Louisa May Alcott’s literary classic Little Women re-imagined as a stylish, sassy K-Drama
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Louisa May Alcott’s coming-of-age literary classic Little Women has been adapted into a gripping new K-Drama of the same name.
The novel has been televised and filmed in the decades since its publication in 1868, but this new South Korean drama is a first of its kind, reimagined as a murder mystery involving class friction.
The class divide is a common theme at K-Dramas, but this retelling skips the fairytale fluff often woven into typical South Korean soap operas, instead showing gritty scenes as the sisters navigate a rough terrain torn between family loyalties. and their own desires.
The new series, directed by Kim Hee-won and available to watch on Netflix, has been praised by viewers who compared it to the Oscar-winning film Parasite.
Castshot of the new K-Drama Little Women, which features a class battle when three sisters become involved with a wealthy family
Echoes of Alcott: The female characters are very different from each other, but can all fit into a ‘type’ that parallels Alcott’s beloved March sisters Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy
Acclaimed screenwriter Chung Seo-kyung was part of the team that brought today’s Little Women to the screens this year, and she read the original book as a child.
It premiered on the streaming platform earlier this month and a new episode will be released every week until October 9.
The new Little Women series is just one in a series of hit Netflix hits from Korean producers, including cult hit Squid Game (2021) and Romance is a Bonus Book (2019).
At the heart of Alcott’s novel are sisters, Meg the eldest who tries to take care of the house, Jo who is short-tempered and boyish, Beth who is gentle and sweet and Amy who is the youngest and often described as vain.
The K-Drama deviates from the original text by depicting three sisters instead.
Kim Go Eun plays the role of older sister Oh In-ju who, like Meg in the novels, grew up taking care of the rest of the family.
Actress Nam Ji Hyun plays Oh In-kyung, the middle sister who works as a journalist. Kyung’s morale and she believes money doesn’t buy happiness.
Youngest sister Oh-in-kyung, who may represent Amy March from Louisa Alcott’s original novel, attends prestigious art school
The three sisters Oh In-ju, Oh In-kyung and Oh In-kyung depicted as the ‘Little Women’ in their small kitchen while living a life of poverty
Park Ji-hu plays the youngest sister Oh in-kyung, who studies at a prestigious art school.
The plot is a mix between a thriller and a stylish drama, with echoes of old-fashioned cinema that harks back to the original novel.
The three sisters become entangled in an extraordinarily wealthy family after being involved in a major crime case.
This pits them against the powerful, wealthy family as they struggle to discover the roots of the mystery.
The plot sees the siblings embroiled in a clash where they are threatened, use guns, engage in dangerous hacking and double agent plots to uncover the truth behind the wealthy family.
The series is a mix of thriller and drama and has captivated viewers and critics alike when it was released
Grime and Glamour: The juxtaposition of poverty and wealth mingle in a common theme that runs through Korean pop culture, where the two worlds typically collide on opposite sides of the fence
Viewers have already drawn comparisons to the 2019 Korean movie parasite calling it “another complex portrayal of class struggle.”
One Twitter user said: ‘It uses the theme ‘is it stealing if it’s already stolen?’
Another fan said the complex twists of the plot confused them, saying on Twitter: “Ghost orchid, Vietnam war, hwayoung, plastic surgery, dolls, play, park jae-sang, Singapore, ledger, 70 billion won.”
“This is literally me watching this show without understanding anything.”
One user said the sisters are “a force to be reckoned with.”
The female lead series has been called “impactful” – one Twitter user says, “Little Women is the drama I really wanted all along. Written and directed by a woman who gives us the best lines, plot and great direction, with flawed women as main characters? EVEN THE MAIN VILLAIN IS A WOMAN. That’s so IMPACTFUL, let’s face it.’
Fans took to Twitter to draw comparisons to the Korean Little Women series and the 2019 movie Parasite, but some say the complex storylines were confusing