Look around, and you will find people spending time looking at their phones anywhere such as in buses, subways, or cafés. One thing they do on their phones is reading webtoons. 

  Webtoon is one of the most popular contents these days. Production companies announces they are making shows based on certain webtoons. Webtoons are main topics of conversations and millions of people click on webtoons being uploaded on Line every day. What makes webtoon so popular among people these days? Let’s find the answer to this question through by Sunkki, one of the popular webtoons on Line. 

 

is a school romance webtoon that started July 7th, 2010. It is one of the most popular webtoons with the description saying, ‘Seol Hong is a hard-working student, who has returned to college after a long break. Jung Yu is a senior at the college known as Mr. Perfect. Seol feels like her life took a turn for the worse since she got involved with Jung. Is Jung intentionally turning Seol's life?’. The reason why this webtoon is so popular is not just because it is the romance webtoon with handsome and cute characters. Breaking the stereotypes of the normal romance webtoons, develops consensus among people by making readers immerse into the webtoon through realistic characters, well designed storyline, and depiction of subtle emotions.  

 

 

 

1. Relatable Subtle Emotions

 

 One thing that stands out about is there are many characters with unique and charming personalities. 

 

[Figure.1] Inho Baek, Seol Hong, Jung Yu, main characters in

 

This webtoon uses the subtle emotions flowing between the main characters Seol, Jung and Inho as the backbone of the story. The true appeal of the characters in this webtoon lies in the organic emotional flows between these living characters. Not having to say obvious things, the reader knows from the experience what the consequences will be for certain causes. Sun-Kee drew such details realistically.

 

 

 

  

 [Figure. 2] one of the scenes in Season 3 episode 62

 

 Other than the usual romance webtoons, focuses on relationships of the students in the college. The subtle conflicts that’s hard to explain in words spark through little happenings and expressions of characters. These subtle expressions depict characters as if they are alive, which makes them lovable beyond their outer appearances.

 

 

2. Detailed storytelling

 

 The next common aspect that all popular webtoons has is their detailed story telling.

Especially, shows the past of characters through their limited views, and all the different episodes of main and sub characters end up forming a big one picture of puzzle pieces interweaving in organic and complicated relationships.

 

 

  

    [Figure 3] the two different views of Seol and Jung on the same past incident.

 

‘Unique’ characters create happy or creepy incidents that could happen in real life as well. The little conflicts between students that comes back as a huge storm keeps repeating and stopping itself throughout the story form the first to fourth season. Just like you can’t predict what’s going to happen between people in real life, unique story developments between unpredictable characters keeps readers to wonder what’s going to happen the next.  

 

 

 

3. Relatable Moments

 

  The final aspect that makes this webtoon popular is its ‘relatable moments’. Being more than just romance webtoon, problems that characters in this webtoon have such as student loans, finding job offers, and relationship problems are same problems that normal college students go through.

For example, the scene that the most readers found relatable was the episode about group projects. Four students including Seol Hong became a group, but they all got Ds because it was found out that Hong Seol did all the work.

 

 

 

    [Figure 4] One scene in the

 

College students go through same kind of experiences at least once throughout their college life. It’s either that one student does all the work or it all fails because they can’t agree on things. People have commented ‘This is relatable if you went to college’ for these episodes.

Like this, most readers see the webtoon through ‘Hong Seol’, the heroine. They get mad or sad if she gets mad or sad.

  Now these are the three reasons why has gathered so much fame. Out of all reasons, this webtoon was loved for so long thanks to the author’s carefully designed composition of the story. The third season of has ended so far, and how the ongoing fourth season will end is much expected by many readers.  

 

 

*The story hasn’t ended, yet but the third season is finished, so let me put this in the category of finished webtoons. 

(Does this sound like a poor excuse? ^^;;)