Chinese Film Based on "Heirs" to Be Co-Produced Between Korea and China

“Heirs,” the hit 2013 drama that starred the hot and young cast of Lee Min Ho, Park Shin Hye, Kim Woo Bin, Krystal, Kim Ji Won, Park Hyung Sik, Kang Na Neul, Kang Min Hyuk, and Im Joo Eun, will be made into a Chinese film.

Hwa & Dam Pictures, the original producer of “Heirs,” is working with the Chinese company Happy Era Media Int’l Co., Limited to co-produce a Korea-China joint film based on the drama.

The CEO of  Hwa & Dam Pictures, Yoon Ha Lim, stated, “Inquiries into remakes for writer Kim Eun Sook‘s projects kept coming. But we thought selling the copyright for remakes just makes it a “storytelling resource,” so we started searching for something where we could focus on the “storytelling” itself, and decided on the co-production of a film. There is significance to this win-win situation in which we increase the content quality by sharing the production infrastructure of the original project.”

Yoon Ha Rim also announced that the Korean drama “A Gentleman’s Dignity,” also by writer Kim Eun Sook, will be made into a Korea-China co-produced drama for Chinese broadcast. He also revealed that this announcement showing the process of co-production comes because he can’t just standby and watch Chinese dramas or films being promoted as if they were official remakes of “Heirs.”

Yoon Ha Rim also reveals the pressure to live up to the expectations of fans and the public who loved the original drama and also find a way to localize it for the Chinese audience. He gives a little hint to some of the changes made, saying that the movie will be set in a college campus, unlike the Korean drama which was set in high school.

The scenario for the Chinese film of “Heirs” was written by writer Jang Young Shil, who has worked with Kim Eun Sook on numerous projects and also wrote the drama “My Princess,” and Kim Eun Sook directly participated and supervised in the planning of the film.

According to Chinese reports, local fans of the drama are showing high-anticipation for the film, even preparing imaginary casting lists. Even news just about the request for review by the Chinese government ranked number two on real-time search rankings.

The scenario for the Chinese film based of “Heirs” passed the review in January and is currently in the final stages of completion. The goal is to premiere the film at the end of this year.

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