'War of Flowers' Biggest Hit This Autumn

The Korean film industry marked a milestone this season as the drama "War of Flowers" in movie theaters nationwide is encouraging more film adaptations of comic books.

The flick depicting the underground world of Korea's professional card players and packing theaters this fall was born not as a screenplay, but as a cartoon. Korean directors have drawn upon cartoons in the past, but this is a watershed for the genre.

One foreign expert on movies made in Korea says there are certain advantages to adapting cartoons into films. “You may already have a group of fans of the comic who would be interested in the film, so it's easier to market the film to audiences. If we look at the examples of Japan and the U.S., for many years they've been adapting comic books into films and they've had great success with that, and so there is no reason to expect that the same thing couldn't happen in Korea as well."

Not all Korean films based on popular comics have found success. Both the horror flick "Apartment" and the teenage comedy "Dasaepo Naughty Girls" failed to win over moviegoers, each luring around 600,000 nationwide. But despite the bumpy start, some industry executives say it makes solid business sense.

"We decided to distribute 'War of Flowers' because it's less risky for the producer as we, the distributor, don't need to worry about whether the public will like the film,” the film’s distributor said.
Huh Young-man, who created "War of Flowers,” has since penned another popular comic, about a chef in a cooking competition.
Arirang News
source: The Chosun Ilbo
more about korean movie War of flowers
The korean movie "War of Flowers," based on the same-titled cartoon by cartoonist Heo Young-man, has joined the ranks of top-10 domestic movies.Since its opening September 28, the film had drawn 5.68 million viewers as of October 22, according to its distributor, CJ Entertainment, surpassing the number of viewers drawn by "Married to Mafia" (5.66 million).

If the film's popularity remains as high, it will likely even outperform "Joint Security Area," which is currently ranked ninth at 5.83 million viewers. Viewers have been raving about the film for the stunning acting of its lead korean actress Kim Hye-soo and the impressive directing skills of director Choi Dong-hoon.
Source: KBS Global