Naver webtoon 'My ID is Gangnam Beauty' to get Thai drama remake

Poster of Thai drama remake of the hit Naver Webtoon "My ID is Gangnam Beauty" [NAVER WEBTOON]

Popular Naver webtoon “My ID is Gangnam Beauty” (2016-2017) will be remade into a Thai drama titled “Beauty Newbie,” scheduled to air sometime early next year.

The webtoon was initially adapted into a Korean drama series in 2018, featuring stars Cha Eun-woo and Im Soo-hyang.

The Thai remake, which will consist of 14 episodes, features a star-studded Thai cast, including Baifern Pimchanok and Win Metawin. Thai studio house GMMTV participated in the drama production.

The webtoon revolves around a college first-year who starts her campus life after undergoing plastic surgery.

The webtoon was globally published in eight languages, including Thai, from April 2016 to December 2017 and accumulated over 1.4 billion views.

More webtoons and web novels under Naver and its Toronto-based subsidiary Wattpad are being adapted into global drama series, films and animations, according to the company.

The English original Naver Webtoon “Lore Olympus” (2018-) is being made into an animated TV by American production studio The Jim Henson Company, while another English original “GremoryLand” (2020-) is being made into a film by American production studio Vertigo Entertainment.

The thriller webtoon “Money Game” (2018-2020) was adapted into an American web reality show in 2022, while the sci-fi webtoon “Moon You” (2016—2017) was adapted into the Chinese film “Moon Man,” which sold over 70 million tickets and generated sales of 580 billion won ($447 million).

Anticipated global line-ups this year include the Chinese animated remake “Doona!” which will be released sometime this year. The series has also been adapted into a Netflix Korea drama series under the same title, starring singer and actor Suzy. The Korean drama series will be released in the latter half of this year.

The romance webtoon “Secret Playlist” (2020-2022) recently announced it will be adapted into a Japanese Hulu original drama series.

“As Korean webtoons become globally recognized, requests for screen remakes are on the rise from production studios in the United States, Japan, China and regions in Southeast Asia,” said a spokesperson from Naver Webtoon.

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]