Webtoonist interview - Morangg <Odd Girl Out>
Webtoonist Interview
vol. 48
[Odd Girl Out]
Morangg | Line
Icebreaking
Talk
Q. It maybe three years ago, but can you tell me how you felt when you
officially started running your webtoon?
As many authors do, I have
prepared my webtoon for a long time. I thought of the story for 2 years and
spent another year drawing the illustrations to fully start preparation, so it
took about 3 years in total. I felt really good when the story that I have been
thinking for a long time has been finally published.
- Since you planned for a long time, is the entire story already prepared?
Yes. The mainstream of the story
up to the ending is already decided. The authors start publishing after
submitting the publication plan to the person in charge. At the moment of
submission, authors will show their storyline from start to finish. There were
some changes made while I was running the webtoon, but the ending will still be
the same.
Q. When I first heard
the title of Odd Girl Out, I asked myself 'is it a romance webtoon?', but it
wasn't necessarily. Why did you use this title?
I was concerned because I wasn't
good at giving titles. Since the webtoon's story was about friendship, I came
up with titles like 'Girl Friends' at first, but there was already a webtoon
with the same name. So I kept thinking and at some point, the title just struck
me. In the sense that it is a complicated story of girls, the webtoon was
titled 'Odd Girl Out'.
What is Odd
Girl Out?
Q. Many readers say that
the characters of Odd Girl Out seem to reflect real figures. Is there a character that you made by
referring to a real person as the motif?
First of all, for the main
characters, there is no one who I related to as the motif. On the other hand,
the supporting characters who appear rarely have a few people who had been
their motifs. For example, the kid named Woo-Ri comes out in the webtoon. She
is the plump, strong girl with bobbed hair who draws really well.
For her, the motif was a student
who I taught when I used to be a teacher at a tutoring college for a long time.
I asked her "would it be okay to make a character out of you when you were
middle school?", and she said it was fine. I suppose there are a few more
among the supporting characters who are based on real people.
Q. When
I first saw Na-Ri Oh, I thought she was kind, but couldn't assert herself
because she had low self-esteem. But as the story progressed, it
felt like she has earned more self-esteem. I suspect that this change is due to
her three friends who she associates with. What do the three friends who she
hangs out with mean to Na-Ri Oh?
The main character is a person
who has been feeling inferior since middle school. She believes that she's not
enough. But as she meets the three friends, she realizes that such aspects are
not important anymore and she eventually grows up. In other words, the friends
act like stepping stones for her. It's those friends who give each other help.
- There is a moment in the past when Na-Ri was
concerning about what to do between Yu-Na and Mi-Jeong. If a situation arises
where she has to choose between the three of Yu-Na, Seon-Ji, and Mi-Rae, who will Na-Ri Oh
pick?
In the current stage of the
story, I assume she'll choose Seon-Ji. Because Mi-Rae and Yu-na will still live
well even if Na-Ri doesn't take care of them, but Seon-Ji is the person who
will make Na-Ri think, 'How would she survive without me?'. She keeps caring
for her, such as by teaching her studies because she is worried a lot. So at this
point in time, it seems like she will choose Seon-Ji. However, as the story
gets unraveled by the end, the choices can be different.
Q. Yu-Na Lim doesn't look like she
is revealing her inner feelings to others. However, as it now seems that
Yu-Na's such mind is also opening up, would she be able to honestly share her
inner feelings and thoughts that were hidden from Na-Ri and other friends?
As she had such an accident when
she was young, it might be hard for her right now, however, she is definitely
learning from three friends how to express yourself to your friends. As time
passes, she will become able to convey her feelings bit by bit, but not so
straightforwardly like the Seon-Ji or other similar kids. She just hates her
pride and grace getting hurt in any way.
Q. What is the
relationship between Yu-Na Im's mother and Na-Ri Oh's mother and how did they
become friends?
It's similar to the relationship
between Na-Ri and Yu-Na. They were close when they were young and though they
too had conflicts, they overcame such obstacles well very to reconcile and stay
close afterward.
Therefore, in a way, their
relationship is comparable to that between Na-Ri and Yu-Na. In fact, I thought
I'd draw a short one or two episodes about their relationship later on, but
then, I concluded that the readers might not be interested in it. (laughs) They
might appear to be out of place.
- Ah! It was a little strange that Yu-Na's mother was giving advice to Yu-Na
on friendship and there was such a back story.
Yes. She's been through the same
process longer than Yuna. She was able to give advice like that because she had
more experiences in similar situations.
Q. Did Seon-Ji Lim ever
meet Na-Ri when she was young?
She hasn't really met her. There
is a panel in the webtoon where she passes her very briefly like an extra
character when Na-Ri was eating a hot dog. Other than that time, she has never
met her before but she'd become her friend later on.
Q. Seung-Joon Lee, a
high school student now, appears as a charming character who has strong
self-assertion and knows how to care for others. Will Seung-Joon Lee keep
coming out in the story?
For that part… I can't make any
comment. (Laughs) I have an idea in my mind, but I believe it can be a spoiler.
Anyway, he's an important character.
Q. Mi-Rae Seo did not
seem to be interested in becoming a celebrity when she was young and even now.
I suppose she is dreaming more about becoming a cartoonist than a celebrity.
Right. Becoming a celebrity was
her mother's dream. When Mi-Rae was young, she couldn't do what she liked, and
now she is gradually finding something that suits her aptitude, which is
comics.
- From the position of a real cartoonist, would you recommend a job as a
cartoonist for Mi-Rae?
Mi-Rae Seo as a person is weaker
in mentality than you may expect. I think she will get hurt a lot by elements
like the reader's comments. In fact, when I first came up with the character, I
imagined she would want to become an emoticon designer? or an artist who draws
funny stuff.
However, I still would make the
recommendation. Even if you get hurt, it's something one has to overcome.
Q. It's very sweet when
you observe how Jung Woo-Kyung treats Seo Mi-Rae. Does Jung Woo-Kyung love Seo
Mi-Rae?
There is a bit of fantasy
involved. For the time being, he really likes her, whether it's either a love
or a friendship. You will see how they will end up if you keep reading the
webtoon. However, I can assure you that he likes her anyhow. He keeps
concerning about her as she is hanging in the corner
of his heart always. Also, since Woo-Kyung and Yu-Na are cousins, there are
other relationships that are connected. He would have many complicated
emotions.
Q. Na-Ri Oh's older
brother, Yeong-Hoon Oh, usually comes out as a comedy
character. Then I sometimes realize that Na-Ri Oh's friends mention that he is
actually handsome when they see him and the story indeed is progressed from Na-Ri Oh's
perspective. Does it mean that Yeong-Hoon Oh is really handsome?
No. He is not handsome (laughs).
Only one character named So-Ae says that he is handsome. It's just her
preference with men with slit eyes. Honestly, if you're a high school student,
you would look good only by being tall and dressing well even though he really
isn't handsome. Rather than being handsome, he may look refreshing from a far
distance?
- When Na-Ri was attending a middle school before then, wasn't there a moment
when one of her friends mentioned he was handsome?
Was there? I don't remember
(laughs). Maybe I have a bad memory But when middle school girls see older high
school boys, I assume they can certainly seem attractive.
- There was a scene where the kids were telling that her brother is being
talked about for his good looks ...
Alas, that's it. There was such
an episode where Na-Ri gets upset after hearing that. That said, he may look
refreshing, but he would only seem handsome for about 3 seconds when people
just pass by him, not so much if you stare closely. (laughs)
Q. I feel that Na-Ri
Oh's personality resembles her father who is a girl's daddy. Which of her
parents does she most resemble in terms of personality?
Na-Ri as a character was created
to be almost like her father. They look alike and have similar personalities.
On the other hand, her mother seems like she is cool and good at making
decisions.
Q. Drawing cartoons with animals to instill interest in studying for Seon-Ji was so
cute. How did you think of such an idea?
When I drew the characters, the
first idea I started with was the duck and the swan. When Na-Ri comes out, the
duck character would also appear in the middle and create comical scenes
together.
As the duck kept
popping up with Na-Ri, I then thought about what kind of animals would be
suitable for other characters, and I came up with animals that fit various
characters. The characters and animals matched each other. I could design such
characters because I assumed that Mi-Rae would draw cartoons by rendering her
friends into animal characters.
- Then, did Na-Ri Oh's name come from the words 'duck (ohri)' and 'swan
(baekjo)'?
Yes. That's it. Duck for me.
How about you?
Q. What is the process of your webtoon production?
First of all, as the entire
story is already written roughly, it takes me about a day to draft a storyboard
and other details. I used to work 6 days a week by myself because I had no
assistants before. But now, two assistants help me out, so it won't take that
long. We outline the storyboard for a day, draw restlessly for two days, spend
another day for editing and finish the rest for two days. That way, the whole
process consumes about 4 ~ 4.5 days.
- How did you hire your assistants? Was there help from the webtoon platform?
One of the assistants who is
really good was introduced to me by close webtoon artists, and I hired the
other one by posting a job ad on the art community when I was too busy working
on the outsourced project.
- Did the production process get a lot easier after employing assistants?
Yes. It got very much better. In
the past, the quality of illustrations was often low due to lack of time. I've
been able to do spend more time and effort in sketching now, and I've increased
the number of panels though not by many. Everything from quantity to the story
has improved. I don't know how I have lived when they weren't there (laughs).
In the past, I was skeptical of
hiring assistants because I thought it would be an additional task to inform
them about the process and share my work with them, even if it wasn't for the
financial burden. Now that I come to think of it, I could have been much
healthier and my back would have been less painful if I had employed them
earlier.
- So then, when did you start employing assistants?
I had no help for the two-thirds
of the time when I was running the webtoon until now. Then, I started fully
working together with assistants from this spring. Before that, my friends
helped me out from time to time. I had to do everything else by myself.
Q. Do you still have to
often work overnight?
I had to work overnight every
day before I hired assistants. If Friday was the due date, I must had to stay
up from Thursday night to Friday morning. But I haven't been working overnight
since I hired assistants. As I didn't have to stay up all night, my conditions
actually got so much better.
Q. Who is your favorite
character among all the characters in your webtoon?
My answer to this question would
change depending on the circumstance. When I was asked the same question
previously, the answer was Mi-Rae, but now it's Na-Ri. I suppose it's because I
think about the main character the most and speculate the situations from the
main character's point of view.
In addition, I also like Woo-Ri
as a character. Perhaps, it's because she is based on the student I used to
teach, I want to show the character as much as possible.
Q. Every time Yeong-Hoon
Oh comes out with Na-Ri, many people say that they look like real brothers and
sisters. Did you actually have a brother?
Yes. I have a younger brother.
So for the lines that are spoken by the siblings, I have literally used the
words that my brother told me to stab me (?). The readers could recognize them
as realistic siblings because they reflected the real version of siblings in my
mind. We just belittle each other (laughs).
Q. Which one of the
characters did you most resemble when you were in the 1st
year of high school?
I think different aspects of the
characters are mixed in me. I was similar to Woo-Ri when I was young. However,
I am also like Na-Ri in terms of being timid and constantly worrying too much.
I believe I have quite the opposite personality to that of Yu-Na or Mi-Rae. I
feel as if Woo-Ri and Na-Ri's personalities are blended in me by half-and-half?
I also love cartoons.
Q. Do you have any close
webtoon artists in private?
Close artists? I'm just have
started getting along with them... (laughs).
- What about webtoon artists who you want to get to know more?
I keep getting closer to them
now, but there are some artists who I want to become more acquainted with.
There are people who debuted with me. Artist San-Sam and Artist Lee-Moi. And
through these artists, I also have become friends with Artist Hye-Ni. I want to
stay close to them.
Then, I met a high school friend
at the Line Webtoon Party. She was an artist named Yo-En. I want to keep close
with her as well.
I am saying that I only want to
get to know them better because if I told you that we were close now and they
reply back to me by asking 'Oh? were we?', it would be quite embarrassing.
(laughs) I genuinely want to make friends with them. It took me three years to
get this close with them, but I think we will get closer in time.
Q. Do you have any interesting webtoons that you read?
I also love webtoons. Among
them, if I were to pick my lifetime webtoon, I really enjoyed 'Acoustic Life'.
I like a slice of life webtoons, titles like Acoustic Life, Eating Existence
and Women at a Game Company. I was particularly fond of Women at a Game
Company. It was compelling to see different characters striving for their set
goals.
For the one that I am currently
reading, 'Who Made Me a Princess' was really interesting. There are also many
other titles that I keep reading. I am following 'Yumi's Cells' as well.
Recently, 'Zombie Daughter' was quite intriguing. I also liked Yoon-Chang Lee's
previous titles, I think the style of his comedy fits my taste.
- So, you prefer comedy webtoons too?
Yes, but shall I rather say I
favor realistic comedy? I think I like comedy that the readers can sympathize
within their daily life. Artist Yoon-Chang Lee draws such comedy very well.
Q. Do you have any last words for your
readers?
First of all, I want to thank my
readers. There are a lot of readers who read my webtoons thoroughly. They don't
just view them once but look at them many times to pick up errors that I didn't
even know about. In that respect, I'm sorry for them. I tend to make small
mistakes frequently. Such mistakes can indeed disturb the reader's immersion,
so I thank them for keeping me informed and staying with me for a long time.
I realize that there are a lot
of readers who get bored when they have to read about the past events. I would
like to tell them they indeed are a necessary part of the story, so if they
could just wait for a bit, the story will return to the present very soon.