Cartoon-based web series draws over 10 mln views in a week

When a young man with no dating experience spots a beautiful woman at a library, he gives her a piece of paper asking her to go out with him. What the puzzled woman sees on the paper is a complicated math formula. He returns later, expecting a yes. Instead, the woman coolly pulls out the paper, which shows the answer is "18," a number that sounds like "shit" in Korean. He tries to explain that there must have been a mistake, that he meant to ask the question on the other side. Her answer, she says, is still the same. He leaves, but only after defiantly turning the pages of her book.

The man's name is Jo Seok, the awkward but goodhearted protagonist of the new web series "The Sound of Your Heart." The drama, which is based on the eponymous webtoon, has drawn more than 10 million views since its premiere on the Internet portal Naver last week.

Part of its popularity can be attributed to the success of the original work. "The Sound of Your Heart," written by Jo Seok (who shares the same name as his character), is the longest-running webtoon in the country, with more than 1,000 episodes published on Naver since its launch 10 years ago.

This collage shows promotional images from the web series "The Sound of Your Heart." Photo:Yonhap

But the series' producers and cast have also done their fair share.

Ha Byoung-hun, the director of the series, said he kept elements of the original, such as its strong use of parody, but also added new touches and episodes.

"Parodies are only fun if they reflect the current social conditions, and I realized that if I just reproduced (the original work), people would say we lacked a sense for the real world," Ha said in a recent interview with Yonhap News Agency.

Jo gave the producers the liberty to do what they wished. Acknowledging the difficulties of producing a remake, he even "reassured" Ha that the series would get bad reviews no matter how it was made.

"The fans of the original work were my biggest worry right up until the online launch," Ha said.

In the role of aspiring cartoonist Jo, Ha and the writers unanimously picked Lee Kwang-soo for his naive and simple image. The actor is well-known in Asia as a cast member of the hit variety show "Running Man" and has been called "Prince of Asia" by his fans.

This image shows Jo Seok (2nd from R) and his family in the web series "The Sound of Your Heart." Photo:Yonhap

The series depicts the everyday lives of Jo and his family with offbeat humor and charm. To round out the cast, Ha said he needed someone special to play the part of Ae-bong, Jo's female friend who begins to have a growing presence in his life.

When he met Jung So-min, the director discovered a potential for Ae-bong in the actress's easygoing and unaffected attitude.

He also cast a number of celebrities in cameo roles and was quick to mention appearances by Song Joong-ki, the star of the megahit TV series "Descendants of the Sun."

"Song played a completely different character from Yoo Si-jin in 'Descendants of the Sun,'" he said. "He appears in the first and final episodes of our drama and plays a very important role in the overall story."

"The Sound of Your Heart" is scheduled to air on public broadcaster KBS on Dec. 9. Its broadcasting rights have also been sold to the Chinese portal site Sohu.

On calls for a second season, Ha said, "It's possible only if viewers really want it."

This image shows Jo Seok (L) and Ae-bong in the web series "The Sound of Your Heart." Photo:Yonhap

(Yonhap)