THE extraordinary life of Xu Sanguan, a famous Chinese fictional character who sells his blood to support his family, will soon be adapted in South Korea as a film.

    Popular South Korean actor Ha Jung-woo recently started directing and starring in a film adaptation of renowned Chinese author Yu Hua’s 1995 novel “Xu Sanguan Mai Xue Ji” or “Chronicle of a Blood Merchant.”

    The original story depicts Xu’s struggles with life in China in the 1950s. Now, the background will be transformed into the Korea peninsula with only South Korean actors and actresses involved. Ha Jung-woo himself plays the role of Xu, the poor blood merchant, while notable Korean actress Ha Ji-won will play the role of his wife.

    Ha’s adaptation will be the first film version of the novel that many other directors around the world have competed over the rights to for years. Yu’s first novel that was adapted into film, “To Live,” was directed by Zhang Yimou and won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes in 1994.

    “The reason Ha Jung-woo chose to adapt the novel is because of its popularity among Korean readers,” said Jeon Hyung-Jun, a professor in the Chinese language and literature department at Seoul National University. “Ha also enjoys the way the work combines comedy and tragedy, and he is interested in the similarities between Chinese and South Korean cultures.”

    The Korean edition of “Chronicle of a Blood Merchant” was among the 100 must-read books listed by South Korea’s Joongang Daily. The story was also adapted as a Korean opera early in 2003. By now, most of Yu’s works have been translated into Korean and have a huge following there.

    “Yu Hua’s novel was popular in South Korea because of its focus on China’s reality,” said Ahn Chang-hyun, a professor in the culture contents department at Hanyang University. In the past, most Korean people were more interested in China’s ancient culture, preferring to read historical novels such as “The Romance of the Three Kingdoms” or “Journey to the West.” But now, they are eager to read China’s contemporary literature so they can get to know Chinese people’s current thoughts and lives.

    The books of Yu, Mo Yan, Su Tong and other famous Chinese contemporary writers now frequently appear on Korean publishers’ lists and are sold in most South Korean bookstores.

    “For many years, we were trying to find classical and very literary novels written by Chinese authors. It was not an easy job to connect with Chinese publishers and authors. However, during the past three or four years, we found that many things are developing right now,” said Michelle Nam, executive director of South Korea’s largest general trade publisher, Minumsa Publishing Group.

    Minumsa published Chinese writer Han Shaogong’s novel “Dictionary of Ma Qiao,” a collection of stories by members of the Chinese Writers’ Association, Mo’s “Frog” and other Chinese contemporary literary works, all of which have received positive responses from Korean readers, young and old.

    The novel “Dictionary of Ma Qiao” is written in the form of an encyclopedia, a collection of 115 “articles” on fictitious Maqiao village from the perspective of a young student sent there during China’s “Down to the Countryside” movement.

    Nam said that the novel is unique because it deals with human nature, which is also the theme of the novel “Frog.”

    “Mo Yan’s ‘Frog’ is a story about China’s one-child policy, which is very moving and humane,” said Nam. “It reflects contemporary Chinese peoples’ lives and concerns, which before we’ve only read about or heard from mass media.”

    Not surprisingly, sales of “Frog” rose dramatically after Mo won the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature in 2012, totaling around 12,000 copies now.

    Chinese literature in general gained more Korean fans after Mo won the Nobel Prize. Korean readers’ taste in Chinese literature also became more diversified since then, Jeon added.

    “We are looking for more novels written by Mo Yan and Han Shaogong. We are also looking for good writers who write on philosophical topics, history and humanities. We think there are many Chinese writers who can write about these topics for a new generation,” said Nam. (Xinhua)