The Korea Herald reports that the South Korean streaming platform Wavve is currently working on a project called "New Classic" with the aim of re-releasing popular South Korean dramas from the past, such as "My Lovely Sam Soon" (My Name is Kim Sam Soon/Hyun Bin, Kim Sun A starring), and "I'm Sorry, I Love You" (I'm Sorry, I Love You/Im Soo Jung, So Ji Sub starring) in a new format.
According to this, the original 70-minute drama will be condensed to around 6-8 episodes, each lasting 40-50 minutes, and will feature new theme songs performed by popular artists today.
"We have edited the drama to focus mainly on the main character, cutting out unnecessary elements. The order of the story will change a bit and some scenes will be built in a flashback format, to make the story flow smoothly and faster" - Han Jeong Eun, Wavve's Marketing Director, shared about the direction of the project.
The platform will also prioritize the use of modern Korean subtitles and will upgrade the SD (4:3 ratio) resolution to 4K (16:9 ratio) to improve the quality of the image and display vivid and clear colors.
Along with that, iconic songs from the dramas "My Lovely Sam Soon" and "I'm Sorry, I Love You" such as "She is" by Clazziquai, "Be My Love" and "Snow Flower" by Park Hyo Shin, will be remade. Lee Moo Jin and Sole will perform a new version of "She is", while Cloud will reprise "Be My Love" and Doyoung NCT will perform "Snow Flower".
"When considering how to improve the quality of television dramas in 2024, I found that modernizing the sound would be the most effective way to change the overall atmosphere of the drama" - CEO Han said.
According to Han Jeong Eun, the "New Classic" project promises to provide a deeper insight into the changes in social values in Korea over the past 20 years.
"Audiences will be surprised to see the changes in Korea over the past 20 years since the original drama was broadcast. For example, if Sam Soon was considered a pitiful single woman, anxious about marriage at the age of 30 when the drama "My Lovely Sam Soon" was released, she could now be considered a 30-year-old strong and independent woman, able to express her thoughts and love herself.
Watching the remade drama today will help audiences understand how perspectives have changed over time. In promotional events for the remake, I hope to include a public talk with the participants in the drama to delve deeper into the story related to Sam Soon's career".
Currently, although the official release date has not been determined, the above-mentioned dramas are expected to be released in various seasons throughout the year. For example, "I'm Sorry, I Love You" is expected to premiere in winter.
"There are some dramas that have almost been remade but not implemented, such as "Coffee Prince" (Coffee Prince), "Boys Over Flowers" (Boys Over Flowers), "Princess Hours" (Princess Hours) due to various reasons, including disputes related to the celebrities starring in the dramas, or information that they will be remade from scratch.
If this year's project is successful, I personally hope to create a special drama focusing on Kim Eun Sook - the screenwriter of hit dramas such as "Secret Garden" (Secret Garden), "Descendants of The Sun" (Descendants of the Sun)" - Han Jeong Eun added.
