'Yumi's Cells,' 'Tomorrow:' More webtoon-based dramas to hit air

 By Dong Sun-hwa

A poster for the upcoming TV series, "Yumi's Cells" / Courtesy of TVING

Following the Bóng độ notable success of webtoon-based dramas like "Itaewon Class" (2020) and "The Uncanny Counter" (2020-21), more TV adaptations of digital comics are in the pipeline for later this year to mesmerize viewers.

One of the most anticipated series is "Yumi's Cells," which is based on the webtoon of the same name, created by Lee Dong-gun. It revolves around Kim Yumi, an office worker in her 30s, and her "personified" brain cells, which help recount Yumi's everyday life stories. The 512-episode Naver webtoon wrapped up last November, garnering more than 3.2 billion views in total.

"Guardian: The Lonely and Great God" (2016-17) star Kim Go-eun will play Yumi, with actor Ahn Bo-hyun appearing as her first boyfriend, Ku Woong. Park Jin-young, a member of K-pop boy group GOT7, will take the role of Yumi's second boyfriend, Yoo Ba-bi.

"This series is about ordinary daily life," Kim said. "Since it does not center on dramatic events, many people should find it relatable and get a chance to walk down memory lane."

The drama will blend live-action scenes and animated elements to portray Yumi's brain cells vividly. Lee Sang-yeob, who was behind the success of rom-com series "Shopaholic Louis" (2016), is directing the series, while "Find Me in Your Memory" (2020) writer Kim Yoon-joo and rookie writer Kim Kyung-ran penned the script.

"Yumi's Cells," is scheduled to premiere on tvN in September, and will also be available on the streaming platform, TVING.

Actress Kim Hee-sun / Courtesy of Hinge Entertainment

Some other TV adaptations of webtoons, such as "Tomorrow" and "Now at Our School," will hit the air next year.

Actress Kim Hee-sun will take the lead role in MBC's "Tomorrow," playing a charismatic grim reaper who helps people carry on with their lives despite hardships. As the story goes, she bumps into jobseeker Choi Joon-woong, who later teams up with her. Rowoon of K-pop boy group SF9, a singer-actor who previously starred in several works, including "Extraordinary You" (2019), is currently in talks to play Choi.

"Our soap opera will bring solace to those who are going through tough times," broadcaster MBC said. "We want to deliver a message of hope to people through this drama, which will be different in some ways from the original webtoon by Rama."

"Tomorrow" is poised to be released in the first half of 2022.

"Now at Our School," a popular horror digital comic by Joo Dong-geun, is also going to be made into a Netflix original series next year. It follows the students at a zombie-infected high school and the people risking their lives to rescue them. Actors including Yoon Chan-young, Park Ji-hoo and Cho Yi-hyun will be featured in the upcoming series, but its premiere date has been kept under wraps.

"Webtoons on Naver have been receiving the spotlight as original sources thanks to their diversity in genres and subjects, as well as high-quality storytelling," a Naver Webtoon official said. "We will continue to strive to showcase a range of content that can be appreciated by audiences globally."