Bae's 'God's Waterdrop' Project Turns Sour

Actor Bae Yong-joon gave up on his project of turning a popular Japanese comic series, "God's Waterdrop", into a drama due to rules restricting the use of real wine brands.
Top star Bae Yong-joon has been forced to give up on his project of turning a popular Japanese comic series, "God's Waterdrop", into a drama due to rules restricting the use of real wine brands, officials from his agency said.

The comic book, featuring a renowned wine critic and two men searching for 12 kinds of wine called "God's disciples", recently boosted sales of wine in Korea and had been called a CEO's must-read at one point.

However, the project went bust, as they could not overcome the rules on product placement, which tightly restrict indirect advertising of products such as the use of real wine brands in dramas.

Keyeast, an entertainment company controlled by Bae, has relinquished its right to make the comic into a drama to the Japanese publisher.

"On top of the expired contract we signed in 2008, the key reason for the cancellation of the project is because we were unable to resolve the problems involving indirect ads", a Keyeast official said.

On top of production, Bae originally planned to take a leading role in the drama, targeting Asian markets.

It is known that the writers of the comic book are avid fans of the Korean hallyu star.


배용준 `신의 물방울' 제작취소

일본 만화를 원전으로 배용준의 차기작으로 알려졌던 드라마 '신의 물방울' 제작이 간접광고 규제 때문에 취소됐다.

만화 `신의 물방울'덕분에 한국에서 와인 판매량이 늘어난 것은 물론 이 책이 CEO들의 필독서로 꼽히기도 했다.

5일 배용준의 소속사 키이스트 측은 "국내 간접광고 시장 상황을 판단했을 때 드라마 제작이 어렵다고 판단, 최근 제작 취소 결정을 내렸다"고 전했다.

배용준이 대주주로 있는 키이스트는 와인을 소재로 한 원작 '신의 물방울'이 국내에 방송되기에는 간접광고를 규제하는 벽이 높다고 밝혔다.

키이스트의 한 관계자는 "2008년 계약이 만료됐을 뿐 아니라 간접광고 문제도 해결이 어려워 포기했다"고 말했다.

`신의 물방울' 작가들은 한류스타 배용준의 열성팬인 것으로 알려져 있다.

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