By Lee Hyo-sik
A cartoon published online is attracting keen public attention in the wake of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s death for its plot about the world afterward.
The ``webtoon’’ (cartoon distributed via Internet), titled ``Steel Rain,’’ has been uploaded every Thursday on Daum, one of Korea’s largest web portals, since April, creating a group of enthusiastic followers who fantasize about what the Korean Peninsula will be like after Kim died.
The fictional comic strip covers a range of events unfolding in the two Koreas and surrounding countries.
The story concerns hardliners and moderates clashing with each other on whether or not to seize power north of the border after the North Korean leader Kim dies in 2013 just ahead of the summit talk between the two Koreans.
North Korea’s Special Forces infiltrate Seoul through tunnels dug under the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). In response, the U.S. threatens to drop a nuclear bomb on the communist state. Many individuals appear to be working as double agents in both Koreas amid the escalating war and importance of intelligence.
Most netizens said Steel Rain gives them the creeps as the situation could be reality. They highly praised the cartoonist’s creativity but hoped that the webtoon does not materialize in real life.