Webtoon has become an increasingly popular source of comic entertainment, first reaching new international audiences arguably as part of the 'Korean Wave' of the 2010s. One of the most popular Korean webcomics on the service for many years was The Sound of Your Heart, a zany autobiography about an ambitious cartoonist that went on to take both Webtoon and the world of K-dramas by storm.
The Sound of Your Heart combined an eccentric art style and sense of humor with the everyday life of its creator, resulting in the longest-running webtoon ever. Here's what the series was all about and how it parleyed its unconventional strengths to become an inarguable Webtoon juggernaut.
What Was The Sound of Your Heart?
The Sound of Your Heart began as a series on Naver Webtoon back in 2006. It was written and drawn by Jo Seok, a video cultural studies major who wanted to bridge the gap between animation and comics. The series is autobiographical, starring fictionalized versions of Jo Seok and his friends and family. This extended cast includes his girlfriend and later wife Choi Ae-bong, his parents, brother, and his several dogs.
The comedic and strange-looking stories detailed Jo Seok's often uproarious life as a cartoonist. By 2015, The Sound of Your Heart had amassed 1,000 episodes, still a webtoon record to this day. Its popularity resulted in a live-action Korean drama of the same name which aired during 2016 -- a year after the comic had reached its episodic milestone -- and would go on to receive two KBS Entertainment awards itself. The Sound of Your Heart has also been brought to the West via Netflix, continuing the property's popularity after both versions had ended.
Why Was The Sound of Your Heart So Successful?
Part of The Sound of Your Heart's success stemmed from being vastly different from other original webtoon series. In today's climate, the Webtoon platform is dominated by glossy action stories in the vein of a typical shonen manga, as well as colorful and glitzy romance series. The Sound of Your Heart was neither of these, especially the latter. It instead told slice-of-life stories in a bizarre form of autobiography, interspersing the mundane with outlandish and wacky scenarios.
Further accentuating this strange nature was the series' art style, for which "quirky" is perhaps too light a description. It's not difficult to describe the art as ugly, but its intentional lack of cuteness is endearing in its own right. The almost surreal designs and art couldn't be turned away from, despite how unorthodox and uncomfortable they look compared to other titles. This made the series eye-catching enough to initially hook readers in before the story itself did the rest of the job.
The Sound of Your Heart was also incredibly consistent in its release schedule, which competed with otherwise important moments in creator Jo Seok's life. He most notably went without a lavish wedding ceremony and honeymoon so he could maintain the same work-and-release schedule that had netted him a steady 78,000,000 Korean won per month. This ensured fans would be able to set their own schedules around a new episode's release, giving The Sound of Your Heart a greater persistence than most TV shows. It all led to an impressive 14-year run, one which so far has yet to be beaten by any other Webtoon series.
