“Descendants of the Sun” actor Song Joong-ki will play the role of a webtoon writer in “Sound of Your Heart.” The new web-drama show of KBS 2TV stars Lee Kwang Soo who would take on the role of Jo Suk, also a cartoonist.
Since Daum, a web portal in South Korea, created a webtoon service in 2003 and Naver the year after, webtoons have become a very popular reading fare in the country. Webtoons comprise about 25 percent of all book sales in South Korea, with 10 million users who regularly read free webcomics and another 3 million paying for online webtoons.
To indicate how popular webtoons are, a number of dramas in South Korea are based on webtoons. The list includes “Sensory Couple” based on Man Chwi’s “Girl Who Sees Smells,” “Flower Boy Next Door” based on Yoo Hyun Sook’s “I Watch Him Every Day” and “Fool’s Love” based on Yoo Hyun Sook’s “Hogu’s Love,” according to Dramafever.
In mid-2016, “W Two Worlds” created noise in the South Korean TV landscape because of its high rating. It was based on a webtoon, starring Han Hyo Joo and Lee Jong Suk. A production of MBC, “W Two World” beat KBS’s drama “Uncontrollably Fond” even if the KBS production starred Bae Suzy and Lee Min Ho.
If webtoons are popular, Song Joong-ki is more popular because when he reported to the set of “Sound of Your Heart,” all the female staff members of the web-drama showed up. Even if they are used to working with Hallyu celebrities, the women workers are still starstruck with Soong Joong-ki. Lee Kwang Soo admitted he was not aware that they have that many women workers some of whom he said he has never seen before, IBT reported.
The unusually high number of female staffers was also noticed by Ha Byung Hoon, director of “Sound of Your Heart” who estimated the number of employees who showed up at the set of “Sound of Your Heart” was double the usual. He added that Song Joong-ki accommodated the request of all female staffers to have a photograph with him before he left the set.
‘Sound of Your Heart” premiered on Friday, Dec. 9 and would run until Jan. 6, 2017. Since Soong Joong-ki’s role is cameo, he would appear only at the first and last episodes of the web-drama which is aired by KBS 2TV and streamed in China by Sohu TV.