It‘s been a long time since webtoons became a key motif for video content. In addition to attempts to adapt popular webtoons into videos or, conversely, to adapt successful video content into webtoons, there is also a new movement that is attracting attention by pre-releasing the stories of some of the main characters in the form of webtoons before the release of a movie based on an original scenario.

In the case of director Kwak Kyung-taek’s movie ‘Firefighter’, a special webtoon of the same title featuring the character Cheol-woong played by Joo-won in the movie is being released through Naver Webtoon starting on the 13th ahead of its release on December 4th. The movie is based on the 2001 Hongje-dong fire disaster in which six firefighters died, and the webtoon tells the story of Cheol-woong, a new firefighter at the Seobu Fire Station before the disaster, growing into a true firefighter.

As soon as Episodes 1 and 2 were released on the 13th, it settled in the top 2 of Naver Webtoon‘s popularity, and there were hot comments not only expressing deep sympathy for the main character Cheol-woong, but also demanding consolation and improved treatment for firefighters who dedicate themselves even in poor environments.

Above all, this webtoon has had a positive effect of emphasizing the character narrative played by Joo Won even before the movie’s release, thereby reducing the presence of Kwak Do-won, the ‘number 1 lead’, who was completely excluded from promotional activities due to controversy over drunk driving charges.

The occult action movie ‘Holy Night: Demon Hunters’, which will be released next year starring Ma Dong-seok, also released the prequel webtoon ‘Holy Night: The Zero’, starting on the 25th of last month. It is released every week. The movie is about the dark problem solver team ‘Holy Night’ that hunts demons and fights against a group that worships evil, while the webtoon deals with the incident that led Bau, the leader of the ‘Holy Night’ team played by Ma Dong-seok who hunts demons with rock-like strength and fists, to set out on a demon hunt.

It introduces the vast worldview of the movie first, and at the same time, it tells the story of how the members of the ‘Holy Night’ team that appeared in the movie, such as Sharon (Seo Hyun), who has a special ability to find demons, and the reliable team member Kim Gun (David Lee), come together, forming a fandom early on and even securing potential viewers.


Reporter Seungmi Lee smlee@donga.com