▲(Left) "Paper House (Korean version)", (right) Spanish version of "Paper House" In the past, film and television dramas in different countries or languages ​​were often remade across countries by purchasing copyrights.

▲ (left) "House of Money (Korean version)", (right) Spanish version of "House of Money House of Money "

In the past, film and television dramas in different countries or languages ​​were often remade across countries by purchasing copyrights. Unless it is a work dominated by Hollywood and has a way to market it to the global market, generally speaking, even if it is a remake with the same plot, due to the different main markets, most viewers may not have seen the original version at all. In this case, it will not affect the evaluation of the work.

▲Korean version of "House of Money" poster

However, with the rise of major streaming media platforms, coupled with the intensification of related competition, major platforms have begun to snap up or invest in film and television dramas from different countries and put them Promoting it to all parts of the world will not only make it easier for audiences to get in touch with movies and TV series from various countries that may have been unfamiliar before, but sometimes it may also trigger a global viewing boom in one fell swoop.

▲ Original poster of "House of Money"

Because of this, "House of Money", which has a total of five seasons, was just completed at the end of last year, and the remake version of "House of Money (Korean Version)" was immediately released. Naturally, this remake has become a hot topic among movie fans.

▲Original stills of "The House of Money" - 1

Before it was released, "The House of Money (Korean version)" featured the cast of Park Hae-soo, Kim Yoon-jin and Jeon Jong-seo, as well as the Salvatore... The Dali mask was changed to the "aristocratic" mask from the Korean national treasure "Hahoe Mask". Through the critical class connotation symbolized behind it, the audience is asked how "House of Money (Korean Version)" will be integrated into Korea. The characteristics of culture are exciting.

▲ (Left) The "noble" mask in the Korean national treasure "Hahoe Mask", (right) the Salvador Dali mask worn by the protagonists in the original version

But when it was actually released, "House of Money (Korean version)" unexpectedly It received very polarizing reviews.

For supporters of the original version, what they are looking forward to seeing is that "House of Money (Korean version)" can find its own path, and while retaining the spirit and style of the original version, it depicts another story that is different from the original version. A story that belongs to Korea itself.

▲Stills of "House of Banknotes (Korean Version)" -1

Unexpectedly, the overall performance of "House of Banknotes (Korean Version)" is more like a greatly streamlined version. While a large number of details have been deleted, the overall The development of the main plot is almost the same as that of the original version, at most only because the original plot of the first part has to be condensed into six episodes.

▲ "House of Money (Korean version)" stills - 2

Therefore, except for the necessary adaptations, there are almost no changes in other parts. The result is that the audience who has watched the original version will not be surprised at all, even if the story is obviously more It's compact, but because I already knew the plot development later, it felt draggy and boring.

▲Stills of "House of Banknotes (Korean Version)"-3

From a character perspective, the most obvious difference between "House of Banknotes (Korean Version)" and the original version is undoubtedly "Tokyo" played by Jeon Jong-seo. Although this character is one of the most important protagonists of "House of Money", in the original version, Tokyo is an extremely emotional character. He is often capricious at critical moments and puts everyone in danger. Therefore, he is criticized. She was so annoying that some viewers chose to abandon the show just because of her. It was not until the later stages of the series that the vast majority of viewers truly fell in love with her.

▲Original stills of "House of Banknotes"-2

As for Tokyo in "House of Banknotes (Korean Version)", it has almost become another character. Before the original Tokyo joined the plan to rob the mint, he repeatedly broke the law because of love and pursuit of excitement, and therefore became a wanted criminal.

▲ "Tokyo" played by Jeon Jong-seo

But the Korean version of Tokyo only targets loan sharks and fraudsters, so it is a character with a more sense of justice. Even after joining the plan, she was the calmest among the members and the one who stuck to the original plan. It was completely different from the situation in the original version, and she was a very reassuring character.

▲ "House of Paper Money (Korean Version)" Robbery of the Mint

As for the "Professor" who is the mastermind of the plan, in the original version, he accidentally met the police inspector Rachel, so he took the opportunity to inquire about the internal intelligence of the police. At the same time, he fell in love with each other uncontrollably. In contrast, the Korean version of the professor deliberately approached the opponent from the preparatory stage of the plan and laid various traps beforehand.

▲The "Professor" played by Yoo Ji-tae

Although he fell in love with the other party in the end, compared with the original version, it still made the character of the Professor appear more cunning and unscrupulous, and he resorted to deceiving emotions and bodies from the beginning. way to execute the plan in your mind.

▲ Lee Hyun Woo plays "Rio"

In addition, the Korean version of "Rio" actually comes from a family of doctors and joined the team because of his rebellion against his father. There is also "Berlin" who was previously imprisoned in a concentration camp. The 25-year plot is also quite different from the original setting. However, compared to Tokyo and the Professor, these parts, at least judging from the current plot of the first season of "House of Money (Korean version)", do not have any clear relevant impact.

▲ "Berlin" played by Park Hae Soo

However, the most interesting thing about "House of Money (Korean Version)" lies in the story background and related themes of the drama.

In the original version, "House of Paper Money" is a contemporary story. The locations and organizations in the plot are also the same as reality. As far as the theme is concerned, it actually has a revolutionary romance similar to overthrowing the existing classes in society, regardless of The behavior of professors and others who are closer to righteous thieves, as well as the fact that they are enthusiastically supported by ordinary people, are one of the reasons why "House of Money" is popular with the audience.

▲Stills of "House of Banknotes (Korean Version)"-4

As for "House of Banknotes (Korean Version)", the time point is set in the near future in 2025, and it is assumed that North and South Korea will be reunified, so the two sides set up a common area, arrange the event in that area.

Such a setting makes "House of Money (Korean Version)" become a political allegory. The differences and conflicts between the people of the north and the south in the play are put into the original character relationships, making those plots become like It is a metaphor for the different living environments of the people in the north and the south, which may have various impacts on their behaviors.

▲Stills of "House of Paper Money (Korean Version)" -5

From this perspective, the way "House of Paper Money (Korean Version)" incorporates the identities of North and South Korea into the original characters actually also shows the understanding of capitalism of irony. If there is also some foreshadowing that is not in the original version, it also makes people think that the motivations of the professor in "House of Banknotes (Korean version)" are very likely to be completely different from the original version, and may even be related to the issue of the reunification of North and South Korea in the story. closely related.

▲Stills of "House of Banknotes (Korean Version)"-6

Unfortunately, despite having this interesting setting, the director of "House of Banknotes (Korean Version)" is still obviously trapped in the original plot, resulting in the inability to make full use of this The arrangement brought richer conflicts and insinuations to the characters in the play, so the final feeling was more like a feint. At least judging from the content of the first season, it did not bring enough surprises to the audience.

▲Stills of "House of Banknotes (Korean Version)"-7

This is the main reason why "House of Banknotes (Korean Version)" has polarizing reviews.For those who have not seen the original version, they may feel that this is still a quite entertaining series because there is no way to compare. But for those who like the original version, they will think that the plot of "House of Money (Korean version)" is over-simplified because the main plots of the two are almost identical, resulting in the charm of the characters and the excitement of the plot, and therefore far less than the original.

▲ "The House of Money (Korean version)" stills - 8

Interestingly, for some people who don't like the original version of "The House of Money", the situation is exactly the opposite. For them, the original version spent too much time describing the conflicts between characters, and the personalities of those characters were too dramatic, so it always made people a little angry. So compared to On the contrary, the simpler "House of Banknotes (Korean Version)" is a lot easier to watch.

▲ Left: Korean version stills, right: original stills

For those who love the original version, it is precisely the conflicts focused on the characters that make the characters in "House of Money" so deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Through them, The various relationships such as disputes, conflicts, trust and cooperation make the audience feel like they have become a part of them and establish a relationship of shared weal and woe with the characters.

▲ "House of Money (Korean version)" stills - 10

On one side, it is an original that is more romantic and appeals to emotions; on the other side, it is a more streamlined adaptation that emphasizes calmness. Regardless of whether you watch the original version or the Korean version first, I don’t know which version you will like better after watching both versions.