After suffering a career-ending judo injury, a national athlete hangs up her black belt and prepares for her next chapter in life.  When a job opens up at a local webtoon publishing company, she decides to give it a try.  Bringing years of determination and hard work to her new place of employment, she does her best to make up for her lack of work experience with a positive attitude and eagerness to learn.  Unfortunately, politics within the webtoon’s parent company, Neon, may end her new career before it ever really gets started, but she and her colleagues refuse to go down without a proper fight.   

Nam Yoon Su as Goo Joon Young

Goo Joon Young was hired through the interview process to work at Neon.  He is ranked as the top recruit of the cycle, but he is not happy when he learns that he has been assigned to the webtoon department.  And he is even less happy when he hears that the department itself is slated to be closed down within a year.  In the beginning, he is desperate to get a transfer to another department.  So, when he is approached to act as a spy within the department in exchange for a better job in the most highly sought-after department, he is tempted.  And when he finds out that the core of the webtoons department may have played a part in the death of his older sister, he is even more tempted.  But as he works alongside his new co-workers and the artists they represent, he begins to wonder if he has actually found the place where he belongs.

Goo Joon Young bears plenty of personal scars which make him cautious.  He is extremely logical and shies away from anthing that involves emotion.  When he takes the job at Neon, he is only concerned with financial stability and job success.  But being teamed up with Ma Eum, he gets a chance to see her love and passion both for people and her job.  And slowly, Joon Young begins to value the relationships he is forming with mentors, co-workers, and artists.  Nam Yoon Su played this role well.  But due to his character’s emotionally distant personality, the actor doesn’t get as much of a chance to develop and show other sides to his acting.  But his consisentency makes the character realistic and likable.

Park Ho San as Jang Man Chul

Jang Man Chul is the Director of the weboon department.  He was the CEO of Ginger Toon before they were forced to become a part of Neon.  Like Ma Eum, his love of manga and webtoons is the thing that drives him to succeed, which is why he saw something in Ma Eum that the hiring committee overlooked.  But like Ma Eum, sometimes his close attachment to the people and toons they create clouds his judgement.

 ♥ Webtoons and Artists

This drama gave such an interesting view into the life of webtoon publishers and artists.  I enjoyed seeing different artistic styles and some of the methods artists use to create them.  The characters of the artists themselves were all unique and interesting.  And while I am sure that not all webtoon artists need full-time babysitters, I am sure that some have a creative apporoach to life that can be challenging from a business perspective.  

 ♥ Webtoon Leadership

The leadership at the webtoon department operated because of their abilities to balance out each other’s strengths and weaknesses.  Years of working together gave them a keen sense of understanding into how they can support each other as a team.  I loved Man Chul’s enthusiasm and desire to see the magic of the industry.  While Ji Hyung was balanced and logical in his approach.  And while Kwon Young Bae could come off as selfish and mean, he had a good intuition about what makes a successful webtoon, and his heart was not as cold as it may have seemed on the surface.  

Product Placement

I understand that many dramas exist in part because of the financial support they get from advertising.  And usually I try not to be too irritated or distracted by the silly product placements in the middle of drama scenes.  But this one just seemed a bit too over the top for me. There seemed to be a lot of them and they were so in your face about it. They brought certain scenes to an awkward, screeching halt that was hard to overlook.

Ji Hyung Loveline

Ji Hyung’s story is just so vague.  It seemed to me that he definitely had moments where his feelings for Ma Eum went beyond that of a co-worker and mentor.  But what was the point of showing that if it’s never addressed?  Were those looks really just deep affection for a colleague he respects?  And what exactly is going on between him and his ex, Jang Hye Mi?  Does he still have feelings for her?  And if so, is that why we can’t tell Ma Eum how he feels about her?  I appreciate the love triangle tension, but I just never got a clear idea of what Ji Hyung was actually feeling for either one of them.

 “Today’s Webtoon” gives us most of the happy endings we were hoping for.  The webtoons department is not only saved, but also promoted to move into the main office building of Neon.  Part of making that happen was opening a second studio with many of their artists working on side projects.  And Ji Hyung was the obvious choice to step in as the new CEO of Ginger Studios.  And with Ji Hyung leaving, Young Bae will get a chance to step up into a higher leadership role as his replacement.  The evidence Joon Young has been gathering plays a huge part in both saving the department and sending Kwan Young packing.  But the CEO has agreed to keep Joon Young’s identity anonymous and allow him to continue on at Neon.  And with the department moving into the HQ and fulfilling Man Chul’s dream for the department, he is finally able to offer Ma Eum a full-time position.  The final scene shows the team loading their old office into boxes and carrying them across the street.  We get a flashback that shows Joon Young finally confessing his feelings to Ma Eum, but she refuses to give him a definite answer.  I am sure that the pair will continue to grow together as a couple, whether Ma Eum can ever bring herself to actually say the words or not.