WEBTOON Advanced Drama Genre Secrets by Author Kim Yong-hwa
Hello
I’m Kim Yong-hwa, a webtoon author
I have published and serialized various print comics
like Sunflower Pretty Boy, Ghetto Machine, and Che Guevara
Additionally, I have created webtoons such as Masterpiece, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Why Did You Come to Goblin Hill?
Flowers Bloom Again, Poco Allegretto
and the second installment of Why Did You Come to Goblin Hill? (Hae-soo's Chapter)
These are some of the webtoons I have released
This session is dedicated to sharing my personal webtoon know-how
When I reflected on what unique insights I could provide
I realized that many of the lessons I’ve learned
might resonate with fellow creators
who also navigate the grueling daily life
of a webtoon artist
The webtoon creation process
is often devoid of leeway and riddled with challenges
Depending on the approach and perspective you choose
your results will vary
These outcomes eventually shape your creative environment
and within that framework, you’ll have to produce and deliver
at least one episode every week
This is the life of a webtoon artist
What about you?
Are you ready to embrace this path and profession
the one you’ve chosen out of passion or interest
happily?
Here are the five key points of the webtoon creation process
I’d like to share
1. Build a body tailored to your purpose
2. Experience maximum capacity as early as possible
3. Discover your unique genre and art style
4. Understand your identity
5. Find a way to make things work when they don’t
Webtoon Creation Know-How 1
I began creating comics
at age 20
after deeply contemplating what I truly loved
During middle school, I filled pages of notebooks
with over 100-page comics
that my classmates would pass around
However, in high school, I set different life goals and left comics behind
I wanted to earn money quickly, so I obtained a technical license
and began working as an apprentice earlier than most
Although I excelled in my job and even received rapid promotions
after 2 years of working
I frequently felt an inexplicable emptiness
Eventually, I realized that this dissatisfaction stemmed
from not pursuing what I genuinely loved
which made my heart ache
This is how I found comics
When I decided to return to drawing
after four years of high school and working life
my hand muscles were no longer accustomed to drawing
and regaining my skills took considerable time
Like any art genre
creating comics requires repeated training
to develop specialized brain and muscle functions
As a comic artist
your brain and even the small muscles in your fingers
need to evolve for the purpose of storytelling and illustrating
You must train yourself
to achieve this
Building a body tailored to your creative goals
This is the first
and most important step
This involves developing the physical ability
to draw and create
what you envision, which is the most important
The rest of the process after developing the physical ability
are simply details
that one will have to face once they begin their creative activity
Without this foundational ability
no matter how much you learn or hear about advanced techniques
your skills will remain superficial
and fail to truly integrate with your work
I was fortunate enough to learn this first point
from my teacher
Among domestic authors
I admired the works of Heo Young-Man the most
Fortunately, after entering the world of comics
I became an apprentice to Heo Young-Man
Have you ever felt the miraculous joy
of achieving something you wished for?
When I met my teacher
and was accepted as his apprentice
I felt as if I was part of the universe and destiny for the first time
That’s how happy I was
Separate from that joy, the daily life of being a staff as an apprentice
was the hardest thing I had ever experienced
It was a system designed to create the maximum output
in the most minimal conditions
At that time, my teacher serialized works in a daily sports newspaper
weekly magazine, a bi-weekly magazine
and a monthly magazine
In total, 250 to 300 pages were completed every month
by my teacher and four or five assistants
I often thought, "If I studied this hard"
"I could have gotten into Seoul National University"
Later, I lost weight, my stamina dropped
I barely managed to meet deadlines, and thought to myself, why aren't I collapsing?
In dramas, people usually pass out after this kind of overwork
I would think this while seeing
blood dripping from my nose and hair falling out in the sink every morning
Thanks to that experience, my threshold for maximum effort was elevated
I learned what to do, when to do it, and how to do it
and I developed a sense for determining what was needed to achieve it
This is the second focal point I want to share
Experience the maximum at the earliest possible stage
All of you chose this work because you love it
Although each person has a different reason
the fact that you chose the profession of webtoon creator
means you love comics and webtoons
It’s not just about enjoying and reading them
you wanted to create and draw stories
becoming a comic or webtoon artist
If you want to sustain this job
doing what you love, for a long time
there’s only one way
You have to be good at it
You have to enjoy doing it, and be good at it
Seeing yourself fail to do what you love well
is heartbreaking
It’s frustrating
When you face your shortcomings
in finishing a cut
or completing the scale of a story
it can make you incredibly annoyed and sad
However, the standard for being "good"
is highly personal, making it ambiguous
and even impossible to measure
Only you can know if you are good or not
If you feel enjoyment while doing it, that means you are good at it by your own standards
If others share in that enjoyment
it means others also see it as good
So, keep working hard and having fun
The standard for being good is subjective
and that’s because comics as a medium
are not mathematical or technical functions
It is because they are an artistic medium
Comics combine writing and drawing
to deliver stories through images
Writing is divided into genres
and drawings are divided into art styles
The number of genres and art styles
determines the number of criteria for being good
Even within the same genre or similar art style
each artist develops their unique style
which further diversifies the standards for being good
Thus, the deeper you go
the harder it becomes to determine
what is good or bad
There is one simple rule, though
Anyone can tell
when something is poorly done, lacking, or basic
This brings me to the third focal point
Find your own genre and art style
During this process, fundamental skills
are the basic prerequisite
How do you find your genre and style?
Start by asking yourself what works you have liked
What works did you enjoy
and want to emulate as a child?
Didn’t they inspire you to dream?
Start there
Also, think about the stories you want to convey
If you create works in the style of what you admire and want to emulate
are you worried they’ll look like copies?
Don’t worry
Just start writing
Make a storyboard
Try to go beyond five episodes
If that’s hard, even three episodes will do
If you find it fun while writing, don’t stop
Follow the protagonist to the end of the story
Let your imagination run its course
Eventually, you’ll realize
that the works you admired
and the ones you’re writing
may seem similar but are inherently different
Why?
Because you are a different author
Your upbringing and thoughts are different
When you write extensively
your unique identity will naturally emerge
For good things to surface
you need to feed yourself with good inputs
Output comes from input
In this sense, your environment is essentially yourself
What you see, eat, and do
these things shape who you are
This is the fourth focal point
Understand your personal identity
Once you understand your identity
you will focus on the inputs that are necessary for you
You’ll differentiate between what’s useful and what’s wasteful
You’ll discern between meaningful
and non-meaningful inputs
To gather the inputs you need
even the hardest books will become interesting to read
You’ll strive to explore deeper and more diverse knowledge
You’ll realize you need time for self-improvement
and that time is limited and insufficient
You’ll naturally seek ways to focus
on what you love effectively
Once this happens, everything will fall into place
and you’ll become someone who works well without needing external motivation
You’ll develop a core identity
and this core will become a non-negotiable part of your life
This is what forms individuality
From this point on, all the techniques for writing and drawing
are merely supplementary tools
for enhancing the details of your work
Learn, absorb
and discard what doesn’t become your own
Even just browsing webtoon platforms shows
how many diverse genres and art styles exist
Planting your own work in this webtoon forest
is likely the dream of everyone attending this lecture
A few years ago
I used to tell students to always keep up with trends
The reason was that following trends
requires consistently exploring
a certain number of works
But my perspective has changed slightly now
There are already too many works to explore
even just to find those that match your taste
Focus more on the works you love and are drawn to
If you can understand your identity
and manage your inputs accordingly
you don’t need to force yourself to consume
non-preferred works just to track trends
Focus on what you want and what appeals to you
This is crucial because
everyone has their favorite style
When you tell a story with the style you love
you’ll imagine scenes more vividly
and your characters will become more dimensional
Even if you’re physically tired while working
because the process itself is fulfilling
you’ll feel less exhausted
Webtoon Creation Know-How 2
When I was preparing for my debut
I wanted to be special
so I challenged myself to a domain that others did not attempt
At that time, that domain was the horror genre
I read novels by Stephen King, Edgar Allan Poe
and Maupassant
and immersed myself in horror movies
The work I prepared, however
did not pass the editor's desk
Even now
the horror genre tends to be generally unappealing
Despite this lack of appeal
I needed to make the genre likable enough for serialization
but my capabilities were insufficient
As a result, I mixed the horror genre with black comedy
and created a series of short anthologies
Coincidentally, a call for submissions for production support
was announced by the Seoul Animation Center
so I submitted the manuscript I had prepared
Fortunately, I received the grand prize
and even had the privilege of attending the Angoulême International Comics Festival in France
When something doesn't work, find the breakthrough point
This is the fifth focal point
I want to share
If you’re not enjoying writing or drawing
the reason is simple
You’re not practicing enough
Write more, draw more
Look for and read more entertaining and interesting works
Focus your time and materials
on the parts you want to excel at
and the areas you wish to improve
This might be the only way
After that, I left the horror genre behind
It was an ambitious challenge in a genre
that didn’t align with my personal disposition
It drained my spirit and made my daily life unenjoyable
In the nature of the genre, someone always had to die
and for the plot to progress, someone else constantly had to die
The genre required impactful portrayals of death
and the process leading to it
so I had to repeatedly imagine and wrestle with those ideas
While I achieved some success with the anthology series
by wrapping them in the guise of black comedy
I decided not to work on horror projects for a while
I wanted to live a happier life
That’s why I intentionally created a slice-of-life gag comic
This is how the work Sunflower Handsome Boy was born
a 20-something neighborhood loafer still maturing into adulthood
Gi-Param and his local friends Melang and Dorothy's
everyday life with a mix of fantasy
It’s a sitcom comedy about these three friends
The humor in this work stemmed from
how playful and joking the characters could be
which determined the fun
of each episode
Creating it was the least stressful
and most enjoyable experience for me
During this time, digital tools were just beginning to be used in comics
I drew using a lower-tier Wacom Graphire tablet
rather than an Intuos
and used Photoshop for my work
Technologically, it was still an early stage
for digital comics
I didn’t create my illustrations using traditional pen-and-paper techniques
instead, I used felt-tip pens and drew them almost like doodles
I didn’t use rulers for any lines and relied entirely on freehand
The freer and more playful the drawings, the better they suited this genre
Most importantly, the more liberated the artist feels while drawing
the more readers resonate with that freedom
It was a work that consistently ranked first on the site where it was serialized
Even after the serialization site shut down
the comic moved to a major comic magazine
and continued its run
I wanted to create grand, dramatic works
like those of my mentor, Heo Young-Man
However, even as Heo Young-Man’s apprentice
I needed to create a unique art style of my own
distinct from my mentor’s
The editorial department commented
that my work still carried too much of Heo Young-Man’s stylistic influence
Although I loved that style and had learned it as his apprentice
I had to abandon those elements
to establish myself as an independent creator
When I ended my apprenticeship after about four years and struck out on my own
I realized I had returned to square one
I needed to reinvent myself, starting with my character designs
I practiced drawing longer and more slender proportions
and worked to align my style with current trends
The key to a distinct character design is the eyes
Drawing eyes well makes a character stand out
I worked hard to move beyond the style I had learned
and transform it into a more refined art style
I didn’t insist on solely writing my original works
I also collaborated with writers
The work Masterpiece, which used traditional Korean rice wine as its theme
was one of my collaborations
It was a project planned by a publisher
and I participated as the artist for Masterpiece
Since it was already being created
I suggested publishing it as a web serial for promotional purposes
At that time, the “Manhwa in the World” section on the Daum portal
was leading the way in web comics
Back then, there was no early access revenue system
so the royalties were negligible, but since the publisher covered production costs
the web serialization royalties were like pocket money
For promotional purposes, I proposed and advocated for serialization
I even directly pitched the serialization to the portal myself
and this is how I began web serialization as a black-and-white comic artist
Thanks to this, I naturally transitioned from a traditional comic artist
to a web serialization artist
Now, while web-novel-based “novel comics”
form a significant portion of the webtoon genre
original works also thrive through collaborations with writers
If you have the opportunity, I recommend trying a collaborative project
The digital environment has become the default for comic creation
I also needed to switch to a full-color digital workflow
A Midsummer Night’s Dream was an original story
created in full color with two assistants
The two assistants worked alongside me
collaborating on the digital full-color process
The story begins with a boy, left alone by his single mother at the age of six
who is sent to live with his great-aunt in the countryside
One day, while wandering in the back hills, he encounters a mysterious girl
who follows him and begins living at his great-aunt’s house
Meanwhile, the great-aunt’s daughter, who had been living alone in Seoul
suddenly returns to the countryside, adding to the great-aunt’s burdens
The great-aunt also takes care of her elderly mother-in-law, who is frail and suffers from dementia
She is the quintessential “supermother” character, a hallmark of the “mother fantasy” genre
The work was filled with warm, heartfelt characters and episodes
making it a popular healing piece in the genre of restorative works
I believe I also chose an ending scene
that fit the story perfectly
A Midsummer Night’s Dream had the honor
of being featured on stage at a youth music concert by the Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra
Under the direction of conductor Sung Si-Hyun
the orchestra performed From the New World by Dvořák
while live drawings were created
In the first part of the concert, visuals from the work were displayed on a screen
in sync with Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream
I believe I may be the only webtoon artist in the world
to have performed alongside
such a grand-scale orchestra
Even now, thinking about the grandeur and power of the Gyeonggi Philharmonic stage
my heart races as I recall the experience of live drawing
This was still before the advent of the “preview revenue system,”
and my royalties were too low
to support two assistants without taking on additional freelance work
Moreover, when a serialized work ended
there would be a gap before launching the next project, resulting in a loss of income
To cover this income gap
I had no choice but to continue freelance work
The Production Support Contest held by the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency
was an important opportunity that helped me withstand such gaps
Poco Allegretto was a work created after winning the contest
and it was based on the Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra
The orchestra actively cooperated during production
providing valuable insights
and I had the privilege of interviewing the renowned conductor Im Won-Jung
During the production of my earlier work Masterpiece, which focused on traditional Korean rice wine
I put a lot of effort in research
I realized the importance of research as well
This emphasis on research
stems from observing my mentor, Heo Young-Man
as he developed Sikgaek (The Grand Chef)
Extensive research often provided
the main dramatic episodes of the story
while even minor details
enhanced realism and depth
There is a significant difference between
creating with knowledge
and guessing without understanding
For my next work, I pitched three proposals to the platform
The one I wanted to create the most was a story centered on the theme of home-cooked meals
However, the platform chose the proposal
that I had hastily written last
It was a short idea
inspired by my 10-year-old son
and the family dog, Dalnim, in the countryside
This is how Why Did You Come to Goblin Hill? began
As the term "webtoon" gained recognition
the growth of Naver Webtoon continued to accelerate
Following the success of the paid platform Lezhin Comics
numerous webtoon platforms began to emerge
I had the opportunity to join the launch
of the Comico platform as an opening creator
While continuing my existing serialization on Daum Webtoon
I experimented with a slightly provocative story for Comico
That’s all it was
This is how that work came to be
The art style was freehand
with pastel-toned watercolor colors lightly applied
The story begins with a father who discovers that his beloved 17-year-old daughter
whom he treasures like his own
is not actually his biological child
Juggling two weekly serializations
was a literal exchange of lifespan for work
Without maintaining regular routines
for stamina and health recovery
it was impossible to sustain such work
While the production director wished for the series to continue
I decided to conclude it at an appropriate point
During the serialization of Why Did You Come to Goblin Hill? on Daum Webtoon
I eventually transitioned to working alone mid-series
This was because the income from serialization
was insufficient to support my assistants
Since the work was nearing its end anyway
I resolved to complete it on my own
It ended up taking three years to finish
and during that time, I single-handedly handled
the writing, illustrations, and coloring, meeting weekly deadlines
Naturally, I often felt the work’s quality
was lacking each week
Although I could have done better
economic realities dictated otherwise
One must accept and overcome such realities
After six years and over 250 episodes
the series concluded with an ending that satisfied its readers
for which I was deeply grateful
As a webtoon creator
this was the longest project I had ever completed
The platform asked why I insisted on ending the series
but the story had naturally reached its conclusion
and I needed to plan a new, profitable project
Platforms prefer works with strong dramatic elements
as such works drive more reader engagement
and generate higher revenues
particularly through secondary licensing and adaptations
In line with this direction
I planned the work Dr. Pine’s Day
This is the story of a soul collector
who retrieves the spirits of those whose lives have ended
living in a small rented room
connected to a pipeline
that sends souls somewhere
in the universe
Re-imagining the Grim Reaper concept
the protagonist drives a delivery truck
and resides in a small rental apartment
this is how I set the main character
None of the people around the protagonist
remember anything about him
He is a solitary figure who exists in the world
but does not truly exist
The story begins when he meets a woman
in the neighboring district
who does the same job as him
Dr. Pine’s Day has reached 92 episodes and is currently on hiatus
As Why Did You Come to Goblin Hill? was adapted into an animation
a second season had to be serialized for promotional purposes
Currently, on Daum Webtoon, now Kakao Webtoon
each creator can only serialize one work at a time
To serialize the second season of Why Did You Come to Goblin Hill?
Dr. Pine’s Day had to be put on hiatus
The second season of Why Did You Come to Goblin Hill?
was developed with the theme of darkness and the abyss
Since the first season had been loved as a bright and cheerful adventure story
I wanted the second season to be a darker and more violent story
I aimed for more provocative content
in hopes of generating higher revenue
From the mid-stages of Dr. Pine’s Day
I worked on other jobs simultaneously
allocating that income to hire staff
for coloring and backgrounds
For the second season of Why Did You Come to Goblin Hill?, specifically the Hae-Soo edition
I managed to maintain a team up to the middle of the series
However, I eventually had to stop my side jobs
and began working alone to meet deadlines
This was because the income from the series was still insufficient to hire a team
The reality is that unless a work generates significant revenue after launch
it’s difficult to afford external assistance
Studio-style full-color production is very time-intensive
The fact that it takes a lot of time
means it requires a substantial workforce
You need capable team members for each part of the production
and the costs must be fully covered by the revenue
Bright colors and special effects
fully utilize the unique strengths
of mobile screens' light
This allows for animation-like visual perfection
in every frame
The weekly workload for a single creator
is simply too immense to handle alone
Fortunately, the digitization of the work environment
has made it possible for individual creators
to meet weekly deadlines for original works
Without tools like
liquid crystal tablets and Clip Studio
the golden age of webtoons might never have come so easily
Digital-era comics have evolved into webtoons
a form perfectly suited to the times
Ironically
traditional hand-drawn black-and-white works done on manuscript paper with pens
are now appreciated for their unique individuality
The available genres range from personal slice-of-life stories
to hyper-realistic works with intricate details
as well as 19+ romance
All possible genres are available
Every week, a significant number of works
are updated on platforms
Top-tier works
consistently generate millions in revenue
What do you think it takes to create a work
that ranks among the top and earns millions?
What kind of work are you preparing?
What kind of work do you dream of creating?
Which creator is your role model?
What kind of creator do you want to become?
The most important thing is to choose what you truly want to do
and what you are most confident in
Even if a particular concept seems more likely to succeed or make money
if it doesn’t align with you personally
it will be difficult to deliver genuine emotion and enjoyment to readers
Understand whether you have the ability
to cleverly execute a formula for success
If you do, and you feel drawn to it, give it a try
If it works, that’s great
If it doesn’t, at the very least you will improve your skills
The knowledge and techniques needed for research, directing
and tools are covered in uploaded lectures
by many outstanding creators
Feel free to refer to them
What you need is
a sincere desire to do the work
a resilient mindset and stamina
and effective time management
I wish you success in building an enjoyable career as a webtoon creator
Ultimately, I believe the most important question to ask yourself is
What kind of person do you want to become?
you need to answer this question for yourself
Then, become an author that create works
that align with that answer
Thank you
Webtoon Creation Know-How 1 Build a body suited to your purpose Repetitively train your brain and muscles If you don't build the foundation, you can't internalize the details even if you learn them
Experience extreme situations as early as possible Do what you love and do it well with joy Find your genre and style Ask yourself what works you’ve loved Think about the story you want to tell
Follow the protagonist driving the story and work through it until the end Identify your own identity Focus on what you want and what draws you in
Webtoon Creation Know-How 2
The Effects of Research: Helps create central episodes for your drama Enhances realism and detail in your work
Essential Qualities for Webtoon Creators: A strong desire to work on your craft Resilient mental and physical stamina Time management skills