The Korean remake of the Taiwanese drama "Fated To Love You" did well in Korea, earning Nielsen ratings that averaged 9.8 percent nationwide. And now the remake is also doing well in China.
Chinese audiences were so eager to see the remake that the broadcasting rights were sold for $120,000 an episode, making it the most expensive Korean drama sold in China at the time. And the drama's first episodes got 200 million views on Sohu.com, the online TV station owned bySohu, a Chinese Internet company.
The drama's star Jang Hyuk recently spoke with JoongAng Ilbo about the drama, about what prompted him to take the role and how much he enjoyed reuniting with his co-star Jang Nara.
In "Fated To Love You" the 37-year-old actor played Lee Gun, the heir to a conglomerate. Through a pretty convoluted twist of fate, he winds up sleeping with Kim Mi Young, an ordinary girl, played by 33-year-old actress Jang Nara.She discovers she is pregnant and his family is eager for an heir.
The result was a drama that expertly balanced often slapstick humor with tear-inducing moments of poignancy.
The actor said that before he began filming he watched the original 2008 version and spoke to the producers and scriptwriters about balancing the comic and heartbreaking aspects of the drama.
"We thought if we put too much weight on the comic aspects of the plot, we would end up overlooking its warmth and humanity," he told the Joongang Ilbo. "In the beginning, I worried a lot about how we were going to balance the two, because there wasn't much I could do as an actor. But as time passed, I realized the crew was doing such a wonderful job designing the set and writing the script that I was able to gradually calm my jitters."
He was happy to reunite with Jang Nara. Twelve years ago they played a couple in the SBS drama "The Successful Story of a Bright Girl." The couple lost touch after their last drama but they had no problem resuming their onscreen chemistry.
"Surprisingly enough, I felt so comfortable working with her after all those years. Even while acting in "Successful Story", I didn't talk much with her behind the camera, but somehow was able to feel her warm embrace while acting. We were both young back then, but now have grown old enough to broaden our topics of discussion."
What's next for Jang Hyuk?
If he ever gets to act with Jang Nara again, he wants to try an action role.
"Whether in Korea or China, I think people see Jang as an actress who is suitable for romantic comedies. But after working with her and discussing many topics, I've come to see she has so much potential to work in other films and genres. I think we would have better chemistry in some other genre."
Having seen them together in "Fated To Love You," fans might find it hard to imagine there could be better chemistry than what they displayed in that drama.
