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 By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
Clark Kent is a mild-mannered reporter for a newspaper company, but when he hears scream for help, he changes into powerful ``superman.''
Shin Eui-cheol in black-rimmed glasses is an ordinary arts teacher in a middle school in Gyeonggi Province during the day but after school, he turns into a popular Webtoon creator who draws on his experiences with boisterous kids.
He serializes ``Schoolholic'' every Tuesday on Naver and his source of inspiration is, of course, school life.
``Some of my students tell me they have fun with my comics but some pranksters say it's boring. Some ask me to have them appear in an episode,'' he said in an e-mail interview with The Korea Times.
He picked this kind of direct, immediate response to his series off-line, and numerous comments on-line as the charm of Webtoons.
Scrolling down a Web page, he said, also makes on-line comics more attractive.
Take an example of his 48th episode in which Shin's students call him to tell his first love story.
He introduces the blackmail-style comment he said to a girl with whom he fell in love: ``Will you go out with me? Or will I bury you here?''
When viewers scroll down the page, what awaits them is a lady desperately digging a hole in the ground in a bid to avoid a date with Shin.
The unexpected scene maximizes fun.
``In a comic, this kind of situation can produce a funnier response,'' the creator said.
Since he has two jobs ― a teacher and comic creator ― it is difficult for him to have private time. He has to draw until 1 or 2 a.m. to meet deadlines but his Webtoon helps him practice his own creative authority.
``School life is always full of energy coming from young students but I admit that it is sometimes monotonous because some factors are repeated every year,'' he said. ``The Webtoon helps me work off the monotony, and desire for creation.''
Shin began to serialize ``Schoolholic'' just three months ago but his work enjoys the second most views. He humbly says he still has more to go.
``Even though I had posted episodes on my blog for more than two years, it has been just three month since they have been serialized on Naver,'' he said. ``So, I draw one by one, feeling like it's a new start.''
``I am just making an effort to show my own features and ideas in `Schoolholic' rather than comparing it with the number of views of other Webtoons,'' he said. ``If I arouse people's curiosity through pleasant humor and stories based on school life, I believe the work will become more popular.''
He had the first collection of his early episodes published in January 2007 but his goal is to make better works and help nurture future comic creators.
``I hope to show more fun comics to readers. I also hope to play a role in nurturing the talented who can lead the cartoon industry after I win recognition with more work,'' he said.
ksy@koreatimes.co.kr
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yistory@koreatimes.co.kr
