A Special Lunch with Gang-Poole (Real Ver.)

Today, I’m finally meeting one of Korea’s most famous cartoonists, Gang-Poole. He’s usually a very busy man, but just about a week ago when I called him to ask if I could interview him, he said that he luckily had the time for lunch on Choo-suk. He seemed like he wasn’t visiting his family on the holiday; I guess being a cartoonist wasn’t so easy after all. So anyways, he and I agreed to meet each other at a Korean restaurant near from the Media-Daum Corporation building.

I arrived at the meeting place 10 minutes earlier than the originally set time, which was 1’o clock. I kind of knew that he was going to be late anyways, but just in case (he might be on time, haha). However, as expected, he showed up near the building nearly 20 minutes passed one.

Gang-Poole: Hey, are you Hyung-Seok?
Me: Yes, and you must be Mr. Gang. I recognize you from your profile photos.
Gang-Poole: Haha, yeah. Sorry that I’m late. So, let’s go, shall we?

So we hurriedly entered the restaurant that served Korean beef-soup (육개장) and ordered after settling down. And our short, but forever-memorable and everlasting, conversation soon began.

Me: You know, Mr. Gang, I’m a huge fan of all your comics.
Gang-Poole (abbreviated as G below): Oh, really? What pieces have you read?
Me: EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM, of course! Probably more than three times each! I liked all of your toons, but my favorite was “Timing” and “26 years”.

G: Ah, I see! Haha, well, it’s nice to hear that I have an enthusiastic fan. Thank goodness that you’ve enjoyed them. However, seems like you tend to favor my comics that I drew a long time ago, not the ones I’ve finished recently.
Me (Guiltily) : Ha…haha…that so? No, o..of course not! I still like all the comics you’ve finished. You wouldn’t imagine how many readers online wait so desperately for the volume of your series to be uploaded. “Light Shop”-was it? The series that you’re working on right now?
G: Haha, yes. At least I can be sure that you’re still interested in me.
Me: You bet! Are you kidding? I bet like, a thousand people don’t go to sleep before midnight on Sundays and Wednesdays just to see your uploaded cartoons. You’ll know, too, since you’ve seen the 500 comments that are instantly made to your post as soon as you’ve sent the file to Daum.
G: That’s true. And I’m really grateful for the love and support my readers provide me with. Actually, that’s the pure motivation that energizes me; even in the most difficult times when I wanted to give up.

-The food is being served. The beef soup has some time left to come, but the side dishes are all placed on the table.

Me: Haha, ok, so let’s start the main interview, if that’s alright with you.
G: Sure, anytime.
Me: Would you briefly introduce yourself?
G: I knew that one was coming. Ok, I’m 38 years old right now, born in year 1974, and I’ve graduated Sang-Ji University as a Korean literature major. I’m married to my beautiful wife who’s 7 years younger than me, (we used to be 선배-후배 in our university), and I’m a cartoonist at Media Daum. Well…. I guess that’s about it? Haha.
Me: Sure. Mr. Kang, a lot of people are curious about your marriage, since it was so abruptly announced. Could you chip me in with a little bit of background, if that’s possible?

(Gang-Poole's Wife)

G: Gee, is that so? Well, I didn’t think it would be such a big issue. Alright, so, where do I start? My wife and I met each other when I was a graduate student and she was a freshman. I didn’t stay in touch with a lot of people around that period but she was an exception.
Me: And why was that?
G: Hahaha. Because she was pretty, of course! Gosh, this is embarrassing. Anyways, we soon found out that we had a lot in common, including our family background and financial status: our families both weren’t wealthy enough to pay for our tuitions, so we had to work day and night-living in poverty-to support ourselves. I guess that similarity really bonded us. And being intimate for more than about 3 years or so, we made it to our honeymoon!
Me: Aww, sounds really nice and romantic, too.
G (Blushing): Haha, well that’s how marriages are usually like.
Me: Ok, then, next question. When did you first decide to become a cartoonist? And especially, how did you come up with the idea of starting cartoons online?
G: Well, apart from what a lot of people assume, the motivation for me starting as a cartoonist wasn’t THAT special. Do you happen to know who 박용재 is?

(Park, Young Jae)

Me: Me? Oh, no, sorry. I’ve never heard of him.
G: Haha, that’s a shame! He used to be a really famous cartoonist and a political satirist around our time. When I was the member of the student council in Sang-Ji University, I was drawing simple, short cartoons for billings. At first, I was kind of embarrassed and amused with what I had done. Surprisingly, many people liked my comics and approved them. I was recognized as a skillful cartoonist back then.
Me: Haha, that’s surely interesting.
G: Yes, but during my brief “incumbency” as a college cartoonist, I coincidentally had the chance to see one of Mr. Park’s cartoons. They were-literally speaking,-an immense shock. His cartoons were symbolic, commemorating, and collective; the message Mr. Park had intended to deliver was resonating within my mind. Right then, I realized how arrogant and narrow-minded I had been. I felt the boiling urge inside me to become a professional cartoonist. I was truly stimulated at that time. So I came back home. Drew tons of cartoons, and applied to 400 different publishing companies to become a cartoonist.
Me: Whoa, that sounds like a lot. So, what happened?
G: I didn’t get into a single one. Haha, turns out that I really sucked and illustration, which I had partly realized. Even now, after years of drawing, I still have to invest 3~4 times the amount of time other cartoonists do on illustration to make something “comprehensible” to the readers. That’s the reason why I’m tardy a lot of the times when it comes to uploading. Although I hate to admit, I’m not a very talented illustrator to be qualified as a cartoonist.
Me: Oh, but still, there’s a unique attraction in your cartoons; that’s why readers tolerate your tardiness, most of the times!
G: Haha, thank you.
Me: Well, then what happened next?
G: So, in spite of my grand failure, I couldn’t give up drawing cartoons since I liked the job so much. So I thought, “Why not just make a publisher myself?” But since I didn’t have the proper funding to “establish” a real publisher, I chose to use my blog as the first online webtoon publisher in Korea.
Me: Aha, so that’s when you began to draw webtoons, and that’s why you’re called the father of webtoons?
G: Haha, well, I guess that’s partially true. I started off as unnoticed cartoonist who would draw cartoons on eccentric topics-short, but impactful. However, as soon as I became slightly famous, I jumped in for a new challenge.
Me: That must be the “Love Cartoon!”
G: Exactly. That was the first long-piece cartoon that would be uploaded in series. And that was when I started working with Media Daum. It was a whole new attempt, but recollecting now, that was the challenge that changed my life and brought this gigantic success.
Me: Certainly. You’re one of the most well-paid, renowned, and wealthy cartoonists in this country!
G: Haha, and now I even personally know Mr. Park. That’s the best part. Well anyway, I’m fully aware of the excessive popularity and love I’ve received, and I always think I’m very lucky. Always thankful to the readers, too, especially when I’m tardy.
Me: Does that mean you’re thankful to me, as well?
G: Haha, of course, why not!
Me: Well, the greatest favor you could do for me is to stay a webtoonist as long as you can.
G: Well, I surely want to. I keep drawing new cartoons because I don’t want people to say: “He’s finished.” I and some of my close colleagues have started an independent publishing corporation, too. I want to draw as long as I could.
Me: Does that mean you’re leaving Daum?
G: Oh, no. I’m planning to stay there forever. In fact, there were few places that offered me a lot more money than what Daum is giving me right now. But I refused all of their offers.
Me: Why?
G: Mainly because Daum is the most rational place you could wish for. They’re tolerant, understanding, and supportive. It’s already been awhile since I’ve worked with them without a contract.
Me: Haha, well, I’ve heard that you’re a very exceptional case.
G: Yes, I’m aware that many of my 후배’s don’t get paid properly. It’s pretty depressing. Once, I’ve tried to pressure Daum to increase the cartoonist fees by demanding an increase in mine (thought that would generate an overall increase). But it didn’t work. Only mine went up, ironically. I’m still pondering about what I can and should do.

Finally, the beef soup is served. We begin to eat our dishes.

G (Eating): Whew! I’m glad to see that. I was starting to get hungry.
Me: Me, too! Haha, so now that the main dish is served, can I ask you some main questions?
G: I didn’t know there was more, but sure, go for it.
Me: I want to talk a little about your pieces. You seem to comprise the two genres of “Horror” and “Mellow” at the same time. How’s that possible?
G: Well, that’s a mystery to me, too. Guess I’m just too talented for one…? Haha, just joking. Well, as you know, I have three seasons published right now for both realms – “미스테리심리썰렁물” and “순정만화”. The latter one was kind of obvious for me that I continue being devoted on it, since my first piece was “Love Cartoon”, but horror was a new tryout for me.
Me: Turned out as a humongous success.
G: Haha. Well, I guess a lot of people like suspense.
Me: You bet! I want to talk specifically about every single piece, but since we’re running out of time, I just want to bring up two of my favorites: Timing and 26 years.
G: Knew those would come up. They’re my personal favorites, as well. Timing was an innovative piece, a story about spirits and supernaturals that can control time; seems fun just to hear, isn’t it? Well, I’m glad that it gained so much popularity, and I’m planning to continue with its series until I can.
Me: Why do you think it gained so much fame?
G: Well, as I do for most of my webtoons, I think the most critical appealing characteristic is “familiarity”. My characters are always “ordinary” people that you’ll be able to discover in any “ordinary” background. Even the time-supernaturals? They’re exceedingly normal, just like one of us. The only thing that is a bit peculiar is, well, that they can stop, rewind, or see ahead of time. No big deal.
Me: Haha, I get it. So it’s the proximity the readers can feel.
G: Precisely.
Me: Okay, then what about the other piece?
G: As you know, that piece is about the tragic historical event that can never be erased from our memories-the 5.18 Gwangju Revolt.

Me: Yes, my parents are also from Gwangju. One of the reasons that made me so focused as I was reading it.
G: Yes, I wanted to express the ineffaceable wounds and the inexpugnable hatred of those who are left from the 5.18. Well, actually, the descendents of that incident. The sons and daughters who were wrongfully sacrificed-or slaughtered-by the ruthless violence under Jun-Doo-Hwan’s dictatorship. I wanted to point out that even though the autocratic regime had dissolved, the leaders who constructed the regime for their own purpose are still alive, unharmed and unscathed. Who granted them their impunity? Who was to forgive those unforgivable monsters? I wanted them-although I was explicitly indicating at one main character (전두환)-to remember that the wrath of the perished still lives on, and that they should always be sorry.

(Jun Doo-Hwan)

Me: Do you realize that some of your cartoons, including 26 years, has given you the nickname “좌빨 (left extremist)”?
G: I think that’s ridiculous. Although I am politically active and I won’t withstand something that’s unjust-something that I can make a point about-I’ve never been biased towards any political agenda. It’s that just this damned country is too dogmatically conservative that although I choose neutral, I’m labeled as a communist. I’ve been threatened and pressured a lot, too, through phone-calls and e-mails. Once, somebody just called me up and summoned me to 석촌 Lake. And I was like, “The hell I’m gonna go there!” LOL.
Me: Well, still, you’re undeniably a enormous success, bout all your toons published into books, made into musicals and plays, starred as movies! Say, I’ve heard that “Timing” was made into a mobile game and is going to be made into an animation movie?

(The Advertising image for Timing Animation)

G: Haha. Well, I don’t think I should say a lot about it, since once the publication right is sold of my piece, it becomes a totally new form of art. Though, I’ve received a lot of complaints from movie directors, frustrated, “Why the hell is your synopsis so complicated?”
Me: Hahaha, really? Oh, well. Hey, but since you’re rich, you won’t say that you won’t buy this lunch, would you?
G (Grinning): You impudent kid! Alright, I’ll pay for this. Just make sure you live up to your dreams.
Me: I sure will. I hope you do too. Thank you!

And that was the end of the special lunch I had with Gang-Poole, although my special tale is just about to begin.