8 Classics That Should Be Adapted into Gritty K-Dramas

This 1978 children’s mystery is deliciously twisty, with  eccentric characters and closed room structure. When Samuel Westing, owner of Sunset Towers dies, he names various tenants as his heirs, with the caveat that they must solve his murder that one of them committed. The tenants are paired randomly, with a stack of cash and a set of bewildering clues. As a gritty K-Drama, very little would need to be changed, including the Hoo’s baseball-themed Chinese restaurant. The Ameri-centric clues could be adapted to fit South Korean culture and history. The Westing Game has yet to have a proper screen adaptation, although HBO currently holds the rights to a TV series, so we may see some kind of grim, R-rated adaptation on the horizon. 

This 19^th century French classic has already been transformed into a K-Drama twice in the past decade, but what’s one more? Promised captainship, young sailor Dantés spends years wrongfully imprisoned. During his imprisonment, Dantés learns of an immense fortune that he uses when he escapes to become the Count of Monte Cristo. One by one, Dantés exacts his revenge on those who imprisoned him, ruining their reputations and relationships. Retribution, treasure hunting, and serialized storytelling — The Count of Monte Cristo is practically meant for TV. As a K-Drama, The Count of Monte Cristo could be an espionage thriller, a political drama, or costume drama. 

I know, I know, this book is SO American, but put that aside for just a minute. Place Daisy, Nick, and Gatsby in 21^st century Seoul, and it’s essentially the same story. A story of class and identity, The Great Gatsby would work beautifully as a K-Drama. The disillusionment of the American dream is replaced with bleak millennial cynicism, forever chasing impossible stability. Gatsby, the mysterious nouveau riche supposed playboy, obsessed with success, is always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Original elements of the book — Myrtle’s death, Tom’s brutishness and racism, and the eventual death of Gatsby are disturbing enough to expand into a full series. 

Gathered over centuries from multiple countries in Asia and Northern Africa, this massive collection has been adapted hundreds of different ways. In the frame story, Scheherazade crafts tales to amuse her husband, King Shahryä, and spare her life — at least until the next night. These stories are funny, scary, erotic, and fantastical, with elements of poetry, complex storytelling, science fiction, satire, and horror. A K-Drama series could explore the different editions and translations, playing on classic themes of fate and destiny, and mirroring a precarious frame story. 

This classic just needs a few twists and turns and it’s halfway to being a Gothic thriller. Spoiled orphan Mary is sent to live with her uncle in the English countryside in a dark, bleak manor home. The Secret Garden is a story of softening and growth as Mary finds her place and forms friendships. In a more sinister adaptation, Misselthwaite Manor would entrap an older Mary, letting the darkness grow inside of her. Uncle Craven would play the part of the villain, cruel and dangerous. Dread would creep through the home, growing like vines in the garden. As in many K-Dramas, a supernatural element would appear in the garden, with Aunt Lillias’s ghost warning Mary of Craven. The refuge of the garden acts more as a prison, entangling Mary and the viewers until she finds her way out.

First published in 1954, this Japanese coming-of-age novel is an adaptation of the ancient Greek novel of Dapnis and Chloe. Shinji, a young fisherman, falls in love with pearl diver, Hatsue. Vicious rumors spread quickly in the small village, and Shinji must face a typhoon alone to prove his worth. Although this novel is short, universal themes of man vs. nature, class, power, and love make The Sound of Waves relevant for a K-drama adaptation. Shinji’s rival, a wealthy hothead, could be any contemporary K-Drama villain. Chiyoko, pining after Shinji, is the secondary love interest, and would be given a revenge plot. Hatsue’s wealthy, neglectful father would still try to marry Hatsue to someone else in an updated version.

Surprisingly, this 19^th century French doorstopper has never been adapted into a K-Drama. Jean Valjean, a convicted bread thief, spends the rest of his life seeking redemption. Complex, political, and populated by vibrant characters, Les Mis is a harrowing epic of justice and love. So much of the novel takes place in the sewers that a gritty K-Drama adaptation would seem sterile in comparison. 

Divided into 12 chapters for months of the year, this Mexican novel is prepped for TV serialization. Fifteen-year-old Tita experiences intense emotions connected with those around her, literally pouring her feelings into her cooking. Forbidden from marrying, Tita is forced to remain at home under her mother’s controlling hand. Seemingly whimsical with enchanted recipes, this family saga is full of closet skeletons and angry spirits. Similarly, other Magical Realism classics, like One Hundred Years of Solitude and The House of the Spirits, would make beautiful, dark K-Dramas.