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KANG Full’s A.P.T, Crush On You, Ba:Bo and 26 Years, YOON Tae-ho’s Moss and Inside Men are among the most noted titles adapted into films. But it’s not just Korean film producers showing keen interest in Korean original webtoon stories. KANG Full’s Witch will simultaneously go into production in both Korea and China for each country’s individual film version. China bought the film rights for the ‘Water for Plastic Surgery’ episode in OH Sung-dae’s horror webtoon, Gi-Gi-Goi-Goi. In addition to Witch, China-based Huace Film & TV has bought the film and TV drama rights for Girl in the Mirror, Help! Breakup Ghost, Just One Shot!, Cashero and No More Regrets. Local production companies are also continuing to push out webtoon-based TV dramas and films.

Here we introduce some of the upcoming webtoon artists and their works as they follow the footsteps of KANG Full and YOON Tae-ho.

The artist ran a three-part series of With God under straplines of Afterlife, This Life and The Myth. The artist’s unique picture of daily life in this webtoon also captures the readers’ hearts although it’s constant crossover between religion, myth and fantasy. Happiness and sorrow, which are major parts of human condition, are all worked into the trivial details of life and witty humor that the artist puts into his episodes. KIM Yong-hwa, director of Mr. Go (2013) will direct the webtoon’s film adaptation, starring HA Jung-woo, CHA Tae-hyun and JU Ji-hoon.

 
His works are filled with offbeat ideas and whacky humor with minor sensibilities. If realism is putting together these off-the-wall elements that can go in any direction, this is the reason for the enthusiastic reception for Fashion King, set during high school years where teenagers only care about fashion and sex. 

Fashion King tells the story of WOO Ki-myung, a completely ordinary high school student without much fashion-oriented taste, who enters a fashion rivalry to become the coolest, best dressed person in the world. The retro-style mood and comic, yet extremely realistic episodes have scored explosive number of hits since it started running in 2011, and gave birth to various parodies and newly-coined words. Its film adaptation Fashion King attracted attention as well in 2014. TV drama star JOO Won played WOO Ki-myung, and filmmaker OH Ki-hwan, who directed Chinese box office success, A Wedding Invitation (2013), directed the film.

 
There are thoughts and ideas that can’t be put into words due to moral and social norms, common sense and reputation. JO Seok’s webtoons pinpoint those inner thoughts to expose them to the entire world. His webtoons leave the readers with a sense of catharsis as they are right on the mark. This explains why his 10-year-running, 1,000-episode webtoon, The Sound of Your Heart still holds the highest record of hits.

The story revolves around the daily episodes of JO Seok and his girlfriend Ae-bong. Absurd humor and explicitly brutal statements such as “Shut up! Your face itself is boring!”, and boldly scribbled drawing style are what makes The Sound of Your Heart stand out from other webtoons. JO Seok, who had created a hit record with his debut work, has gained popularity, not only in Korea, but also in China and Thailand. The Sound of Your Heart has also been released as a game program, while its web drama version is gearing up for production.

Fantasy in Daily Life

The fairytale-like fantasy characteristics of the artist’s works also appear in Boarding House Dorothy, which deals with various events surrounding the fairytale-like characters who come to live at a middle school student, Han-byul’s boarding house.

Crossing Genre Boundaries

Sold to China, what stands out from Just One Shot! are the powerful storyline and drawing style, for which the two artists are well known. Especially, the first cut that recreates Seoul’s nightlife like a miniature painting is extraordinary. This webtoon tells the story of a cab robber who unexpectedly gets involved in a dire situation after he picks a strange winning lottery ticket named ‘Just One Shot’ off the street.

Graphic Novels, Here I Come

Ludovico is also known as a ‘perverse rabbit’ as he draws a rabbit character that represents himself. An avid book reader and filmgoer, he has captured the readers’ attention for his graphic novel-like solid narrative structures and powerful storylines. Interview is one of his most noted works. The webtoon is structured as a story-within-a-story, composed of an interview between a writer and a journalist, and a story told by the writer. 

The main characters are a writer who has spent years in anonymity until he became a star overnight with a single piece of work, and a third-rate journalist interviewing him. Disillusioned with the fact that his most sloppy work is praised by the public, the writer reveals his unreleased work to the journalist who appears to be the first person that shows interest in his long-shunned creative world. Interview is in talks for the Chinese as well as the U.S. market.