Why Coco Martin doesn’t see himself doing K-drama adaptations

Coco Martin revealed that he received offers to do Philippine adaptations of K-dramas, but declined them, saying he would rather focus on boosting our own entertainment industry.

Martin admitted that he is not a fan of K-dramas in a media con for his joint venture with filmmaker Erik Matti and film producer Dondon Monteverde.

“Ang nasa isip namin ay buhayin ang pelikulang Pilipino… alam niyo po ba merong projects na ino-offer sa’kin na bakit hindi ka mag-remake ng Korean [drama], sabi ko, hindi ko sinasabi na [ayaw ko], hindi lang ako fan. Nanghihinayang kasi ako sa talento ng mga Pilipino,” he said.

(What we have in mind is to keep Filipino films alive. Did you know that I received offers to do remakes of Korean dramas? It’s not like I don’t want to do them. I’m just not a fan of them. I feel like Filipino talents may go to waste.)

The actor-director stressed that the Philippine entertainment industry has a lot to offer in terms of storytelling and culture.

“Napakaraming kwento, napakaganda ng kultura ng Pilipino, napakarami pa natin pwedeng i-share sa buong mundo,” he said. “So kung gagawa akong proyekto, dapat gawang akin, ‘yung orihinal, ‘yung ipagmamalaki. Kasi kung sakaling sumikat ang teleserye, alam nating gawang atin ‘yun.”

(There are a lot of stories. Filipino culture is so beautiful. There are still a lot of things to share with the world. So, if I must do a project, it needs to be my own. It needs to be original. Because if a teleserye gets famous, we know it is ours.)

More films about our national heroes

Since Martin is set to star as Andres Bonifacio in the upcoming film “Maypagasa: The Battles of Andres Bonifacio,” the actor expressed his support for the film “Quezon,” a biopic of the second Philippine president, Manuel L. Quezon. 

With this in mind, he believes that more films should be made about the country’s historical figures.

“Natutuwa ako sa success ng ‘Quezon’ kasi dapat natin ginugunita ito. Dapat lahat ng mga bata, pinag-aaralan ang history at kultura natin. Minsan nakakaligtaan na ito, kung paano na tayo bilang Pilipino (I am happy to see the success of “Quezon,” and we have to celebrate it. The children need to learn more about our history and culture. We sometimes forget this, and why we become the Filipinos we are today),” he said.

The “Batang Quiapo” star reiterated that history needs to be taught through films as well.

“Kailangan natin malaman ang ating history at kung paano tayo nagsimula, sino ang mga bayani natin, lalo na sa nangyayari ngayon, sa politics natin ngayon (We need to know our history and how we started, who are our heroes, especially with what’s happening now in our current political landscape),” he said.

Aside from the 2027 film, Martin is set to star in “On the Job: Maghari,” a prequel of the “On the Job” film series. /ra