Original vs. Adaptation: 'I Hear Your Voice' & 'No Secrets'
Photo Credit: Doremi Entertainment/ Kim Jong-hak Production & Tencent Penguin Pictures/ GH Entertainment Media
Spoilers for: I Hear Your Voice (너의 목소리가 들려; Neoui Moksoriga Deulryeo) (S.K.) (2013) & No Secrets (没有秘密的你; Mei You Mi Mi De Ni) (P.R.C.) (2019)
Sometimes nothing is really lost in translation. Though the language may change and the people speaking differ, when the real meaning behind the words remains intact, nothing is lost.
“I’ll protect you.”
- I Hear Your Voice (S.K. 2013)
“I’ll protect you.”
- No Secrets (P.R.C. 2019)
The South Korean television series I Hear Your Voice (S.K.) (2013) and its Mainland Chinese adaptation No Secrets (P.R.C.) (2019) tell the story of a boy and a girl brought together by a crime. One the victim, the other, a witness. In the 2013 series, I Hear Your Voice Jong-suk Lee plays the male lead character Soo-ha Park, and Bo-young Lee plays the female lead Hye-sung Jang. The story begins with Park and his father becoming victims of an intentional car crash caused by antagonist Joon-gook Min (Woong-in Jeong).
After the crime, the young Park suffers from a brain injury and develops the ability to read minds, but no one believes him. Luckily, as a witness to the crime, the teenage Jang protects Park by testifying and not letting Min go free. Consequently, Jang incurs Min’s wrath. Min vows to make Jang pay, and from then on, Park promises to protect Jang. Ten years later, Park and Jang reunite and work together to provide justice to others and to protect each other. Jang, now a lawyer, seeks the truth, and Park, as a mind-reading student, knows the truth. They form an unbeatable team, but as everything starts looking up, the criminal from their past returns for revenge.
Lost vs. Gained in Translation (aka Adaptation)
The significant differences between I Hear Your Voice and No Secrets are motives, age, and time. In I Hear Your Voice, the antagonist, Min, has a complex hidden motive for the crime he commits at the beginning of the series. In No Secrets, the adapted villain, Junwei Li (Wu Ya Heng), unintentionally causes a car accident that results in the death of Xia Jiang’s (Jin Han) (formerly Park) father. Li intends to kill Jiang too, to cover up his crime, but can’t because there is a witness, Xing Ran Ling (Stephy Qi) (formerly Jang). Ling incurs the same wrath Jang receives in I Hear Your Voice, causing Jiang to make the same protection vow Park made. As the once defenseless boy works to keep his promise, Li is released from jail, intending to keep his pledge of revenge as well.
No Secrets gives the audience no time to sympathize with or understand the evil criminal. Li’s motivation is altered from the original story, and what motive he later acquires for revenge is briefly skimmed over. In I Hear Your Voice, we see and understand more of why Min fell into madness.
Understanding the criminal mind is not the only aspect skipped over in No Secrets. Another element that did not occur was the allusion to a romantic relationship between Ling and Jiang when he is minor. Relationships between adults and minors are, of course, a taboo subject. While it did not necessarily take place during I Hear Your Voice, the possibility was hinted at as Park is a minor for a large portion of the show. No Secrets changes the age of the main characters and closes the gap a little. They reunite when Jiang is a college student and legal adult, though their six-year age gap causes Ling to treat Jiang like a child often.
In I Hear Your Voice, we meet Park at nine years old and then again as a teenager in high school. Towards the end of the show, Park becomes a legal adult. Jang is approximately seventeen years old at the opening of the show and in her late 20s when we meet her again. After the ten-year time jump, Park is still a minor. (*the legal age for an adult in South Korea is 20 years old*) In No Secrets, Jiang is twelve years old at the beginning of the series and twenty-two years old when we meet him after the time jump. Ling is six years older than Jiang’s character.
Final Thoughts:
Other than these few aspects, most of the adapted story is fairly similar to the original. The shows are one part legal drama, one part rom-com, and a dash of fantasy as the main characters work and live together utilizing their skills and special powers to uphold justice while navigating their ever-changing relationship and feelings for each other. No Secrets tended to steer clear of any emotional ambiguity or touchy subjects. The antagonist is simplified, and so is the relationship between the protagonists, as they no longer have the same societal pressures and restraints on their relationship that I Hear Your Voice insinuated.
While I Hear Your Voice was more eclectic with numerous interconnected characters and stories to delve into, No Secrets was a little more to the point and kept the focus on a core group of characters. No Secrets did not focus as much on secondary characters and their back-stories if it did not add to the central stories, characters, or themes. So, though some story is lost, it does not feel like something is missing. The strategic revisions and exclusions from I Hear Your Voice allowed No Secrets to be more focused and concise as an overall story.
Both I Hear Your Voice and No Secrets hit the same beats and consistently tell the same central story. This allows fans of the original or the adaptation to transfer to the other rendition easily and relive the experience of the story with only a few changes.
For more about these screenwriters:
I Hear Your Voice (너의 목소리가 들려; Neoui Moksoriga Deulryeo): Hye Ryeon Park
No Secrets (没有秘密的你; Mei You Mi Mi De Ni): Jie Li
About the Writer
Angela M. Thomas is a Co-Founder & Administrator of the WODC where she serves as the Write or Die Chicks Social Media & Branding Specialist. She captains the international media column Lost in Translation.