Sandara Park of 2ne1 (Photo : Kpop)
After the successful TV debut of the South Korean webtoon “Cheese in the Trap” in January 2016, a movie version of the manhwa series would be made. Filming of the webtoon, a trend in Korea in which webcomics or manhwa are made into films or TV series, begins in April.
2NE1 girl band
To star in the upcoming “Cheese in the Trap” webtoon are Sandara Park, Oh Yeon Seo, Park Hae Jin and Kim Hyun Woong. Sandara Park used to be a member of the popular Kpop female band 2NE1 which recently disbanded. She would play the role of Jan Bora, best friend of Hong Seol, lead character, PEP.ph reported.
The 32-year-old Sandara Park has gone a long way since she emerged first-runner up of a big talent search of a giant broadcast network in the Philippines in 2004 when she was in her teens. She made several movies and TV shows in the country but her career eventually floundered. However, she was able to make a successful career comeback by reinventing herself as a singer with 2NE1 and resumed her acting career, with “Cheese in the Trap” as the newest addition to her portfolio. In early March, Sandara Park also got the lead role in the Korean remake of “Begin Again,” Myxph reported.
TV series
“Cheese in the Trap” revolves around the life and relationships of university student, especially that between Hong Seol and Yoo Jung. In the 16-episode TV series that aired until March 1, 2016, over tvN, Park Hae-jin played the role of Yoo Jung who is in a difficult relationship with Hong Seol. He is the only major cast from the TV series who would be in the upcoming movie version.
In the film version of “Cheese in the Trap,” the role of Hong Seol would go to Oh Yeon Seo. Park Ki Woong would play the character of Baek in Ho, while Kim Hyun Jin would portray Kwon Eun Taek.
Korean production houses have been making webtoons since 2006 beginning with the film “APT.” “Cheese in the Trap” is among the eight webtoons produced for TV. In mid-2016, MBC aired the webtoon “ W – Two Worlds” which gained critics’ approval because of the characters were both real Korean actors and their animated versions.
Hallyu wave
Korean animation was one of the Korean wave, also called Hallyu, which gained popularity in Asia and became one of the exports of South Korea to its neighbors in the region, including Korean drama and Kpop musicians. However, Hallyu was one of the victims of the political fallout between Beijing and Seoul when China banned in mid-2016 all Korean content because of U.S. deployment of THAAD missiles from South Korea.
Fan meets of Korean celebrities in China were banned, Korean content was disallowed on Chinese streaming platform and Korean actors were removed from Chinese commercials, TV series and movies as China’s retaliation over the THAAD missile issue. Were it not for the Hallyu ban, Chinese audience would surely be avid fans of “Cheese in the Trap” just like they were with the hit Korean 2016 TV series “Descendants of the Sun.”
