Let Me Idolize You: Thoughts on Imitation

Imitation (이미테이션)

(Webtoon 2014)

By Park Kyung-ran

First of all, Imitation is a webtoon that deserves a Korean drama series. It has all the elements of what a good kdrama should have and the storyline is highly dramatic.

Imitation is a South Korean webtoon created by Park Kyung-ran. The story follows a young girl, Maha, who is part of the girl group, Tea Party. Maha has been under scrutiny by other people in the entertainment industry due to the fact that she is said to imitate the actions of other famous celebrities, and as a result, she seems a bit fake and unoriginal. In fact, one celebrity, Ryoc, from a boy band, has a strong hatred towards her. Yet, Ryoc’s feelings change when their paths constantly crossed and soon after, they become romantically involved. 

This webtoon focuses on the relationship between Maha and Ryoc and how they must separate personal and public life or else, they face tabloid gossip. I’m not a huge fan of the main female protagonist, Maha, due to the fact that she is the typical damsel-in-distress that we always see in most shoujo manga. However, I do enjoy the interactions between her and Ryoc. They are cute together which is the primary reason as to why I continue reading this webtoon. As for the rest of the cast, they don’t stand out as much and are mostly used to develop or add conflict to the relationship between Maha and Ryoc.

One unique aspect of Imitation is how they dive into the lives of Kpop idols and celebrities. We are given insight as to how difficult it is to get into the entertainment industry and how much working hours idols put in to become the best at the expense of one’s health. In addition, through Ryoc and Maha’s relationship, we see how difficult it is for idols to have a personal life outside of the spotlight. Although this webtoon is complete fiction, I do think there’s some truth to this idol lifestyle as I watched some Korean shows and interviews as well as read some articles where they discussed celebrity life in South Korea.

The reason why I would like this webtoon to be adapted into a kdrama is that it has so much drama and relationship issues that these live-action dramas feed off of. Also, since this is a music themed webtoon, I think there is a lot of potential for an amazing kdrama’s original soundtrack and also there would be an incredible all-star cast of idols.

If you are a fan of Skip Beat, you should definitely read this one. It’s all about gossip and drama in the entertainment industry. You can check out this webtoon on Spottoon.

4/5