8 Classics That Should Be Adapted into Gritty K-Dramas

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

This 1978 children’s enigma is deliciously twisty, with  eccentric characters and closed country structure. When Samuel Westing, proprietor of Sunset Towers dies, helium names assorted tenants arsenic his heirs, with the caveat that they indispensable lick his execution that 1 of them committed. The tenants are paired randomly, with a stack of currency and a acceptable of bewildering clues. As a gritty K-Drama, precise small would request to beryllium changed, including the Hoo’s baseball-themed Chinese restaurant. The Ameri-centric clues could beryllium adapted to acceptable South Korean civilization and history. The Westing Game has yet to person a due surface adaptation, though HBO presently holds the rights to a TV series, truthful we whitethorn spot immoderate benignant of grim, R-rated adaptation connected the horizon. 

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

This 19th century French classical has already been transformed into a K-Drama doubly successful the past decade, but what’s 1 more? Promised captainship, young sailor Dantés spends years wrongfully imprisoned. During his imprisonment, Dantés learns of an immense luck that helium uses erstwhile helium escapes to go the Count of Monte Cristo. One by one, Dantés exacts his revenge connected those who imprisoned him, ruining their reputations and relationships. Retribution, treasure hunting, and serialized storytelling — The Count of Monte Cristo is practically meant for TV. As a K-Drama, The Count of Monte Cristo could beryllium an espionage thriller, a governmental drama, oregon costume drama. 

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The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I know, I know, this publication is SO American, but enactment that speech for conscionable a minute. Place Daisy, Nick, and Gatsby successful 21st period Seoul, and it’s fundamentally the aforesaid story. A communicative of people and identity, The Great Gatsby would enactment beautifully arsenic a K-Drama. The disillusionment of the American imagination is replaced with bleak millennial cynicism, everlastingly chasing intolerable stability. Gatsby, the mysterious nouveau riche expected playboy, obsessed with success, is ever waiting for the different footwear to drop. Original elements of the publication — Myrtle’s death, Tom’s brutishness and racism, and the eventual decease of Gatsby are disturbing capable to grow into a afloat series. 

One Thousand and One Nights

Gathered implicit centuries from aggregate countries successful Asia and Northern Africa, this monolithic postulation has been adapted hundreds of antithetic ways. In the framework story, Scheherazade crafts tales to amuse her husband, King Shahryä, and spare her beingness — astatine slightest until the adjacent night. These stories are funny, scary, erotic, and fantastical, with elements of poetry, analyzable storytelling, subject fiction, satire, and horror. A K-Drama bid could research the antithetic editions and translations, playing connected classical themes of destiny and destiny, and mirroring a precarious framework story. 

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

This classical conscionable needs a fewer twists and turns and it’s halfway to being a Gothic thriller. Spoiled orphan Mary is sent to unrecorded with her uncle successful the English countryside successful a dark, bleak manor home. The Secret Garden is a communicative of softening and maturation arsenic Mary finds her spot and forms friendships. In a much sinister adaptation, Misselthwaite Manor would entrap an older Mary, letting the acheronian turn wrong of her. Uncle Craven would play the portion of the villain, cruel and dangerous. Dread would creep done the home, increasing similar vines successful the garden. As successful galore K-Dramas, a supernatural constituent would look successful the garden, with Aunt Lillias’s shade informing Mary of Craven. The refuge of the plot acts much arsenic a prison, entangling Mary and the viewers until she finds her mode out.

The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima

First published successful 1954, this Japanese coming-of-age caller is an adaptation of the past Greek caller of Dapnis and Chloe. Shinji, a young fisherman, falls successful emotion with pearl diver, Hatsue. Vicious rumors dispersed rapidly successful the tiny village, and Shinji indispensable look a typhoon unsocial to beryllium his worth. Although this caller is short, cosmopolitan themes of antheral vs. nature, class, power, and emotion make The Sound of Waves relevant for a K-drama adaptation. Shinji’s rival, a affluent hothead, could beryllium immoderate modern K-Drama villain. Chiyoko, pining aft Shinji, is the secondary emotion interest, and would beryllium fixed a revenge plot. Hatsue’s wealthy, neglectful begetter would inactive effort to wed Hatsue to idiosyncratic other successful an updated version.

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

Surprisingly, this 19th century French doorstopper has ne'er been adapted into a K-Drama. Jean Valjean, a convicted breadstuff thief, spends the remainder of his beingness seeking redemption. Complex, political, and populated by vibrant characters, Les Mis is a harrowing epic of justness and love. So overmuch of the caller takes spot successful the sewers that a gritty K-Drama adaptation would look sterile successful comparison. 

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

Divided into 12 chapters for months of the year, this Mexican caller is prepped for TV serialization. Fifteen-year-old Tita experiences aggravated emotions connected with those astir her, virtually pouring her feelings into her cooking. Forbidden from marrying, Tita is forced to stay astatine location nether her mother’s controlling hand. Seemingly whimsical with enchanted recipes, this household saga is afloat of closet skeletons and aggravated spirits. Similarly, different Magical Realism classics, like One Hundred Years of Solitude and The House of the Spirits, would marque beautiful, acheronian K-Dramas.