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"3.35 million and 4.95 million viewers, and viewing rate of 8.2%." These are the records of films Moss (2010) and Inside Men (2015), and a cable TV series Misaeng, respectively. Given that both films are R-rated and that 5% is considered successful for a cable TV series, the figures are even more impressive. Inside Men has been on top of both the pre-sales chart and box office for 5 consecutive weeks since release, which means an even bigger figure is to come out later on. The only common factor shared by the three products that are different in terms of genres and subject matters is YOON Tae-ho. They are all based on YOON Tae-ho's web cartoons with the same titles.

 

YOON's web cartoons have opened up a new territory in storytelling, with detailed and realistic descriptions of all kinds of human beings in specific groups. As if observing an eco-system, he closely describes and weaves the story, which brings up tension even without particular events. The reality and powerfulness are the very basis of Moss and Inside Men.

 

 

 

It was since YAHOO (1998) that YOON clearly revealed his proper traits as a comics artist such as carefully depicted characters and powerful drawing style, and most notably, questions on the power and the social structure of his time.

 

YOON realized by his first work that his weakness lied in his poor narrative. He tried to make up for it by transcribing soap opera scripts and reading books on scenario writing, seriously learning the art of storytelling. And YAHOO was the result. With sci-fi elements added to a historic event, YAHOO centered around the collapse of Sampoong Department Store in 1995, and was rewarded with the Comics Award by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

 

After proving his presence to the comics industry with YAHOO, YOON was re-recognized by Romance that depicted the elderly in 2001. Romance humorously and poignantly dealt with the senior generation which was not often discussed in comics.

 

Into the 21st century, the world changed fast and the comics industry also went through a big transformation - the main stage for comics is not paper anymore but the Internet. Instead of turning paper pages, readers scroll down on computer monitors and such change required web cartoon artists to innovate everything from the narrative, structure, subject matter and drawing style. YOON, who had always pursued contemporariness, readily moved onto web cartoon. Soon he has become a leading web cartoon artist with Moss, the winner of the Best Comics Award in 2007.

 

Moss is a thriller set in the countryside. The story begins when divorced and fired RYOO Hae-gook visits the hometown of his father to attend his funeral, who had cut off the relationship with his son for a long time. Despite their humble appearances, the villagers' eyes are spooky and disturbing. From their uneasy atmosphere, Hae-gook detects a very high tension and understands intuitively that there is something suspicious going on in the village.

 

Moss reaches a very high level of generic success with a savage-like drawing style and aptly arranged story that fit the computer monitor environment. However, what truly makes an overwhelming suspense is his character description, from a very close observation that feels like one taken thoroughly under the skin at an autopsy session. The almighty village leader and the villagers who commit violence without any trace of guilt remind us of the dictators and their followers that we have actually witnessed in modern Korean history. With the story, characters and the genre all in tune, Moss was turned into a film by KANG Woo-suk in 2010 and made a huge success.

 

 

 

The heyday of YOON triggered by Moss hits the top with Misaeng: Incomplete Life. He spent whole three years just for preparation when a publisher proposed him for a cartoon on baduk (go). Misaeng is therefore a combination of baduk and office life.

 

Misaeng illustrates series of episodes that JANG Geu-rae, a once-baduk prodigy who ended up not becoming a professional player, experiences at his workplace, a trade company called One International. YOON neither glorifies nor tragedizes this young temporary employee’s struggle. Instead, YOON fills the story with events and mistakes that anyone who has ever experienced employment would sympathize with, because those ordinary trifles are the real crisis of our life. 

 

TV drama Misaeng reenacted the atmosphere of the original work through a great adaptation and camera work, and created a huge "Misaeng syndrome." Web cartoon Misaeng received the President's Prize in the Korean Contents Award in the comics section.

 

Inside Men once again proves that YOON is among the best storytellers of our time. It is a hard boiled crime story featuring people at the closest proximity to the power in Korea. The characters are already very powerful: a newspaper opinion writer who is also a “kingmaker” manipulating the politics; a conglomerate who supports corrupt politicians; political hoodlums who engage in bloody fights for those in power; and a prosecutor who is an ex-cop. Their conspiracy, betrayal, corruption, revenge and reversal ceaselessly take place incessantly.

 

Inside Men catches readers' attention from the beginning with its superb characters and narrative, and film adaptation was already decided even before the web cartoon was actually completed. The film version of Inside Men has hit the no. 1 place in the box office, making a new record for an R-rated movie.

 

Recently YOON has completed another web cartoon called Pah-in: The Greedy Bastards, featuring smugglers and is now serializing Misaeng season 2. JANG and his colleagues, who separated in the first season, now meet in adversary power dynamics. YOON has become one of the nation's leading comics artists with his outstanding ability of storytelling, character design, and serious message delivery. It is not only the comics readers who can't wait for his next works.