The rise and fall of Cheese in the Trap

1,396 February 25, 2016May 23, 2016

by javabeans

By now, you’ve probably already heard plenty about the brouhaha surrounding Cheese in the Trap, which we haven’t commented on too much here—mostly because the controversy started off at a relatively low rumble with claims that were, for the large part, difficult to substantiate or confirm.

But I’ve been keeping an eye on the developing headlines, and somewhere in the past couple days, it feels like the controversy reached a tipping point and is now gaining momentum and intensity, rather than dying down. I’d wanted to wait for more official statements and facts to come out before talking about it, and now that we’ve had multiple statements from key parties, including Park Hae-jin, it seems a good time to weigh in.

Reading the Cheese recap comments, it seems like most fans are already aware of the issues so I won’t go into comprehensive detail, but to give the general overview: Fans have always been critical of Cheese deviating from its original material, but for the most part, after the show premiered to praise and massive ratings, those comments calmed down for a while. However, about halfway through the show, the complaints began growing again, coupled with the increasing disgruntlement over the drama’s curious shortening of star Park Hae-jin’s screentime (playing Yoo Jung, but you know this already), which has coincided with the drastic increase in screentime for his co-star Seo Kang-joon (Baek In-ho).

We’d all noticed this, I’m sure, but it feels like things really blew up this week after Episodes 13 and 14 aired, and our lead actor was hardly in them.

A lot of conspiracy theories are floating around for why this might happen, but I have to admit at first I disregarded them as overreaching by upset fans. After all, I don’t see any problem with a drama deviating from source material to be its own thing, and viewers can’t expect or demand that a show re-create a webtoon perfectly. That said, the longer this controversy stretched, the more confused I got, and now I have to join the chorus of puzzled viewers wondering if there isn’t something to the rumors—I’m not one for conspiracy theories, but this whole situation is so bizarre that there aren’t many explanations otherwise.

I don’t actually find the main plot points of the drama to be too problematic on paper—for instance, In-ho struggling to reclaim his life, Jung and Seol arguing and making up—but it’s a case where the balance is all wrong. By skewing the focus so drastically, the show has altered the effect of the story in a way that now feels unnatural to its intent.

It came out that there were significant edits made to the shot footage, which was markedly different from the footage that was aired, which happened to favor a focus on Seo Kang-joon over Park Hae-jin. My jaw dropped to read reports that Park Hae-jin hadn’t been invited to the show’s own wrap party or reward vacation. (He clarifies this in the interview below.) There are rumors that Park Hae-jin finished shoots on the show a full five days in advance of Kim Go-eun or Seo Kang-joon, which is mind-boggling.

On a related note, I do also have to issue a mea culpa of sorts for Episode 13, because at the time I wrote the recap, I wasn’t aware of the full behind-the-scenes controversy, and therefore merely thought that while it was curious that Park Hae-jin was getting so little to do, I was sure—so totally confident—that the drama was just on a minor detour that there was no way he was going to be shafted in the long run. Because of course that’s how it should be! Who writes a drama and cuts out the hero at the end?

The story of Cheese in the Trap was so clearly about Seol and Jung, with In-ho playing a supporting role, and so I presumed In-ho would get his big moment and then fade away, like Copycat Min-soo and Stalker Young-gon. I had too much faith in the show to consider that anything else might happen, but after reading through the massive flood of new articles currently floating around in the internet ether, I’m concerned that I was too optimistic, and that the show might not right its course.

On February 24, webtoon writer Soonkki wrote publicly on her blog about the production not consulting her about the plot after Episode 6. She stated that the show contacted her later about the last two episodes, then disregarded her requests not to write a certain ending, lest it overlap too much with her own plans for the webtoon’s ending, which is yet to come. She wrote, “Considering that the medium is different, I’d wanted the drama to have a different feel from the original. However, it was reported that the drama was ‘faithful to the original.’ While the drama was being produced to be faithful to the original, I did not receive even one call, and I don’t know what plot will be produced.”

And that brings us to today, with new interviews with Park Hae-jin asking him for his thoughts on the matter. He is diplomatic but somewhat forthcoming, enough that we can read between the lines. I always find Korean stars to be so excessively polite and image-conscious that they hardly say anything in interviews, and therefore you know things must be really bad for them to say anything negative about their projects or the people they’ve worked with. (Mostly, it’s starting to look like PD Lee Yoon-jung must be nuts, and Park Hae-jin is a class act. PD Lee is getting a firestorm of flak right now, with Park Hae-jin being inundated with public sympathy. As this is also my sentiment, I have no problems with the current tide of public opinion.)

At the time that the drama’s reward vacation plans were announced, Park was asked about it and replied that he’d never heard anything about it. This time he clarified, “This is something I think I have to explain clearly. Because of my schedule, I told them in advance that I wouldn’t be able to go, and I think that’s why they didn’t contact me. Later I heard about the reward vacation’s time and location through the news. As I said, I didn’t know anything about it… The next day at an event, I was told, ‘I tried to tell you the plans, but the news came out first.’ If I’d heard [the talk] that I didn’t go because I was hurt over the drama, I think I would have just gone. It’s a situation that got misrepresented through misunderstanding.”

Park was asked about certain complaints about the drama character not living up to the webtoon character, and it sounds like Park himself wasn’t happy with the characterization.

Park Hae-jin: “It’s possible the drama viewers would think that. In my family, my noona and I have read the webtoon, while my brother-in-law and mother haven’t. Those who haven’t read it ask me, ‘Why is Yoo Jung doing that?’ and I explain it to them. There’s no need to take the webtoon directly as is, but in the drama there’s a connecting flow and you need to create plausibility. There’s a slight disconnected feeling, and in some parts it could be like ‘fishing’ [bait-and-switching] to viewers. From the viewer’s standpoint, you need to be able to sympathize and relate.”

He added, “If the plot interferes with plausibility or is unable to be understood, you can’t watch the drama. There are parts I’m disappointed about. There are parts where the feeling between what we shot and what aired is different.”

He said, “There are things I’m disappointed with regarding the screentime and editing. But even being the lead character, depending on the episode your emphasis could be greater or lesser. Truthfully, I don’t think the real problem is the screentime or editing. The biggest issue is that my character, Yoo Jung, has changed. He carries hidden scars that he can’t show to others. He smiles to cover that up, and shows a bright face. There are certain scenes that are necessary to show the characters’ internal and external sides. But in the drama, they were different from the original. I was disappointed in this point. I chose Cheese in the Trap because of Yoo Jung’s duality, with his sweet and chilling sides.”

“Past the first half of the series, this side of Yoo Jung wasn’t revealed much. Thus the character’s very essence was weakened, and changed. More than the shortening of my screentime because of the editing, I’m just so disappointed in the character faltering.”

“I really wanted to take on the role of Yoo Jung, but I’m disappointed that I wasn’t able to show something more. And I’m also sorry to writer Soonkki of the original.”

A source from his management’s side said, “When he agreed to take the role, he only had one condition. That they not shatter the original. He only wanted for the characters’ personalities and situations to be explained adequately. Now only Episodes 15 and 16 remain. Park Hae-jin’s part is small, but he put forth his best effort. He mentioned that he’d be a ‘scene stealer.'” Also: “From Episode 10 onward, we asked the producers constantly to explain. But all they said was that they were in talks with Soonkki.”

What about the ending? Park said, “I don’t know how the ending will be. There are a lot of instances where we filmed things that didn’t air, so even I will have to watch the broadcast to know. But since it’s a drama I appeared in, I hope it will wrap up well.”

“Because filming has already wrapped, I can only wait to see how the director edited things. It’s upsetting. I worked hard as the actor in the lead, but I’m sad I couldn’t show more.”

One source with the drama said, “The original [story] has completely crumbled. Episodes 15 and 16 contain events that are incomprehensible.”

Park seems to be unhappy with PD Lee Yoon-jung’s direction, though he seemed careful not to badmouth her. Regarding the constant changes to the script, he said, “There were a lot of revisions made on set, to the extent that a script being complete became meaningless. I heard that’s her style.”

He described how PD Lee didn’t seem that concerned with sticking to the original material, and would sometimes ask why it was a problem. His interviewer asked if the new parts—the scenes the drama created that weren’t in the original—were the problem. He replied, “[The drama] didn’t capture the parts that are in the webtoon well, either. I’d like to ask the director once, why she did that. I don’t know what is still to come, but I’d still like to ask that.”

“When I watched the broadcast, Yoo Jung didn’t appear very much. I’d like to ask [the director] why. It’s not only the scenes I filmed, but there were child parts that were entirely skipped, and the emotional lines between Yoo Jung and his father, and parts where we could have explained more and still been insufficient, but got removed. There were things that didn’t get filmed, but even things we filmed were edited out. So I’d like to ask that myself, what the reason was.”

Park’s management company, WM Company, stated, “The viewers’ reactions are already known, and we’re extremely disappointed about the screentime issue. We just don’t understand why things that were already filmed were cut out. There are major scenes for Yoo Jung that were shot that weren’t included. [He/we] expressed extreme opposition to the current plot, but [they] did not accept any of it.”

He was asked if he’s satisfied about what’s aired. He replied, “To be honest, it would be a lie to say I’m 100% satisfied. The reason I confirmed Cheese in the Trap at the very start when the director, writer, or anything else hadn’t been decided was the because of the strength of the original, and my trust in the webtoon. Right now, I have nothing to trust in.”

Even so, a source with WM Company and the production staff did give an interview on the 26th stating that rumors of discord between Park Hae-jin and PD Lee were completely groundless and “pointless rumors.”

Meanwhile, through this all, PD Lee Yoon-jung has remained quite tight-lipped, only saying in one phone interview, “You’ll have to talk to the drama’s team leader, not me.” Also, “I can’t really talk about it, so I don’t plan to give an interview.”

She told one reporter, “I’ll talk about it later, in other circumstances. That means I’ll tell you if we meet on personal terms.” That is to say, off the record.

Park did express gratitude for the response to his role: “I’m thankful for receiving love beyond my expectations. I don’t know if I was able to bear the weight of the webtoon. Rather than bearing it, there were parts that were incomplete. I did my best with the situation I was given. I’ll work hard on what was lacking to show a better side in the future. I’ll return having grown more.”

“I think I’ve changed a little through doing this drama, about doing my best to protect the character. I had thought that an actor just has to do a good job on set, and get along with the other actors and staff without trouble. But it doesn’t seem that’s all there is to it.”

Via Herald, IS Plus, Sports Khan, Star News, Dailian, My Daily, TV Report, Hankyung, Sports Khan, Munhwa, Osen, Hankooki, FN News, Seoul Shinmun

1,396

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101 Miky

February 26, 2016 at 3:32 AM

I really feel bad for the original writer,she said she told the PD the ending on her own webtoon that is to come and asked of them to create another one for the drama not to spoil her own work that is still ongoing yet they didn't listen at all,cut connection with her and used her original ending for the drama...It also looks like the PD is not on her first time destroying characters like that,she did in the past as well with her main leads...but to say again she doesn't want to coment on the stuff what the heck...The sold the drama to China becauser of PHJ star power there,sponsors etc. and PHJ is mostly promoting it there,because of his popularity got sold off and now they did this,use him and descard him,making him for days with tight shedule on his own and they cut his filmed stuff to make SKJ re-film his stuff,what kind of twisted is this...they destroyed one of the most important char in a while aka Jung..so unproffesional even more to what they did to PHJ and even more to the original writer,shame on the PD....

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lunatic4kd

February 26, 2016 at 5:58 AM

WOW! It's absolutely HUGE that PHJ would publicly comment like that - and to the depth that he did. After three years of watching over 150 dramas and reading everything I can find about them, I'm stunned and proud of PHJ for his honesty and bravery. Now I'm really paying attention to him as an actor.

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skelly

February 26, 2016 at 7:32 AM

Me too. I am so impressed with how he handled this, both on and off the screen, that he is definitely on my radar now.

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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉

February 26, 2016 at 10:28 AM

yeah, even if he does have leverage thanks to his popularity in China, it took guts to actually speak out because there is so much at risk for him and it's usually not done to break the code of silence surrounding bts issues in dramas.

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102 Cherry

February 26, 2016 at 3:50 AM

This is like the Reply 1998 all over again for me. I'm just going to stop watching and end it with me own imagined ending with S&J

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103 damianna

February 26, 2016 at 4:01 AM

The piano had a lot more screen time than PHJ. Poor guy. Go read the webtoon people.

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104 TJ

February 26, 2016 at 4:16 AM

First it's a tv drama, not a G8 summit. Next, actors get their scenes edited and cut all the time in post production. Korean drama watchers are just used to very often being able to influence the tone, who gets screen time and the outcome of a drama because of the way most kdramas are produced, at the last minute. So in consequence often dramas go off the rails because of viewer influence and many a career has been boosted as well. Perhaps the PD decided to strengthen the In Ho character on the initial strength of the positive reaction to Seo Kang joon. They new from the beginning that they would need to deviate from the ending planned by the original writer.

That being said It doesn't surprise me that Seo Kang joon has siphoned off a lot of Park Hye Jin's limelight or that he had a little help in doing it. Perhaps there are some Roommate viewers here that remember how extremely uncomfortable it was to watch so many of the scenes with Seo Kang Joon and Park Min woo. Every time Seo Kang joon walked into a room the women there would loose their damned minds and start acting like idiots. Min woo finally had a melt down over it. Constantly taking a back seat to Kang joon even though he was smarter, more athletic, tall and good looking in his own right. I failed to see it. I just never thought the boy was good looking enough for all the women to behave so silly around him. Surely after you realized he had about as much personality as a boiled potato the initial reaction to his good looks would wear off. He's been pushed hard and received a lot of pretty choice roles ever since. I don't know if anyone is "sponsoring" him. I'm inclined to think not. I just think the kid got lucky, he's pretty and he's able to cash in on his looks. If nothing else korean celebs are commodities, they generate revenue if your boy is pretty and the girls like him, he'll get somewhere.

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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉

February 26, 2016 at 4:30 AM

....except that this drama has gone completely off the rails WITHOUT any influence from the viewers, and this isn't the view of Jung-biased shippers, it's also the view of the author of the webtoon.

You may think Park Hae Jin is whatever as an actor or Jung is whatever as a character, but to excuse this gross unprofessionalism and disrespect against him as a condition of the business is beyond ridiculous, given how extreme things have to be for him and Soonkki to be speaking up at all.

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TJ

February 26, 2016 at 5:48 AM

This is not nearly as bad as Mirae's Choice. The way the fans derailed Dong Gun's comeback with that drama was painful to watch. And it didn't help matters that the object of that insult is a guy with nothing but good looks and zero acting chops. As for Park hye joon getting upstaged, why should I care when I don't care that much about him as an actor anyway. I'm not of fan of either him or Seo Kang joon. I stated in the beginning that I think Hye Joon isn't the greatest actor. He was just well suited for this role

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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉

February 26, 2016 at 7:49 AM

You don't even make any sense anymore.

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JISG

February 26, 2016 at 8:56 AM

I think we need to start treating his/her comments as entertaining things kids say and just move on lol

TJ

February 26, 2016 at 4:51 PM

I should never have weighed in on the discussion about the characters and plot. I usually don't beat those things to death. I notice that the Kdrama watching community spends a lot of energy thinking about character and plot development in a genre that I find to be mostly lacking in those areas. No I don't like the Jung character but he has been interesting to watch up until I realized he's not experiencing any growth. Now I'm just bored with the machinations and don't care how lonely he is. No I don't like PHJ or SKJ as actors either really. PHJ gets a lot of praise for his ability but from what I've observed he's not an actor with great range. SKJ just seems to lack charisma to go along with his pretty face and really hasn't had enough experience for us to see any range from him either. Generally if I comment I stick to particulars about how I feel the actors are performing and don't get too wrapped up in character motivation or plot.

pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉

February 26, 2016 at 9:51 PM

I strongly disagree with the idea that Seo Kang-joon doesn't have enough acting experience to make it clear whether he has range or not - Park Bo-gum is the same age as SKJ and has done roughly the same number of projects, and pretty comprehensively established just what his range is.

What's been quite evident from SKJ's projects so far is that the only roles he's capable of are the bad-boy-with-a-heart-of-gold type - which is Baek In-ho in this drama to a T.

Kammy

February 26, 2016 at 9:10 AM

Who is Hae Joon?... You mean Park Hae Jin?

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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉

February 26, 2016 at 10:29 AM

they've been getting his name wrong all over the recap too, it seems to be a point of principle not to spell it right.

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anonon

February 26, 2016 at 4:54 AM

Your comments are always a trip, I'll say that, lol.

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fromthesnow

February 26, 2016 at 5:03 AM

.....

OMG HAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

This folks, deserves a comment of the year. Someone give this poor soul a sponsorship. They might be going through a hard time and needs some lovin.

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Dani

February 26, 2016 at 5:33 AM

he does going through some rough time. he's been trolling and throwing his love for Jung's character since day 1. Funny on someone who can differentiate that Jung is a fictional character and his baby sister that married to someone with Jung's personality trait then go on full comment war against Jung.

That advice of yours, man, you should apply it to yourself first!

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Jeanie

February 26, 2016 at 6:47 AM

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! I was just actually planning on scrolling down the comments as I'm a bit tired today but.. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! At least we have this to make us laugh :D

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KK

February 26, 2016 at 9:28 AM

Lol!

They have a hard time not projecting onto fictional characters to an unhealthy extent and not speaking of people who are different from them like they're human, if that's what you mean.

Sorry I used your comment to snark on my own.

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TJ

February 26, 2016 at 5:08 PM

Korean "fictional" characters are often forgiven in the end for some pretty deplorable things. Korean parents in drama are a very good example.

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sirrky

February 26, 2016 at 5:54 AM

Speaking as a fan of Inho in the webtoon (my fave is Seol but Inho is a close second), I'd say SKJ failed to properly project his character in the webtoon. Even from the first episode when he appeared something felt off to me, he was too puppy like and not as I imagined Inho to be. I brushed it off as he was still playing Inho to be likable, I thought I could enjoy his version of Inho just fine.

Then i found out he never bothered reading the source material so now I understand why his character came off weird to me at the start, even when things were going smoothly as far as being generally faithful to the source material, he didn't inject the right nuances, and now that the story has become what it is, he is basically not the Inho that I like from the webtoon. He's evolved into a completely different character.

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Jon G.

February 26, 2016 at 6:03 AM

I'm not sure how far SKJ is to blame for the different interpretation In-ho. Look at LSK and In-ha -- it's absolutely clear that the style of antics has been added by the show-runners, and the actress is simply doing her job there.

Among the main and main supporting characters, almost all of them have been significantly altered and portrayed differently. The only exception is Jung/PHJ, which may have to do with the fact that PHJ actively tried to stick to the webtoon character concept.

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sirrky

February 26, 2016 at 6:15 AM

You are right. As I said, I find that his portrayal is not as faithful to the characterization in the webtoon. It isn't much of an issue, other than my disappointment after I found out that he didn't bother to read the source material, which is my personal preference as I am a fan of the toon. I understand that he might want to approach it from a fresh perspective based on the drama scripts.

I honestly wouldn't have been that disappointed by it because I did enjoy the drama at the start, until it became clear that he is a completely different character. As a fan of said character I'm just disappointed.

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Jon G.

February 26, 2016 at 7:09 AM

You are right. As I said, I find that his portrayal is not as faithful to the characterization in the webtoon. It isn’t much of an issue, other than my disappointment after I found out that he didn’t bother to read the source material, which is my personal preference as I am a fan of the toon. I understand that he might want to approach it from a fresh perspective based on the drama scripts.

I remember all the discussions about this issue in the "Ice and Fire" adaption "Game of Thrones". I'm not a vivid fan of the source material, but I liked aspects of it well enough and I was very eager to see how HBO tackled this monster.

Some actors were/became absolute experts of their character and everything else in the books; others did actively avoid anything that had to do with the books. Either approach lead to great as well as disappointing performances. Two of the greatest performances came from an "Ice and Fire" nerd and an "Ice and Fire" celibate. Similarly for the rather poor performances. (I'm not saying that the poor/great performances are due to the actors. The screen writing is at least as important ...)

SKJ's portrayal of Show-Inho is relatively consistent, which convinces me that he does a good job here, that he portrays the character in the way that it is written (in the script, not the webtoon, of course). Sure, the character as he plays it has nothing to do with the (Show-)backstory, but that's a writing problem the actor cannot fix on his own.

lunatic4kd

February 26, 2016 at 6:05 AM

YES! I watched RoomMate and loved it because we got to see everyone's real personalities come out as they dealt with each other. I was never uncomfortable watching SKG but I was SUPER uncomfortable watching Park Min Woo because it became obvious that he was a bit insecure and prone to jealousy. Lee Dong Wook and Park Kang Joon were the super cool, calm, able guys in the house. PKJ was rather quiet - but always respectful and minding his own business. It was like watching a college drama unfold, when the naturally cool and competent people would rise to the top and others would feel (and act) like victims. Lee Dong Wook tried to gently counsel Park Min Woo to get a grip on himself and grow up and stop being so insecure. I've been eager to see if PMW has made any headway since then. I liked PKJ all the way through RoomMate. He seemed to be an even-tempered, calm and humble guy. It's no surprise to me he's getting a lot of attention. If he can survive the bashing he'll get from this, he'll go far as an actor. Just my two cents.

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sirrky

February 26, 2016 at 6:23 AM

I don't know who Minwoo is and how he is relevant to this drama but I feel bad for him as he is being used by the 2 of you trying to prop up SKJ.

But since we are on the subject of his previous project and reputation as charismatic ladies killer, I must say that all I knew of SKJ previously is quite different from what you two are trying to paint.

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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉

February 26, 2016 at 9:06 AM

I'm not sure what this wall of gibberish about a completely unrelated show that apparently isn't even a drama is intended to prove.

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reader92

February 26, 2016 at 11:19 AM

lmao @ invalidating everyone's justified feelings because its "just a drama and not a g8 summit"

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105 Hana23

February 26, 2016 at 4:33 AM

2 Eps left and bad yet strong signs came up to the surface (the cutting-out scenes and the 'incomprehensible' ending) #sigh.
Now I'm too afraid to see the apocalypse myself. Better to just read the recap first. Anyway, I hope things are changing at least this whole situation can give effective shock therapy to PD to get her back on the right track. I hope at least she tried as possible as she can to make the ending less horrible than what those bad signals implicitly say.

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106 TJ

February 26, 2016 at 4:35 AM

I've got to post one more time. Here's how I see it. The creator sold off her work for a tv show. Her only stipulation was that the drama not end in a similar fashion to how she planned her ending. So at some point the PD shifts the focus more toward Seo Kang Joon. Everyone just assumes that Jung gets the girl because in the webtoon that's the direction it's going. The creator doesn't even seem to care how the drama goes or how it ends as long as they don't spoil her ending.

Everyone is assuming that Jung is the "hero" but from what little I've read in the webtoon, it's more of an ensemble type of story with Seol being the ONLY central character. If that's true then the romantic aspect of the story can go either way, or not at all.

It's not the end of the world and has no effect what so ever on the webtoon fans. Watch or don't watch the ending it's up to you. It's only a tv drama anyway and PHJ still has his own career. He's just another victim of the SKJ effect. lol

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Elle

February 26, 2016 at 4:59 AM

I'd agree with the ensemble cast thing if In-ho's ever-increasing screen time didn't come at the expense of Jung's and even Seol's character development. CitT as it is now is the In-ho show.

Crucial scenes were cut to make room for piano playing filler so if it isn't gratuitous, I don't know what is. Even the original webtoon creator Soonkki felt she had to speak up and wash her hands of CJ's plot decisions. That tells you that even she thinks the show had gone astray.

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dokutokunaneko

February 26, 2016 at 5:06 AM

Agreed!
Euntaek had so much story that could have been told too. He himself was a very interesting character.
Unplug the damn piano, I say!

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minmin79

February 26, 2016 at 12:08 PM

Do it! I hate the Piano!

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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉

February 26, 2016 at 5:07 AM

To take a very beloved example from Western entertainment, imagine if they had made the Harry Potter movies and then reduced Harry's screentime to less than ten minutes per movie, while spending the entirety of the story focused on....... Snape.

Do we really think J.K. Rowling's fans would let that go?

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dokutokunaneko

February 26, 2016 at 5:10 AM

LOL For a good moment there I was imagining it and I liked it. Snape was my favorite character in the last 2 books, and to me, a far more interesting character than Harry ^^
But if the story focused on Snape at the expense of Hermione, Ron, etc., other fans (including me) would surely be mad!

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Jon G.

February 26, 2016 at 5:16 AM

while spending the entirety of the story focused on……. Snape.

And not really on Snape, just on an alternate version of him constantly pining after Lily, walking around emoing and brewing (emotionally and literally).

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dokutokunaneko

February 26, 2016 at 5:18 AM

ok now this analogy is too apt. Too close. Too soon!

pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉

February 26, 2016 at 7:28 AM

It's like you read my mind.

JISG

February 26, 2016 at 9:00 AM

Omg yes!!! I am picturing this scenario and it makes me hate the impossible: hating Snape ??
Great analogy!!

dealwithit

February 28, 2016 at 7:29 PM

oh dear...

Elle

February 26, 2016 at 5:47 AM

It's also like if Peter Jackson had cut most of Frodo's and the rest of the Fellowship's scenes and given them to Aragorn, making it so that he singlehandedly saves Gondor and then personally destroys the Ring on Mount Doom.

It's shilling one character too hard at the expense of the rest, to the point that it's hurting the show and losing the spirit of the original work.

Off-topic: Something like this did happen to Harry Potter, albeit on a smaller scale. Some of Ron's lines and moments were given to Hermione to build her up as more awesome and perfect than she is in the books, at the expense of Ron, who was made to look more like a bumbling sidekick.

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pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉

February 26, 2016 at 7:33 AM

@Elle - I remember that! The movies really painted Ron in the worst possible light - not only did he lose several good lines and scenes to Hermione, but he was also made to act wildly out of character (for instance, putting down Hermione in front of Snape).

But it was a fairly minor change compared to the one I suggested re: Harry/Snape ;)

lailamajnun

February 26, 2016 at 7:12 AM

Thank you @pogo. That's it. That is why everyone is mad. And yes SJK will bear the burnt of it.

If i didn't see other dramas of the PD i will assume, she is just some rookie PD looking for the big cash.

I am so furious for PHJ not because i am his fan but i see the biggest kind of betrayal, and insensitivity and lack of professionalism done to him.

Actors in the future should be careful of this PD cause this is the height of unprofessional-ism.

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KK

February 26, 2016 at 8:01 AM

As others have pointed out, the PD has made it sound like the higher-ups were the ones behind this. Which means if she's being truthful, it's not right, but if she's not and it was all her, she's basically throwing SKJ under the bus by what she's not saying. This whole thing is...weird.

Kween Ramyeon

February 26, 2016 at 2:59 PM

Yes, you can take a well-known and well-loved story and shift focus. For example - Wicked the musical is a resounding success as on stage and as a film - and it's taking the villain or side character and making her the focus.

However the big difference is that it is clearly marketed and presented that way. And there are already adaptations that exist that have stayed close to the sour material.

Not for Cheese in the Trap - which is a very well - loved comic. For its first outing as an adaptation, people will expect to see the story and characters they cherished depicted and not twisted away.

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TJ

February 26, 2016 at 5:14 PM

I suppose it was problematic from the start since the actual story is unfinished. Harry Potter might not be a good example maybe Game of Thrones. There certainly has been enough criticism concerning the gratuitous nudity and some minor straying from the characters in the books.

pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉

February 26, 2016 at 7:52 PM

@Dramapanda - There's a huge difference between focus-shifted adaptations/twists on previous novels like Wicked! or even Wide Sargasso Sea, and it's right there in the name - those adaptations are NOT calling themselves The Wizard of Oz or Jane Eyre.

It's entirely different from an adaptation that has the same name, characters and ostensible story as Cheese in the Trap, but derails completely midway.

@TJ - I don't see why the Harry Potter series isn't a good example, because the books were still ongoing when the first movies began production - only four out of seven were available at the time.

Five out of eight movies were released before the final Harry Potter book was published, much like Cheese which has an ending in sight and proceeded with an adaptation before the webtoon ended.

Kween Ramyeon

February 26, 2016 at 9:50 PM

@pogo

That is indeed my point.

pogo - now sailing HMS Queen of Tears with Corn Salad on deck🍉

February 26, 2016 at 5:04 AM

You're going to some lengths to find excuses for this treatment, I must say.

Soonkki was originally consulted on the drama, her involvement went beyond just taking a cheque and requesting that the ending be different. She was supposed to be consulted all through (which is why she continued to ask to see the scripts) but ignored by the very team that was supposed to be in communication with her.

Painting this as a case of the creator selling out and having no more right to speak about the representation of her work, is every bit as disingenuous as your insistence that the treatment of Park Hae-jin was just a result of regular editing.

And it's not even about who gets Seol, because Seol herself is getting shortchanged and sidelined in her own story by Baek In-ho using up the screen time to play the piano, walk through the streets to moody music, take out the rubbish, argue with gangsters.....

like someone said, the next episode would probably be about Baek In-ho's bowel movements and some people would still find a way to try and paint that as evidence of Seo Kang-joon's wonderful charisma and talent/

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