Recently making the international rounds on Netflix, Nevertheless has become a very popular romantic K-drama series. What some viewers may not know, however, is that the series got its start as a Korean webtoon series. Created by Jung Seo, the webtoon comic ran from 2018 to 2019.
The live-action drama adaptation is now airing two years later, although it’s not quite a 1:1 representation of the source material. While the Nevertheless drama is mostly like the webtoon comic, it diverges in how characters meet, act and especially how their relationships unfold. Here’s a look at what the show is about and how it changes things from the webtoon series.
What Is the K-Drama Nevertheless About?
Nevertheless follows two college students named Yoo Na-bi and Park Jae-eon, whose growing relationship belies their past trauma and feelings about romance. Yoo had a particularly rough break-up with her ex-boyfriend, and since then, she’s sworn off love and no longer believes in it or destiny. However, she’s still interested in dating, which leads to her interacting with Park. He’s notoriously hard to get and has seemingly no real interest in anyone else, although this is disguised by his flirtatious nature.
The two both refuse to give in and admit their feelings, but they gradually become closer in spite of their history. From there, a typical romance begins to bloom — although this wasn’t the endpoint in the webtoon’s storyline.
Nevertheless: Drama vs. Webtoon
For the most part, the TV series adaptation follows the storyline of the Nevertheless webtoon fairly closely, albeit with some differences in how some events play out. One major difference is how the couple meets, since in the webtoon, Yoo is introduced to Park at a school event and has no knowledge of his reputation. The reverse is true in the show, where she already knows how he’s perceived and meets him at a bar anyway. This difference also makes the nature of their feelings for each other a bit different in the show.
Other minor differences include their ages and slight personality quirks, but a major divergence is how the show handles the side characters. The webtoon focuses almost exclusively on Yoo and Park, with secondary characters very rarely if ever getting the spotlight. However, in the show, they’re just as important to the plot as the main characters, with many K-drama fans lauding the characters and their performances. These other cast members include Yoo’s childhood friend Yang Do-hyeok and Park’s ex-girlfriend Yoon Seol-ah.
The biggest and perhaps most controversial change is in the ending and how the relationship evolves. The somewhat misanthropic Park is definitely something of a roguish bad boy — a common trend in K-dramas and romance fiction in general. The webtoon makes it clear that he truly is such a guy and that there’s no heart of gold within, resulting in a rather tragic turn of events. The Nevertheless drama, on the other hand, has more of a typical romantic story, and in doing so is somewhat toxic in how it handles the relationship. Regardless, fans of the Nevertheless webtoon should still check the show out, as it’s received positive reviews from fans and critics alike.
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