Bae, Choi to Voice 'Winter Sonata' Cartoon

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Actors Bae Yong-joon and Choi Ji-woo, who gave flight to hallyu or the Korean wave with the TV series "Winter Sonata", will team up again to play the voices for the animation version of the love story. They will record the voiceovers in Korean, which will be translated into Japanese subtitles.

December last year, Korea's Key East and Japan's Total Promotion signed an Memorandum of Understanding for a joint project to make an animated version of "Winter Sonata". Bae had publicized plans to voice the part of his character Jun-sang at the Tokyo International Animation Fair in February, and Choi decided to join the team as well, Choi's management agency Olive9 announced Thursday.

"Choi Ji-woo decided to participate in the animation project as a token of appreciation for her fans, and hopes to rekindle the emotions of the original drama", said a representative of Olive9.

After airing here on KBS2 in 2002, the drama "Winter Sonata" became explosively popular in Japan, where fans affectionately dubbed the lead actors "Yonsama" and "Jiwoohime" respectively. In 2005, a musical version starring popular crossover tenor Im Tae-kyung drew crowds in both countries. Even now, the shooting sites around Korea ― like Yongpyong Ski Resort and Nami Island, continue to draw tourists.

There will be two versions of the animated "Winter Sonata", a TV series and feature film. While retaining the essence of the original TV soap, it will be crafted like a family animation to reach out to a wider audience, particularly children.

The animation is currently under production and the voices are yet to be dubbed by Bae and Choi. It is slated for release toward the end of the year, and will be distributed internationally.