Cheese in the Trap Writer Soonkki Expressed Her Stand in the Criticisms of the Webtoon Drama Adaptation

February 25, 2016 - Soonkki, the writer of the popular webtoon Cheese in the Trap wrote on her blog her stand in the netizens' criticisms about the drama adaptation. The writer expressed that the production team had contacted her during the early preparations of the hit tvN drama. With the webtoon still ongoing, she had shared the possible ending to the production team. She expressed that she wanted the drama to have a different ending in order to avoid spoilers in the webtoon which she couldn't confirm now because no one from the team had consulted her after. She wrote that upon reading the script of episode 6 she had lost contact with the production team and now doesn't have any relations with the drama's story.

[SPOILER ALERT!!!] [UPDATED]

What was being criticised?

The netizen's criticisms started when the story became just like any romantic drama. You see, in a typical Korean drama a love story will not progress without a love triangle. Cheese in the Trap is never an exception. The drama was highly praised during its early run but things got messy when the writing focused on the character of Baek Inho and then Seol becoming confused who to choose which was never in the webtoon.

Park Hae Jin's entertainment company also expressed their frustrations with the drama's direction. It was revealed that a lot of Park Hae Jin's scenes was cut in the broadcast which they couldn't understand. The original script is a proof that a lot of Yoo Jung's scenes was being deleted. 

Rants and Opinions:

I know, I even wrote that you should watch the drama adaptation. It is fun. Really! Don't get me wrong! I enjoyed the first few episodes. It is worth to try. The thing is, honestly, I found another drama that made me more excited which I will write a review later. 

I am a super fan of the webtoon.  I remember finishing the last 3 Seasons in just a week. Its because I can see Hong Seol in myself. Her expressions, her thoughts, and concerns, it just screams me all the time. Also, I can find a little Yoo Jung in myself too, but I am not that manipulative though. What I am trying to say is, I became so invested with the webtoon characters that watching the drama just became so familiar and so that is why I am so frustrated with how the story is wrapping up. For me, the webtoon's charm is its unique representation of Yoo Jung and Hong Seol's relationship.

People in twitter are raging about how Inho is a jerk in the webtoon. I never saw him as a jerk, never. The boy was lost. He lost his dreams and is still broken with how his life turned out but he was never a jerk for me. As the webtoon goes on, you can see that he is trying to conquer himself. He was trying to find a place where he could belong again. But the drama, the frustrating drama, made Inho a hopeless romantic guy who wanted to catch the main actress' heart which never formulated in the webtoon. Its just a pity because Seo Kang Joon was doing a good job in portraying the character and now he getting hate.

I guess its the pacing that actually sucked. The drama's story was a little fast paced for me. I was hoping that they could at least give emphasis to Jung's manipulative side. Like that one story in his childhood where he made a girl drunk out of annoyance. Or that one time when he manipulated one of his grade school classmate during a project session in his house. Yoo Jung is a dark character that can be so frustrating but at the same time he has this emotional side that should have been tackled. How I wish Seol and Yoo Jung's drama characters bickered more before finding comfort in each other. Park Hae Jin's visuals and acting are turned into scrap by the drama's production team. 

The main problem to this is the webtoon's future. How I wish that tvN made the drama adaptation after the webtoon finishes. I know what I'm saying is kind of nonsense but I feel sorry for Soonkki the most. She loved, protected and cared for every character in the webtoon but the drama adaptation just made everything a mess. I mean Misaeng which was also an adaptation of a popular webtoon  but it was successful with just nothing but praises during its run so why can't tvN do that with Cheese in the Trap. That is another with adaptations when you go right you will please the hearts of millions of fans but once you go wrong you will always be witch hunted. As the saying goes, "Never judge a book by its movies". I personally think for Cheese in the Trap its just a matter of pacing and connection with the original writer. 

Although, we as netizens has say whether its praise or criticisms to the drama, the main point is we cannot change anything now because the filming was already finished. All episodes are ready to air. The cast even had their wrapped up party just recently. Our point of view will only remain ours. We just have to wait for the drama's ending. That is the main thing with a preproduced drama.

Even though things are becoming messy, I still thank the production team for without them we would never appreciate the talent of Kim Go Eun, Park Hae Jin and Seo Kang Joon. I just hope that the scriptwriter director was not an obvious fangirl of Seo Kang Joon. Not that I don't understand her because the guy is gorgeous and I like him too. The thing is Hong Seol and Yoo Jung should have been the main focus of the story. I guess this time Soonkki experienced being trapped between the tvN team and the netizens just like just like the webtoon's story.