Winter Sonata 2 Goes into Pre-Production with 2021 Release Date to Celebrate 20th Anniversary of Original
Call me sentimental but I’m actually looking forward to Winter Sonata 2 scheduled for next year in 2021. It’s being billed as a 20th anniversary homage to the Hallyu hit original which aired in 2001, and OMG I still remember my life in 2001 and goodness it’s been nearly 20 years. The drama is currently in pre-production so I’m guessing script and scouting work, no word yet on the cast. I think it could get big name cast members but only if the script and PD is good because who wants to deliver a lame remake and get raked through the coals. The original is officially dated but still watchable, and it’s a guilty pleasure of mine like sneaking Cheetos at midnight. I find people too harsh on WS, it was THE original Hallyu hit and its success actually created the Hallyu movement that also helped K-pop by expanding Korean culture. Winter Sonata walked so everyone else behind it could run, don’t knock the old dude.
OMG. I see So Hyun and Bo Gum as potential leads for this. But it is impossible because So Hyun is busy next year and Bo Gum is in MS.
the actress who acted this might have potential to be crowned as a 1st love
nation 1st love
The ML has the biggest to fill. BYJ’s popularity, if not more than, is equal to the popularity of the drama.
It’s not going to be a remake. It’s going to be a continuation of the previous story and we follow their grown children and their lives. BYJ and CJW might do cameos as the parents but the drama will have an original story.
People were harsh to WS??? I don’t think so. If there were criticisms, it was because it was so successful that everyone who watched it had to have an ‘opinion’ on the drama. It broke boundaries for sure and I will always remember the hordes of female fans chasing BYJ when he arrived at HK airport. He was the first Hallyu king.
I don know how anyone could be harsh on Winter Sonata. I love WS, esp the first 7 episodes. I am not looking fwd to a remake because tbh, it would be extremely hard to do justice to something this successful for whatever magic the show has. Without WS, there’s no kpop and no South Korean drama madness as it is today.
Wow I’m looking forward to watch season 2. Way back when we’re watching in TV after-dinner..
Today’s new K-drama fans think anything made over five years ago is “old”. That’s what children do. 🙂
Well. It all depends on the success of the drama. My bet for the female lead is also So Hyun. She is one of the few actresses who can a play in a melodrama so well. She also have a first love vibe. Hence, no wonder why she is the ideal type of a lot of Koreean guys.
I prefer Kim.SO Hyun to be the FL, she would be perfect for the ROLE. she has the talent, charisma and this “classy” beauty.
She may be too young for the role though. If i remember correctly, the FL was around 29-30 for most of the drama
Choi Ji Woo was 26 when the drama was filmed – it’s hardly a huge gap. Let’s be real, stupid Kdrama producers are far more likely to cast someone who is far too old for the role than the other way around. There’s a lot of reasons for why there are almost no young Kdrama actresses of note but insisting that Kim Yoo Jung or Kim So Hyun be cast for all suitable roles is definitely one of them.
WS was my very first encounter with Kdramas. I remember coming across it while flicking channels on TV. There were no streaming giants like Netflix or even the Internet or Web as it is now. At least, not in my neck of the woods.
I don’t remember the story but I definitely remember finding it so boring. The family wasn’t crazy about it either so we didn’t bother with it. In later years, when I heard it was a huge hit, I was like, “WHA-AT??”
My opinion on it hasn’t changed but I respect its impact. Not a fan of remakes since they don’t always get it right but here’s hoping this one will pay proper tribute to the original.
Yes I find WS boring too. That was the time I find Kdrama super slow, and I was into HK drama. I don’t even understand why people even watch Kdrama at that time.
After many years, Kdrama has overtaken HK drama with all the young and beautiful/handsome leads, while HK drama lacks new blood. WS has definitely made an impact and contributed to taking Kdrama to today’s status, but the plot was just not my cup of tea. I hope future kdrama to have less webtoon and remake, but have good stories/plot like in the 2009-2015 period. I like many of their shows during those days.
I totally agree with you @Minikfan. I was teaching Korean students English when WS came out and it was such a monster hit in Asia. However, the young ones shunned it saying it was super boring and almost an embarrassment to them as the Japanese aunties went gaga over the male lead. Lol. Such good times the golden period between 2002-2016 with well written original storylines being churned out like All About Eve, Goong, Slave Hunter, Fugitive Plan B, Damo, Memories Of Bali, etc even though some of them were so cheesy and endings mucked up but so addictive.
I wonder why it is called Winter Sonata 2? Is the story going to be related with the characters in the original?
If not, I feel they should choose a different title. Because people are just going to compare it with the original.
It reminds me of Love Rain which was also from the same PD if I’m not mistaken. Too much expectations were on that one, too. I can’t even imagine who they are going to cast since nowadays it’s always an Idol who gets cast as female lead. If not there is just no one with the right visual and enough star power to pull another monster hit.
Lolz, yup I’m the one that belong to the minor. And I was the one who criticized the stupid story line, especially the toward ending the most. The story makes the supporting male character totally a weak wreak who can’t do anything without the female lead and even committed suicide? For real????
Toward the end, there was nothing creative left except walking around the circle of male and female lead relationship: are they siblings? Are they not??
Yup, yup, …
It has to be the original cast BYJ and CJW and the rest of the original cast if possible. Looking forward to WS 2.
Kim yoo jung can do justice to FL role would lime to see her in the remake
Kim yoo jung with yeo jingoo will b like icing on the cake pairing for me as i have been awaiting their drama together for a long time
KYJ and YJG are more in their element when doing a sageuk though.
Ki. Yoo jung and yeo jingoo
both r good actors and we have seen them together only in sageuk
Their chemistry is awsome so i personally feel they can really carry this drama
Nowadays looking older or younger is not a big deal everything is possible
Just an opinion of mine and wish
WS was the first kdrama ever watched…and I’m from Tanzania. It definitely began the hallyu wave, no one can take that way from it. A remake though seems unnecessary really. They could have done something like Coffee promce to celebrate its anniversary
I totally agree.
Kim soo Hyun is smy choice. She has this “EXPENSIVE “CLASSY” aura and beauty. . she would be best fitted to play the FL SHOULD THERE BE a remake of WS.
****Kim So Hyun
I love this korean drama❤so sad park yong ha already passed away?
Kim Soo Hyun and Nam Ji Hyun. Those first few episodes of Will it snow for christmas. TT
They were so good together! I wanted the drama to be about them and not about the adults. I want them to be reunited in another drama.
Yes!!! I remember i wanted the drama to stop on their timeline TT. Just like Nam Ji Hyun and Kang Ha Neul couple in Angel Eyes.
Oh yeah! The adult counterpart was so boring in Angel Eyes! When NJH and KHN were super cute and lovely.
I have watched Winter Sonata more times than I can count. It broke several stereotypes for K-dramas, and even today I don’t see those as well-written in modern K-dramas as they were in Winter Sonata. For instance Choi Ji Woo started her own architectural business. She hired people. She made design decisions for buildings. She stood up to Bae Yong Joon’s character when he wanted to fire one of her employees who was hurting because of his wife’s death. She was a STRONG female character, not a wilting wallflower. How much more modern can that get? I think people unwisely call it “dated” because the available prints out there are showing their age but when Netflix added it for two years it looked like it was made yesterday, something about their Super HD prints captured the spirit and look of the original that none of the unrestored prints available today possess. Plus, the chemistry between Bae Yong Joon and Choi Ji Woo was REAL and FANTASTIC, much better than 95% of other Korean dramas made. What is going to happen for the sequel is that we will follow the CHILDREN of BYJ and CJW and they will appear in cameo appearances. Even that will be worthwhile because Bae Yong Joon hasn’t acted since 2011’s Dream High and we will get to see him act again after a decade has passed by. Most people who knock Winter Sonata are young fans who only think today’s K-dramas are worthwhile watching. Very dumb. If you don’t watch any classics because they are “old” then you aren’t an authority of K-dramas at all. It would be like you taking an American history class that leaves out the Revolutionary War, The Civil War, World War One, World War Two, and the Korean War, and you only study the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and The War On Terror. What kind of uneducated fool would that produce? 🙂
You are correct. They announced previously it won’t be a remake, how utterly stupid that would be, it will be a continuation of their story through their CHILDREN, not them. They will be parents of teenagers / early twenties characters. The younger ones will be the emphasis on the drama, not BYJ and CJW.
Oh, and what’s with the 2001 date? Winter Sonata aired January through March 2002.
I have a feeling the FL will be Park Shin Hye or IU paired with either Kim Soo Hyun or Park Hyung Sik
I think the main leads will need to be late twenties also. Its a challenging role as they need to play 17-late 30s. Not easy.
They could go with Park ShinHye ….she did star in one of the Heaven trilogy, Tree of Heaven, when she was just 16. She also can get that audience and rating. Let’s be honest here, it’s not only the male lead that drives her dramas….it’s her! She might have been underutilized but the fans watch because of her.
I agree with Sayaris and Lydia on the choice of male and female lead. The spirit of Winter Sonata is evident in Love Rain and Will It Snow For Christmas. The feels and atmosphere of these languid rustic romance of early 2000 era can be excellently brought forth by Nam Ji Hyun with either Kim Hyun Soo, Park Hyung Sik or Kang Ha Neul. Certain scenes in 100 Days My Prince were so beautifully filmed like it was an old Hollywood movie especially in the field of yellow flowers blooming and falling cherry blossoms. Nam Ji Hyun has the ability to look both like a teenager and older working woman depending on her hair styling and wardrobe. She has 17 years of acting chops to pull it off.
#Kim Soo Hyun# sorry for typo error.
Kim Yoo Jung and Kim So Hyun are both too young to play a modern career woman who works as an architect. Young fans here forgot that the character Yoo Jin is only a high school girl for a few episodes. After that, it’s all set in the adult working world with a few flashbacks. I can’t imagine the two Kims playing an early 30 working woman in Seoul. Agree with @Aquarius and @rhienz that Nam Ji Hyun is the most suitable to do classic romance. Park Shin Hye does not give me the feel of a working woman but Nam Ji Hyun did well in 365 Repeat The Year as a webtoon writer. She can pull off as an architect. The writers should stay away from a direct remake. Just re-tool the story a bit differently without taking away the spirit and atmosphere of the original.
@Kimchi Ajumma, the fact that Nam Ji Hyun just graduated with a psychology degree from prestigious Sogang University can be to her advantage as a working career woman who runs her own architectural company. She can also look older than her 25 years and has the mature aura with glasses on.
I was having the same thoughts. Either KSH or KHN . NJH could probably pull it off but they would probably cast someone else.
OMG, music to my ears WS2..yes please. I must have watched WS about 3 times and cried each time. It would be interesting to see who the casts members will be. Can’t wait..can’t wait. Good luck with that!!!
My worry about Nam Ji Hyun is that she has no big fandom like PSH, KSH and KYJ. Remember, WS is the first hallyu drama. So, it is better if the cast has huge following overseas.
Choi Ji Woo and Bae Yong Joon weren’t famous in Asia before filming Winter Sonata. They got famous because of WS, not before WS. So it makes sense for WS2 to be the launching pad for small fandom low hype talented actors/actresses to get that big break and Hallyu recognition. Maybe Lee Jae Wook or Jang Dong Yoon paired up with similar age actresses. Kind of sad that there aren’t many in the mid 20s age group. Most are idol actresses in which talent and charisma are sadly lacking.
I started to like korean drama because of Winter Sonata.Believe it or not, I watched it 20 times.
Im a huge fan of Nam Ji Hyun so im rooting for her to be cast as FL in Winter Sonata 2. Nam Ji Hyun was so god as webtoonist in 365 Repeat the Year. I believe, she can pull off the role as an architect.
. Park shin Hye , Kim Yoo Jung and Kim So Hyun would also be great choice too. love these girls.
On second thoughts. They might go the route of casting less popular actors. Dun see any A listers would want to step in to this production to be compared mercilessly against the originals. Sigh
Good evening everyone… i’ve loved Winter Sonata too.. i’ve watched it many times… I liked all the characters here, im glad to hear that they are planning to make a sequel..? Hopefully a remake, same story but a little change in the ending part…and the lead actors and actresses should as good as the originals so they would be loved too. but for sure i’ll be sad because i’ll remember and miss our dear Sang Hyuk the late “Park Yong Ha”..
Omg..i will be waiting winter sonata 2..looking forward to see them.i wish the original cast.i be cry again.. I love winter sonata.make my heart and my cry… Miss you guys..hope to see you soon..God bless..take care.always be safe..
Love you all
WINTER SONATA IS MY FAVORITE MOVIE
I love it the dramas Winter Sonata its a remarkable moment that ill seen❤❤❤
Wow! My first Kdrama! Still top on my list! Looking forward to this! ❤️
I also agree.
Have they filmed Winter Sonata 2 yet, or is still going to be filmed? I can’t seem to get any current info on the sequel! the first film got me watching korean films to this time!