I'm worried about the casting because I really don't picture any young Korean actress that I know of being able to pull off the Kotoko character. Perhaps they will look for a new talent but that's also very risky.

:O please please please pleaaase let it be good! oh gosh. they cannot kill this one. even the taiwanese version was awesome, and anyone who has watched taiwanese adaptations of mangas or animes know what i mean by that, so they BETTER not butcher it.

by the way, i really did like BOF but i am with you that although it was enjoyable, i'm still left bitter at the fact that they didn't make it out to be what it had the potential to be. my problems with it was the soundtrack, both the songs and the way they would play a song every two minutes in the beginning,although that did improve a lot towards the end, how they made me hate jandi's character, and her OUTFITS WERE HORRENDOUS by the way, the way they tried too hard to make it cute, i mean it's a kdrama! it's ok to make it kdrama style, doesn't haave to resemble a taiwanese drama it can be light and cute but also a bit dramatic at the same time. too bad, because it seriously could been the best version BOF ever, or really close second to HYD. :)

an afterthought, IF they manage to lure MGY. I'm more than willing to eat back all my words.

well, BOF afterall was mostly a trendy drama... i enjoyed it because i did what i what i usually do when watching that genre of kdramas... you have to tune off your thinking cap and just embrace the illogical parts. but it did solidify Kim Bum's appeal as an actor and pretty much gave birth to a whole bunch of acting careers... Lee Minho (the most obvious, and he got the most benefits post-BOF), Kim So Eun... Kim Joon rose out of obscurity as a member of TMAX, even if he was the least "explored" F4 character... heck even those how only appeared for a handful of episodes like Kim Min Jung (recently signed as a lead for a kdrama) and Lee Shi Young (released a debut single, and got into WGM) all got plum prizes for being in the mess that was BOF...

anyways, about Group Eight and producing a kdrama adaptation out of ISWAK... well, even the taiwanese version was in a sense a trendy drama. And I think so far, Group Eight has shown itself as one of those kdrama companies that focus on dramas that appeal to teans/ young adults... and tend to create a somewhat "mania" / "hyped" drama.

Oyy... how about Kim Bum and Kim So Eun for ISWAK?

loved ISWAK and TKA to bits. i love not just the chemistry between ariel lin and joe cheng but the whole cast. hope the korean version could at least live up to the taiwanese version.

^-^ I loved the anime series! The japan version was funny, funny, cute and okay ( wasnt really into the actress), didnt watch the Taiwan one....mmmm.... hope itll be good....crossing my fingers and toes!!!!!!

BOF..... (can hear the "ALMOST PARADISE!!"... song....CRINGING!!! URG!!)....over it....

@missmanderley......Kim So Eun and Kim /bum as the leads in the kdrama version of ISWAK. hahaha omg think of the ratings that would pull in...like the 50s??? lol i'd like to see that happen just to see the reaction.

0.0 Oh dear. I was able to read some scanlations of the manga online, and it was fine. I've watched the Japanese live action which was made in the late 90's (it aws ok) and also 'It Started With A Kiss' which I actually liked, and surprisingly I LOVED it's sequel more.
But I did notice how the endings to the Japanese drama and Taiwanese drama was different, adding their own distinctive flavors.
Hopefully the Korean version won't kill what could be a good adaptation if handled well.
But with all these manga adaptations (which were usualy then developed into Tdramas, then Jdramas, THEN Kdrama, then moves to mainland Cdrama), what's next? Hana Kimi?

NOOOOOOOOOO............WHATTTTTTTTTTTT.........I can't belive they are turning MY favorite manga into a K-Drama version Group 8 better do an excellent job adaptaing this Manga..........the Tawainese version is the BEST people...........if you guys haven't watched look for it, it so worth watching..... that's how I fell in love with Ariel Lin and Joe Cheng......their chemistry is what makes this story sooooooo great.....I mean their kisses are so passionate and real that sometimes you forget that they are playing fictional characters ..........I love their family and friends.......the Taiwanese version in my eyes is Perfect ......but I'm not sure if Group 8 can find a couple that can transmit such chemistry and realness to the audience.....the Manga is long and was not originally finished....even the Taiwanese version left the series open ended, because the writter never got to finished the Manga........I'm just crossing my fingers that the production team make and excellent version worthy to watch and have it up there with the Taiwanese version...........BOF/BFF was great to watch but it could has been sooooo much more. The production team forgot that details is what makes great dramas..not just fashiong, pretty faces, and music...I just hope the production team really have a great writter to adapt this loving, caring, and oustanding Manga...... ARJOE FOREVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

holy shot i would LOVE to see kim soeun & kimbum be the leads!
but honestly, i cant imagine them being the chracters but heck, who knows!
i can imagine lee junki being ahjin with the hairstyle he had in my girl.

I loved ISWAK (as it is know by international fans). However, I am not sure how well it will be "adapted" into a kdrama. I stopped watching Boys Before Flowers near the end. I don't know if I'll look into this new production either. The one interesting/wierd thing about the main manga was that it was left incomplete as the manga artist passed away.. this left the jdorama and twdrama open for an "creative ending" (which might be good or bad for a kdrama!)

P.S - I have watched the jdorama version as well (which wasn't that great - even if it did precede the twdrama).

P.S.S - Hopefully they won't copy it action for action & line for line, like they did with "The Man who can't get Married"

I have mixed feelings about this. With knowledge of Group Eight's track record, it might be best to keep this in mind, despite Group "expect the worst but hope for the best."

I've seen parts of the Japanese version, but it's the TW version -- ISWAK and the sequel TKA (They Kiss Again) that made an impact. While it might not be perfect, the dramas hold a place in my heart. Joe Cheng and Ariel Lin have incredible chemistry!

Just as long as nobody dies of sudden cancer harboring a hidden birth secret, we hope. -- This made me LOL! Korean ending FTW!

I noticed that a lot of people are saying that BBF's Lee Min-ho showed himself as a promising actor in BBF. Umm... really? I didn't see it. Maybe it's because the chemistry (or lack thereof) with Gu Hye Sun's character. They were so terrible together and their scenes were painful to watch. Personally, he didn't play a convincing Domyouji either.

Annnnyway. ISWAK was so terrible as a drama in both Taiwanese and J versions, so let's hope the Korean one is better... :/

I think BoF was decent... it could be worse (like Goong S), although I do have to say LMH and GHS didn't have TOO great of chemistry (overshadowed by side couple? XD)

I also heard that group 8 will not recycle actors they have already used for this drama... so new faces?

I liked Itazura na Kiss, both the jdrama and the tdrama, but they weren't very good. At least this won't have to live up to the supreme awesomeness that is Hana Yori Dango.

First off, JB-- LOVE the twitter update right now (Style/Hon mix-up) I can only imagine the befuddlement, but I like the idea!!

second: "the producers who butchered adapted Hana Yori Dango into the hot mess that was Boys Before Flowers" It's moments like these when I really love reading your updates, as you truly do know where to point the blame at a botched series, instead of simply saying "well, it just should have been better" or "so-and-so was so good in XXXX, why do they suck so much here?", or "why does XXXX just not feel right together, here?"

On the whole ISWK debate, this is probably one of the few manga/manhua/manhwas that I haven't read yet (don't really care for the artist's style), so I think I can approach it with a completely open mind, unlike so many of the others which have been adapted as of late, but I certainly do hope that Group 8 has learned SOMETHING from all the fan mumblings and groanings after BOF.

i knew this was coming, itazura na kiss was bound to be next on the kdrama scene's, if not group 8's, hit list.
ISWAK and TKA have a very special place in my heart. the leads had amazing chemistry and i adored the family dynamics. having not read the manga and having found the ancient jdorama adaptation intolerable, i can't comment on those. yes, iswak and tka had their issues with the but i wonder whether the kdrama will be able to live up to those.
nonetheless i'm interested to see the progress of the production, eg. the leads, director, etc.
thank you for sharing this javabeans (:

Everyone keeps mentioning Joe Cheng. Not to get off topic, but does anyone know where he is these days? His dramawiki doesn't list him as working on any dramas for 2009. *puzzled*

They better cast people who can act, eye candy can stuff it as long as they're okay looking I don't care. So no newbies with no acting background, I hated KHJ in BOF, he's a god awful actor, if he gets cast then I won't even bother.

And will people stop dissing INK, its ancient, not to mention the drama was made too early and the manga hadn't even got in to its stride.

I'll watch it only if they cast kimsoeun. Hahaha. I think she could pull off an ariel lin very very well.. maybe even better. Yes, I'm biased. ^^

i dont want to sound mean but i honestly think they are going to screw up It Started With a Kiss.
The Taiwanese version was soo good and the chemistry between the lead actors was amazing.....I am not looking forward to this and will probably not watch

@ 40 & 46 ~

Thanks for your input...I think I will give it a go based on your thoughts and what appears to be a big thumbs up from the majority of those who have commented. I have seen very few T-dramas (Bull Fighting, Devil Beside You), so really...my experience with them can only be improved...LOL (although, Mike He is painfully attractive)!

Alright, so after I finish 'The Man Who Can't Get Married', 'Koishite Akuma' and 'Binbo Danshi'...good lord, that's a lot of tv watching...

aside from the arjoe chemistry, what made iswak and tka awesome in my eyes is the whole supporting cast. zhang mama is the best mom in dramaland, have not met a mom as funny as her in all the dramas i have watched. the side love story of christine and ahjin was also worth following. even the development of the love story (or lack of it) of pei zi yu and wang hao qian was fun to watch. iswak's music was so good, but not so tka. hope the korean version does well too. i am not going to judge group 8 on BoF because i didn't watch it, didn't watch meteor garden either. i dunno what it is about hana yori dango but it just didn't capture my attention. if group 8 is the company behind fantasy couple, then they have my vote. i love fantasy couple.

Okay, so if they're going to adapt this into Korean style ending, PLEASE NO CANCER----and dying. Also, ISWK and TKA was awesome, the key formula???? CHEMISTRY between the leads! So please group eight take that into consideration. I don't know if anybody can beat ArJoe's interpretation of the character, ArJoe had amazing onscreen chemistry, fit the roles perfectly. I hope they cast relatively new and young actors to portray the characters since The Kiss did started while they were in High School.

I agree with all of you that wrote ARJOE FOREVER!! Hahaha, looking forward to Korean version....

Wow... just wow. I wasn't a fan of BBF, but my friend's mom loved it. I kind of liked the manga and preferred watching the japanese version of BOF. I did not enjoy the acting in the korean ver. for the leading girl... and I felt that the korean take on Domiyoji was very very different. I'm not sure if that was a good or bad thing, some people love it, some don't....

It just seems so... of what hollywood does. Comic book movies like batman, spiderman, Incredible Hulk and etc. I am a big fan of originality.

Sorry if I wound any one with my words, it's just what I think....

Oh gosh, well they could have chosen a better manga to make into live action ... because ISWAK isn't exactly my favorite. The main girl is the typical weak character who falls for the prince of the school and stalks him everywhere. Or it could also have been the way Ariel Lin was acting her out: she got annoying. Wonder who they're going to cast though.

*squeal* I loved the Taiwanese version of It Started With A Kiss!!!!! It's my favorite Taiwanese drama of all time! (2nd - Fated to Love You, 3rd - Smiling Pasta) Yay!!! Boys Before Flowers wasn't that bad, I'm watching Shining Inheritance now... (waiting for funny bits but it seems to be all melodrama.) Anyway, running off-topic there, it would be interesting to see who's being casted first before watching. The Japanese version is meh (maybe coz it's really old).

I'll probably pass it if the first episode is like BBF. Seriously, I only like a little bit of the Taiwanese version (1 only, not the second one) of Itazura na Kiss. I tried to read the manga to see how valid the acting was in the T series but I gave up because I wasn't fond of the drawings. However, Ariel Lin portrayal of the main character irked me because she was beyond annoying and that is to say she doesn't exaggerate the character, the character is just plainly annoying. I don't like girls who are so adamant about a boy that acts like a jerk.

Enough said about that. After the BBF Korean version I have to admit I'm quite tired of overacting, poor script with random events popping up (tell me how does both Rui wants to be a doctor?), and probably the feeling that it doesn't follow exactly like an anime or like a drama. It's like in between - very annoying.

The main reason that killed my interest in Korean series lately and tempted me towards Japanese series is mostly the acting. Let's give an example: after I watched 2 episodes of Style, I realized that the main actress are either maniacs or a runaway from the hospital. That sounds harsh but I was annoyed through the 2 whole hours I watched it.

But.......... if this turns out good, I won't mind enjoying it. Oh please don't disappoint me.... : (

Oh wow another tw drama turned korean.I will give it a try b/c I really ended up liking ISWAK. The lead girl's character (not the actress ok) was a bit much, but her chemistry w/ joe cheng was 'wow' perfect.I think that and the cute theme songs made ISWAK memorable.oh and the parents

Neat.ISWAK's what got me to start on tw dramas. It was annoying but something about it made me earnestly watch it.the 2 leads did really well together. Ariel lin did a little too well portraying her character.sometimes stories like this is fun to just sit and watch.korean version has the potential to be/seem better definitely but I think ISWAK's always gonna be something more for me. Just like My Girl is the best korean drama..for me. Jeez I love these 2.

Oh lol btw what's that guy's name? The one who has that huge crush on ariel lin's character? Both of them were in F class aha, funny guy.

I really don't see why they feel the need to keep doing remakes of series that have been made a million times. Itazura na Kiss has a perfectly decent Japanese adaptation, and quite a good Taiwanese version in It Started With A Kiss, so why on earth would they make another one? I could say the same for BOF, though. I'm already dreading this one because you can bet your bottom dollar that everyone who gets casted in this will be instantly shot to stardom, regardless of whether they've earned it or not.

@ peep
His name is Jiro Wang. He's part of the famous boy band - Fahrenheit (He's the HOT temperature). I totally fell in love with him in the drama... so much so that I looked at most of his other dramas too..

Wow. I've heard about this adaptation in the news a few weeks before...but didn't know there is concern with the production quality. Not familiar with this production company, Group Eight.

I completely ADORE the Taiwanese version of the It Started with A Kiss and They Kissed Again. It Started With A Kiss is a cute storyline with good chemistry by the leads. Though the characters were flawed (In real life, I think I would not be able to tolerate the leads because of their extreme characters i.e. extremely stupid vs. extremely arrogant / smart. ) but somehow ISWAK worked its charm and I ended up liking the characters and interested in them. The soundtrack was also good for ISWAK and I still have the songs playing on my mp3 list. ISWAK gathered lots of fans in Taiwan and internationally..since Meteor Garden, I don't think there is another TW idol drama that was able to gather that many fans/adoration. Hence, the sequel, TKA was met with huge expectations from fans. I think TKA was successful because of the leads' even better chemistry and acting. There was already a huge fanbase for the ArJoe (Ariel Lin and Joe Cheng) pairing and they did not disappoint. TKA was able to portray blissfulness and love between the family members, classmates and of course Xiang Qin and Zhi Shu. The director, actor and production team did it with heart and it showed.

As for the Korean version, I am still looking forward to it. However, if it is all about money and no "heart", then.....I'll just drop the drama.

I *think* the anime's ending has the "permission" of the mangaka - meaning, the mangaka's husband finally gave what the mangaka wanted for her manga/story to end. so, I don't think, at this point, that Group8 should freely give an ending of their own. then again, it will all depend on their negotiations.

honestly, though, before BOF, I was hoping ISWAK will be adapted into a Kdrama. I could see it happening before. but am also not that excited with the production company. then again, maybe they learned a thing or two from BOF, in terms of executing story-wise. sadly, BOF garnered such high ratings that Group 8 might not even realize their failures.

(now i'm going to watch ISWAK and TKA for the umpteeth time.)

Lol. This kinda turned into a BOF discussion. xD

Aniwhos, I've watched the anime and the Taiwanese version. I like the anime more than the drama version. Why? Ariel Lin's character that plays Kotoko is extremely annoying the the drama series... like.. she's a freaking stalker AND pretty stupid... I did not get how he fell in love with her.. I guess it's all the "kind, innocent, & caring" things that supposedly all guys in drama fall for.

I find the anime cuter and.. well more endearing in my opinion.

Both the anime and Twdrama version have happy endings so if the Kversion is going to be "original & different" then does that mean they will not end up together...? Hmm, I hope the cast will be good.. like you guys said before, I would love to see Kim Bum and Kim So Eun pair up again (: but I highly doubt it.

OH NO! I saw this post and those were the words that came instantly out of my mouth!

Not because I don't want a Korean production of another favourite anime. No. The 'oh no' was in response to the many months that I can forsee of me obsessing over another drama.

ISWAK was another favourite of mine, even though I found Ariel's character very annoying. Again it was the lead male who drew me in. Will Group 8 use LMH again? One can only wait and see.

So, we get another adaptation of a popular shojo manga about a naive (read: stupid) and innocent (read: boring personality) girl that falls in love with the most awesome (read: rich/smart/ athletic /all of these + awful personality) boy at school.
What a surprise! *yawn*
And all this time I was hoping that someone will be brave enough to pick something a bit more interesting like Mars or LIFE…

Yes, so I just finished watching a few fanmade mvs after reading this article and I feel like watching iswak again.rawrr, oh man this sucks. despite the kind of unrealistic characters, I kind of understand how those very leads came to like each other. That's a good thing or else I wouldve dropped the drama since the girl character is a bit on the annoying side. But thumbs up for ariel, she did a complete turn for that character.it's a 'dreamy' kind of drama;watched it during college sem lol.alright I hate to but I gotta watch it again.

This production team seem to also bought the rights to GOKUSEN.

ugh I think it's just me who think this way but - Please don't cast Kim So Eun and Kim Bum. I really hated them in BOF they were so annoying together!! but the strange thing is that I loved Sojiro and Yuki on Hana Yori Dango. Anway slightly off tangent there. I actually don't like tdramas - but ended up really liking IswaK. I hope they casted really great actors. Kotoko is extremely annoying and the male lead's character is such a cold and uncaring asshole. I actually really hate the storyline and the characters, but for some reason Ariel Lin and Joe Cheng made it enjoyable for me, it must be their amazing chemistry and their acting abilities, they were just plain awesome on screen. I usually hate asian music but the soundtrack was really good. I hope kversion will be good if not better than IswaK! But I'm not holding a lot of hope.

uhm.. can't wait to see it.. i love the taiwanese version, i only hope that they should cast good characters for it..

Seriously all the Korean versions sucked..(BoF was ridiculous..) so i hope they wont butcher this one..

Everyone by now knows how amazing the chemistry on ISWAK and TKA was. They were adorable as they fell in love in ISWAK (very believable) while they were so cute as newlyweds in TKA. Few mentioned though just how amazing the soundtrack of ISWAK was. Really good as an album on its own and worth downloading to listen to! :)

ISWAK was my first asian drama ever and the reason for all my current obsessions. I want to see their version as long as they don't slaughter it.

we all know that ISWAK and TKA were really good and the main leads portrayed the characters well,
and we all know that BOF is such a BIG failure
wrong casts esp for that ahjumma turned high school girl aka GEum jandi aka Goo hye sun, that was ugly enough (at least for me), I skipped all of her parts (all of them!!), and I was tired to see her useless cuteness (for me she's not that cute, that thick make up didn't help her!)

and I hope if group 8 will make k vers. of ISWAK, they won't do it as they did in BOF, really it'd be a failure!
and I wonder the casts, please don't put an ahjumma again!!!