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| A poster for the 2020 series "Itaewon Class," which is being remade in Japan / Courtesy of JTBC |
By Kim Rahn
The Japanese adaptation of Korea's hit TV series "Itaewon Class" will be aired on TV Asahi in July, with Japan's rising star Ryoma Takeuchi playing the lead, Studio LuluLala (SLL) said, Monday.
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| Japanese actor Ryoma Takeuchi in a scene from "Roppongi Class," the Japanese adaptation of Korean series "Itaewon Class" / Captured from Takeuchi's Instagram |
It revolves around Park Sae-ro-yi, who is expelled from school and serves a jail term for punching a school bully who is also the heir to a major food company. After his father's death, Park opens a restaurant in the entertainment district and overcomes challenges posed by the food company.
The Korean version, starring actors Park Seo-joon and Kim Da-mi, gained huge popularity when it aired on JTBC here in 2020, achieving a 16.5 percent viewership rating.
It enjoyed popularity in Japan as well, topping Netflix's drama ranking in the country and remaining at the top 10 for two years.
The remake is a joint project where SLL, which made the Korean version, Kakao Entertainment and Kakao's subsidiary studio Kross Pictures jointly produce and TV Asahi also participates in the production and airs the new series.
Takeuchi, who is also a model, has starred in various films and series including "My Teacher, My Love" (2018), "Ship of Theseus" (2020) and "Love You as the World Ends" (2021).
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