[Off the Pages] German bestseller gets new twist in ‘Snow White Must Die -- Black Out’

German mystery crime writer Nele Neuhaus’ 2010 international bestseller “Snow White Must Die” is getting a fresh take as the Korean drama series “Snow White Must Die -- Black Out,” kicked off Aug. 16.

The fourth installment of Neuhaus’ series set in the Taunus region near Frankfurt sold more than 3.5 million copies globally and had its German TV adaptation in 2013.

Now just five episodes away from its finale, the MBC series is gaining momentum with its latest episode recording a viewership rating of 6.5 percent, marking five consecutive weeks of rising ratings.

In particular, for director Byun Young-joo, the project marks her drama series debut, coming 12 years after her critically acclaimed film “Helpless” (2012), starring Kim Min-hee and the late Lee Sun-kyun.

“When I read the script, I found it to be a well-crafted thriller, faithful to the essence of the original but also distinct in its own right,” Byun said during a press event on Aug. 14. “When I chose the script it wasn’t about making it more ‘Korean,’ but asking, ‘Is the story still unique?’ And that distinctiveness stood out to me.”

The central plot remains intact -- a reverse crime thriller centered on a young man accused of two murders. Eleven years earlier, two 17-year-old girls disappeared without a trace from their village. Convicted based solely on circumstantial evidence, 20-year-old Tobias was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Now, having served his time, he has returned to his hometown seeking to uncover the truth but what lingers in the town is the resentment of those who refuse to forgive him. And Tobias still has no memory of what he did.

Byun Yo-han’s character gets heroic personality

The series' biggest departure from the original novel lies in the character portrayals, with the adaptation taking bold liberties.

One of the most significant changes is the transformation of Neuhaus' detective duo, Pia Kirchhoff and Oliver von Bodenstein, into a single character.

Detective Noh Sang-chul (played by Go Jun) starkly contrasts the composed and logical Bodenstein. Noh is portrayed as a hot-tempered, aggressive figure, demoted to the fictional town of Mucheon after being involved in an excessive use of force in Seoul. Meanwhile, Kirchhoff -- another pivotal character in the Taunus series -- has been omitted entirely.

The two-track narrative of the detectives and Tobias-Amelie has been streamlined to focus on the joint investigation by Noh and Tobias’ counterpart in the Korean series, Jung-woo, portrayed by Byun Yo-han.

The drama takes an empathetic approach to Jung-woo, recasting him as a more heroic and moral figure. Tobias, by contrast, is romantically entangled with several women, including two of the murdered girls. (He left Laura for Stephanie, and also has a relationship with Nadia, his childhood friend who became an actress.)

Jung-woo steers clear of romantic entanglements. He only dated Da-eun (Stephanie) and wholeheartedly helped his friend Bo-young (Laura), a victim of domestic violence, as well as Suo, who is mentally unstable. And the love triangle (or perhaps quadrangle?) and jealousy are key themes of both the novel and the drama series.

Other characters have also been slightly altered to fit Korean sensibilities. Amelie who strikingly resembles Stephanie, is a troubled teen who moves to the closed-off town and becomes curious about the decade-old crime and the villagers' hostility toward Tobias.

In the Korean adaptation, her character is transformed into Ha-seol, a free-spirited 25-year-old medical student, and her physical resemblance to Da-eun (Stephanie) is removed, positioning her more as Jung-woo’s ally than a love interest.

With only a few episodes left, director Byun said she hopes to keep audiences engaged, despite many being familiar with the novel’s conclusion.

“I think this kind of work should bring thrills that come not from knowing the mystery’s ending, but from the journey to get there.”

"Snow White Must Die -- Black Out" is available through Wavve and Coupang Play.

---

Literature is a wellspring of inspiration across various formats, including film, drama series and stage productions. In this series, The Korea Herald explores the intersection of literature and its adaptations, reviewing and analyzing the transformations of original text into imagery. -- Ed.