Different versions of “Full House” female leads: Hwang Jung Eum is neck-to-neck with Song Hye Kyo?
While Song Hye Kyo’s appearance in “Full House” is legendary, other versions of this massive hit also deliver their own charms
When it comes to iconic rom-com series, “Full House” is one of the originals, and perhaps a foundational series for this genre in the K-drama world. Adapted from Won Soo Yeon’s famous webtoon of the same name, “Full House” has since introduced various other versions from different nations, and the female lead of these versions have their own differences.
Song Hye Kyo (South Korea)
So far, there has been no one to top Song Hye Kyo’s portrayal in the 2004 K-drama “Full House” – which is also the first adaptation. With viewership ratings reaching 42% in the finale, “Full House” was a legendary K-drama, and almost half of Korea tuned in to the cute yet determined Ji Eun. It was partly due to Song Hye Kyo’s acting and her chemistry with Rain that “Full House” kick-started the rom-com wave in the K-drama industry.
Minh Hang (Vietnamese)
5 years after the success of the K-drama “Full House”, the Southeast Asian nation Vietnam attempted to create a “Full House” version of themselves. In their version, the female lead is named Minh Minh and played by singer-actress Minh Hang, who showed an excellent performance and helped the series to be well-received by the locals. The theme song for the Vietnamese version of “Full House” also gained huge attention within the nation.
Heart Evangelista (The Philippines)
In the same year as Vietnam, the Philippines introduced their version of “Full House” as well, which starred Heart Evangelista – whose life later inspired the hit movie “Crazy Rich Asians”. With ratings surpassing 26%, the Filipino version of “Full House” would last for a whooping 65 episodes.
Sucharat Manaying (Thailand)
In 2014, Thailand also joined the “Full House” trend and introduced actress Sucharat Manaying as the female lead for their version. Unfortunately, the Thai adaptation of “Full House” did not have a high budget production, though it gained quite a popularity in Thailand and helped boost the career of its cast, which included Mike D. Angelo.
Yang Chaoyue (Mainland China)
Called “Midsummer is Full of Love”, the Chinese adaptation of “Full House” featured actress Yang Chaoyue as Luo Tianran – the female lead. Unfortunately, while the cast of “Midsummer is Full of Love” is decent with quite many stunning visuals, it is perhaps the only “Full House” version that did not become popular in the home nation.
Hwang Jung Eum (South Korea)
Little people know that Korea also introduced their own 2012 version of “Full House”, which was named “Full House Take 2”. Here, actress Hwang Jung Eum, who is known as a “rom-com queen”, assumed the role of the female lead, and adorned a “tattered” appearance that’s a complete contrast to other versions.
In addition, unlike other adaptations, “Full House Take 2” only took loose inspiration from the original webtoon, and followed the female lead Man Ok – the stylist of Kpop group TAKE ONE, who had to reside in the same house as the group and experienced various hilarious situations.
Source: K14
