Shin Se-kyung up for leading role in Bride of the Water God 2017

154 February 19, 2017February 19, 2017

Shin Se-kyung up for leading role in Bride of the Water God 2017

by girlfriday

I was sad when Moon Chae-won turned down the leading role in tvN’s upcoming manhwa remake Bride of the Water God 2017 over a week ago, but it looks like the production is back on track with an offer out to Shin Se-kyung (Six Flying Dragons) to headline in the title role. She’s considering favorably, as is Nam Joo-hyuk (Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-ju), who seems a pretty sure bet to sign on as Ha-baek the water god.

The new drama adaptation is being called a spinoff rather than a faithful remake, since it takes the fantasy historical romance of the original manhwa and reworks it into a modern romantic comedy set in present-day Seoul. There’s some serious talent behind the scenes of the drama, with writer Jung Yoon-jung of Misaeng and Arang and the Magistrate penning the script, and PD Kim Byung-soo of Queen In-hyun’s Man and Nine directing. I’m totally skeptical of this spinoff idea, but I also can’t fathom this writer-director pair failing me, so I can’t help but be intrigued and excited for the drama to come.

In the original fantasy manhwa, villagers plagued by drought offer human sacrifices to a water god, and the heroine expects to die when she is sacrificed. Instead, the water god saves her and takes her as his bride, and she’s unaware of his curse that makes him appear as a child by day and an adult by night. It’s unclear how much of this will be retained in the spinoff drama, in which the heroine will be a neuropsychiatrist with her own practice, who is saddled with mountains of debt. She inherited most of that debt from her father, who always put humanity as a whole before his own family, and accrued the rest while putting herself through medical school.

I’ve never been very moved by Shin Se-kyung, but I also know that she’s been getting better with her recent projects and tapping into a warmer side; plus, she does seem a better fit in a romantic pairing with Nam Joo-hyuk than Moon Chae-won did. I still feel a little iffy about Nam Joo-hyuk headlining as the water god, because even though I loved him in Weightlifting Fairy, it was the first time I actually felt like he met a character that worked for him. I’ll just cross all fingers and toes that he’ll tap into something deeper, or that modern-day Ha-baek will be a puppyish water god.

Bride of the Water God 2017 will be fully pre-produced, and begins shooting in March for a broadcast later this year on tvN.

Via IS Plus, E Daily