewbie
October 19, 2015 at 9:09 AM
@juniper, I totally agree with your comparison with Infernal Affairs vs. The Departed. The Departed completely jettisoned Infernal Affairs' main ideas about identity, and I'm pretty sure a US version of Resurrection would similarly be unable to capture the way in which one of the twins not only had to adopt the life but also to absorb the character and even the essence of the other twin.
Also, I'm not sure how a 2015 remake of Resurrection would be able to plausibly keep the twins unaware of each other's existence for the required number of years. Unless they decide to set it in the early noughties or something. PS I love The Thick of It too.
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juniper
October 19, 2015 at 9:25 AM
Yeah, that is another problem, it would be pretty hard to believe. I hadn't thought of that, but you're right. Even if the main character still had amnesia in that version, I agree, the mom and other twin could track him down before shit hit the fan.
I feel like that's a problem for a lot of western remakes of Asian films. There's a significant difference in how we think about a lot of themes. The Departed is an especially bad example of this--I felt like Scorsese either did not understand the original movie, or it was lost in translation. He just seemed unable to consider identity outside of the paradigm of "rats" and "moles"--it was like every other American gangster flick out there (well, every other Scorsese movie out there lol).
Yay The Thick of It! I love Peter Capaldi.
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11 evw09
October 19, 2015 at 6:26 AM
I'm not so sure Full House will translate well for American audiences. As an American, I'll say we all think we're lawyers to some degree so the hi-jinks won't translate because we can't suspend our sense of reality that much. A friend sells your house without you knowing so you make an agreement to be the new owner's wife for the sake of his career and to stay in your home? Every women's rights group across the country is going to have a field day. Plus we tend to frown on crazed celebrity obsessions. We gawk from the comforts of tabloids, tv and websites. Collectively, we tend to respect celebrities privacy a bit more. (This is in comparison to other countries) And we expect,and enjoy, our celebrities to have a couple of scandals so we wouldn't really flip out about them. These things don't compute in our culture. All said though, I'm interested to see if there's a way to make it work without completely losing the core of the Korean version.
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12 PeepsLeAwesomePotato
October 19, 2015 at 6:57 AM
Lol, Full House. I've only ever watched the Thai version and it was crack. I mean, there is melodrama (it IS Full House after all), but the chemistry between the leads... Nobody can convince me that Mike wasn't falling for Aom in real life on screen.
The English-educated/influenced side of me is not sure how that drama is going to be done by Hollywood without people butchering it though...
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aafa83
October 19, 2015 at 7:54 AM
I've watched both the Korean and the Thai version of Full House and I liked the Thai version better. I agree that the chemistry of the Thai leads was very hot. IMO, The K Full House was boring and monotonous.
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nomad
October 19, 2015 at 8:14 AM
Yup for this! Thai version was crack in a whole different level :) and totally with you...I believed Mike was really falling for Aom too in real life.
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13 Lilly
October 19, 2015 at 7:27 AM
The best group to handle a drama with a beginning , middle, and end is Netflix probably.
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14 Trinity 🍆
October 19, 2015 at 9:44 AM
Some shows I can see as American remakes. Like Liar's Game, I Remember You, Resurrection, Good Doctor, etc. But I can't see most of the rom-coms remade by Hollywood. The reason I love kdramas is because of the rom-coms. Pretty much every show with romance in America is either a sitcom or soap opera and romance shows are almost non-existent. I just don't see how well an American show will handle a drama that is exclusively about being a cute romance.
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kalel
October 19, 2015 at 5:00 PM
Full House is a cute romance, I agree, but there's also this over-the-top comedy glued on the original script that made me laugh again and again. Beautiful, young actors (and idols) who are ready to embrace hilarity in all its glory and with minimum self-consciousness in front of the camera, something that we don't get to see too often lately.
So, perhaps yes, it's not possible for a fully fledged romance but I can certainly see it as an incredibly funny and camp prime-time sitcom. All the elements are there: friends with (legal?) power over the girl's assets (since they know each other from childhood, or they could very well be relatives in the US version), girl's left alone and dirt poor (without the "full" house and her bank account), arrogant young actor(?) or any other hyped profession pops up and buys "Full House" and the necessity of a cohabitation agreement for some reasonable (I won't bet my life on that, though) excuse. But, to be honest, turning "nothing" into "something" that audiences find appealing is the most difficult task in entertainment industry,- Two and a Half Men vibes, I guess. That's why melodramas, crime and revenge series have a higher possibility of a remake on any country's TV...
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Trinity 🍆
October 20, 2015 at 8:50 AM
True but at the heart of all rom-coms is romance. At the heart of American sitcoms is comedy. I love kdrama rom-coms because the romance is at the heart of the show, something that American TV shows lack and haven't been able to accomplish very well yet. I think one of the few good romances I've seen is Jane the Virgin.
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15 mira
October 19, 2015 at 9:55 AM
America can never remake a korean rom-com/or any asian rom-com. The idea of romance is very different in North America, mainly focused on Pleasure than anything else.
You need a different kind of mindset to enjoy kdrama romance, where romance has a lot more elements than just you know, going to bed.
If they want to do remake, they should go only for the thrillers/more serious dramas.
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emi
October 19, 2015 at 4:21 PM
Apparently you have not seen anything made for Hallmark-- which is about network kdrama level in terms of allusions to sex on screen. You might get a kiss between a couple. There's tons of programming and it's not all about getting it on.
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16 Fk
October 19, 2015 at 10:01 AM
I liked Korean version of Full House.But an American remake? Nope. I can't imagine it.
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17 maddragonqueen
October 19, 2015 at 5:59 PM
I love Full House and have watched several versions of it, but I just don't see this working for mainstream US audiences. The whole contract marriage thing would be completely out of left field and they would have to come up with a brand new, really good excuse for it in order for US audiences to buy it. And shows about roommate hijinks and opposites attracting are a dime a dozen, so unless the US version had something really fresh and new to add, I don't see it getting picked up.
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18 Franbergh II
October 19, 2015 at 10:49 PM
i always think korean and american drama have quite a lot different plot. unlike korean, american drama usually have seasons depends on the rating. if its so good, 16 eps of korean drama might turn into min 3 seasons (20s eps/season).
just sayin'..
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19 Mbebzz
October 20, 2015 at 6:54 PM
wow... Resurrection is the best korean drama I ever seen,, curios if they make Holywood version,, how will be??
let's wait...
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20 lilsu
October 21, 2015 at 6:12 AM
Full House was the first Kdrama I ever watched, and now after so many years I am watching the turkish version :)
I like the turkish one to be honest. They picked the key elements of full house and put them in the turkish culture --> tada turkish full house :D
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21 Fullhouse Famouse
October 15, 2016 at 7:51 AM
I was a fan of your work that "Full House", although it is already 12 years passed I always still watch it, and fans of this drama is still very much in the rest of Asia and perhaps the world, including me from Indonesia .. I also all the fans to this day still waiting and hope that you make a Full House next story, with Rain and Kyo still right and most appropriate to portray the character of young Jae and Jieun .. regards from Full House Fans
sorry my English
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