“Death’s Game” Webtoon / Story J Company / Esquire
The popular webtoon “Death’s Game” by LEE WONSIK & GGULCHAN is finally getting a K-Drama adaptation, and fans could not be more excited. Often lauded by fans and critics alike as exceptionally well-written, “Death’s Game” is one of those webtoons that fans have always envisioned as a K-Drama.
At the time of writing, the lead actors for the K-Drama adaptation are reportedly Seo InGuk and Park SoDam. In addition, Go YounJung, Lee JaeWook, Jang SeungJo, Sung Hoon, Super Junior’s Choi SiWon, Lee DoHyun, and Kim JaeUck are in talks to join the cast too. If you’re wondering how such excellent actors got cast in the same drama, keep reading!
T/W: Self-harm, Suicide
“Death’s Game” is a fantasy melodrama webtoon that tells the story of Choi YiJae (to be played by Seo InGuk), a young man beaten down by society. After a constant spell of unemployment, romantic defeat, and financial perils, he takes the drastic decision of ending his own life. What’s more is that he does this in an indignant manner, claiming to be able to control death because death is only an insignificant way to end his pain. The moment he thinks he has ended it all, he wakes up on a plane with a different face. A white-haired woman sits by his side, reading out his suicide note. This, is Death (to be played by Park SoDam).
Introducing herself, Death expresses her vexation at YiJae insulting her, which is why she is going to punish him. Death doesn’t care about YiJae’s attitude towards Life. Instead, she is solely concerned with his disrespect towards Death. So, naturally, she decides to punish him with death…over and over again. For the sin of belittling Death, Choi YiJae must face death 13 times, and every time, he will be reborn as someone else who is also on the verge of imminent death. The nature of these deaths will be unavoidable but if YiJae is able to avert it, he may live out that life.
Thus, with the exposition of her “game”, Death disappears, leaving YiJae on a plane that he thinks is about to crash. It turns out to be simple turbulence and YiJae lets his paranoia go. Now that he is reborn as a young and rich entrepreneur – Park TaeSu, who is dating YiJae’s favorite celebrity Kang InA, he doesn’t really want to die anymore. Optimism washes over him as he dreams of living his life as Park TaeSu, when suddenly his plane explodes and he dies, again.
YiJae is transported to Death’s “space”, back in his original body, where she explains to him that when she shoots a bullet into his head, his new life will start. She also makes it clear that while this game is meant to teach him the pain of death, there is indeed a life where he can change the ending and survive. Death shoots, and YiJae is reborn, only to die again in an instant. The game is on and YiJae must figure out a way to survive before he runs out of lives.
With Seo InGuk as Choi YiJae and Park SoDam as Death incarnate, it will be interesting to see how the iconic dynamic of the characters translates on screen. We cannot wait to see these two acting geniuses join forces to bring us the fantasy masterpiece of our dreams. Until then, you can read the webtoon in English here.
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