A stormy and dark day...

On the ground, bloody dead corpses of Joseon royal soldiers.
Mutilated, eviscerated, limbs cut off... broken bodies in impossible positions.

Only man standing but in agony, WANG IL-DO, the royal police chief.
Eyes widened, jaw clenched, he expectorates a flow of blood.

He tilts his head down to look at the way he dies...
A giant shadow arm comes out through his chest, having pierced his back.
Supernatural, blackish, outlined with shadow dust.

At the arm's tip, in a shadowy hand as large as five heads...
... the beating heart of Wang Il-Do, wrenched from his chest.
The shadow hand crushes the heart, Wang Il-Do's eyes turn white.

CRACK! Lightning strikes the moor and illuminates--
A dark silhouette with bright smoking eyes, behind Wang Il-Do.

At speed of thought--
WOOSH! The shadow arm withdraws from the chest, leaving a huge gaping hole.

Subtitle: Joseon, year 1887.

WANG SHIN, 30, handsome, fine and muscular, determined and rustic.

He steps ashore and runs to the royal police station.

The guards give in passage and he rushes inside.

-

I'm sorry, Wang Shin, your father is dead, murdered.

-

... !!!

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How? Who?

-

He was chasing the Dark Guild. Killed with his men, all horribly mutilated.

-

The Queen of Darkness!

-

(to himself) Father, why didn't you listen to me... Why didn't you wait for me...

An officer rushes into the room.

-

Wang Shin, you are expected at His Majesty's Intendant office.

INTENDANT HAN is dull, eyes lost in the vagueness.

-

Intendant Han?

The intendant awakes from his torpor, but his gaze is stony and his voice monotonous.

-

Wang Shin, your father died, he was chief of police.

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But as far as you are concerned, you have no status in court.

-

What trivia are you talking about?

-

Henceforth, your presence at the palace is prohibited.

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I ask you, by law, to leave the palace.

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Funeral has not yet been arranged.

-

I have barely begun to cry for my father.

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And you ask me such nonsense?!

-

We have no time to waste.

-

Guards, this commoner out of the compound!

Two royal guards force Wang Shin to leave the room.

Before to reach the exit...

-

Intendant Han, I no longer recognize you. Why are you doing this?

-

(clears throat) Uh-oh! Go pack your bags!

Once alone, Intendant Han doesn't move an inch. Frozen. Empty stare.

A dark silhouette slips behind Intendant Han.
A feminine hand with black varnished nails his cheek.
The mysterious woman, whose mouth we only see, whispers in his ear.

-

You will soon forget this character, intendant.

-

As if he had never been part of your world...

Wang Shin dresses in a adventurer outfit, reinforced by a rigid leather forearm bra.

He wraps a breech rifle in a sheet, one of the first models in Korea.

He stores in the sheath of his belt a 6-shot revolver.

He loads a stick of dynamite, yarn, herbs and compresses into a bag.
He stores half a dozen daggers in sheaths all over his body.
He equips himself with a sword, a bow on the back, and ammunition belts.
Finally, the rest of his stuff is a package the size of a pillow.

Wang Shin comes out and addresses the officer.

-

Let me at least say goodbye to Lady Cha.

-

All right, I'll walk you to the heavenly hall.

Next to a fountain is a lady of the palace, dressed in a Shaman's outfit.
She is so beautiful that no other woman could compete in all of Joseon.
Her only flaw is a contemptuous sneer.
She cuts a flower with shears held in a delicate hand with black nails.

Wang Shin arrives at the center of the square.

-

Yu-Sun!

Lady Cha quietly lays the flower and the shears.
Standing still, the man and woman look at each other.
Their eyes are charged with a vibrant emotion.

-

Yu-Sun, my father is dead and I'm forced to leave the palace.

-

I don't know what's going on, but I'll stay close to protect you.

Cha Yu-Sun's gaze becomes shady, inflexible.

-

Who authorizes you to speak to me in a familiar way?

-

Yu-Sun, what's going on?

-

Have we been intimate?

Wang Shin's face is tightening.
A cold shiver rises from the bottom of his spine to his ears.

-

Lady Cha... our love... our kisses...

-

As if it had any meaning.

Stunned, Wang Shin staggers back one step.

-

Did someone do something to you too?

-

Are you subject to any constraint?

-

You've just deluded yourself.

-

No, not you, it's not you...

-

It's enough now!

-

Let's send this unwelcome one back!

Two guards come out, while their presence was not detectable until then.
They seize Wang Shin, while Lady Cha turns on her heel.
WOSSH! Wang Shin puts a guard down with a push/swipe motion.
SLAM! He kicks the second guard in the chest. Pushed back, knocked out.
Wang Shin grabs Cha Yu-Sun's forearm, forcing her to turn around.

-

I want to know for sure.

Their faces ten centimeters apart, Wang Shin looks deep into Cha Yu-Sun's eyes.

But she looks at him with an infuriated gaze.

-

Never appear in front of me again.

The officer approaches with reinforcements.

Wang Shin's horse walk indolently, at man's pace.

It's a blue night with a full moon, and rain begins to fall.
Wang Shin stands bent over his saddle, and cannot hold back his tears.

At Wang Shin's father home, a week ago.
Wang Shin has several bandages, reddened by clotted blood.

-

Shin, I'm finally about to discover the secret identity of the Queen of Darkness.

-

So let me investigate with you. I fought her guild more than anyone else.

-

And you were seriously injured by her henchmen!

-

It's my duty to finish the job, with the army!

-

Your duty is to rest, if you want to survive.

-

I can't lose my only son like this...

At Wang Shin's lover home, a week ago.
Wang Shin has several bandages, reddened by clotted blood.

-

I beg you, Wang Shin, don't go, you're in no condition.

-

If anything happened to you, I would die without even killing myself.

-

So what can I do?

-

Stay by my side.

-

I'm so scared, the Darkness Guild has already attacked the Heavenly Hall.

-

I love you, Wang Shin.

The two lovers look at each other with concern.
Then Lady Cha kisses Wang Shin, who answers her kiss.

Wang Shin is pulled out of his reverie.
His horse collapses, without neighing. Wang Shin doesn't even fall.
He examines his inanimate horse, breath, eye, chest. Dead! Inexplicable.
Wang Shin looks at his horse for a few seconds, sad and frightened...

His eyes widen briefly. Instinct alert!
Quickly, he sneaks into the thicket by the side of the path.

Wang Shin scans the surroundings, frowning, with a sharp eye.
No waving branches. No wind. No animal sounds. Silence.
"A malevolent presence around the path?"
Wang Shin go deeper into the woods.

Two red eyes light up at the top of a slope, between two trees.
A dark, smoking mass stands out from the blue of the night.
It's a wolf, too big to have been birthed by mother nature.

The evil beast pounces on Wang Shin, who draws his sword.
Anarchic struggle! Wang Shin takes the lead.
SLASH! He cuts the creature to death.
TSLAH! He s his sword into its belly.

Disregarding the mortal wounds, the giant wolf fells Wang Shin.
GROARR! The monstrous mouth closes on his forearm.
Despite the reinforced leather bra, the fangs sink into the flesh.

Horrified, Wang Shin pulls out his revolver.
POW! He shoots a bullet into the monster's skull at point-blank.
A sheaf of blood splatters his distraught face.

Wang Shin detects human silhouettes, flitting between the trees.
Shadow killers, with saber, masks, and dark uniforms made of strips.

Wang Shin runs to the top of the slope, then turns around.
He his rifle, targets one of the killers, and BANG!, he fires.

Impossible to know the outcome of the shooting in this shady undergrowth.
Wang Shin runs to get out of the forest.
Behind him, the shadow killers sneak in.
They hide behind a tree, then reappear behind another, closer tree.

Breathless, Wang Shin comes to level ground and hide behind a rock.
One of the killers comes out of the woods.
BANG! Wang Shin's shot hits the target.
Instead of dropping dead, the killer vanishes into a cloud of shadow.

There are too many shadow killers.
Wang Shin have to back down further.

Wang Shin arrives at the edge of a promontory. Stupefaction! No escape!

BANG! He shoots a killer, who evaporates, as if swallowed up in the strips of his uniform.
His next opponent is fifteen meters away, just long enough to reload the breech rifle.

BANG! He shoots, perfect aim, but a supernatural phenomenon occurs.
Swonpf! His enemy disappears in a dark implosion...
Spfwon! ... and reappears a meter away. Teleportation!

Forced into close combat, SKLANG! Wang Shin blocks the fighter's sword with his rifle.
This killer is much stronger than the others.
He wears a scary mask.

Facing such a formidable enemy gives the other killers time to rush.
Ultimate reflex! The hero takes out his sword. SLASH! He cuts one of them.
And while this killer disintegrates, the others immobilize Wang Shin...

SMASH! The masked killer strikes him in the head with the guard of his sword.
Stunned, Wang Shin drops rifle and sword.
Shadow killers put him on his knees, near the edge of the cliff.

Wang Shin sees a silhouette approaching, behind the blood curtain dripping from his eyebrows.
Imperial, THE QUEEN OF DARKNESS dominates him.
Her abdomen radiates a red supernatural light.
Her body and face are entirely dark, nestled in shadow dust.
Her eyes are two smoking light slits.

-

Choi Jang-Jun, Seo Yong-Gi, Lee Hwon, Park Yoon-Kang. I eliminated all these heroes.

-

You had your hour of glory, Wang Shin, a little longer than the others.

-

It seems that I had a weakness for you for a while...

-

But it's over. You're going to erase yourself from my memory.

The Queen of Darkness arches backwards...
The red light of her belly towards the moon...
She shakes, disarticulated, possessed...
Something monstrous grows in her entrails...
... And like a frightful hallucination...
SPROOTCH! A titanic shadow arm springs from her belly!!!

-

Die!

The supernatural limb rushes at an unimaginable speed to perforate Wang Shin.

Wang Shin dissolves from "real" to "image"...

Epic music during the presentation.

~

That's it, it was some thumbnails of the "Queen of Darkness" manhwa, as an introduction...

~

Pictures from this week's episode.

On an animated TV background...

All these drawings are highly sophisticated, semi-realistic and yet very fine and artistic.
Strong contrasts, with many black areas, clever shadow effects.
The colors use watercolor, and are discreet, grayed, or sometimes sickly, purplish.
By small touches, intense colors, like aggressive red, to shock the eye.

-

You are watching "Culture-Hallyu", on MBC. I'm Adrien Lee.

-

Destination 8th art, the world of manhwas.

-

Today, I welcome the talented cartoonist hidden in the shadow of the most famous manhwas.

-

Park Soo-Bong, it is an honour for me to welcome you.

-

Thank you very much.

-

This is your first television interview, I presume.

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Yes.

-

So I'm even more delighted!

-

(embarrassed laugh) Ah ah...

-

You were the main assistant of the famous Oh Sung-Moo, the author who revolutionized the world of Manwha with "W".

-

(grief) The kindest man I have ever met in my life.

-

"Queen of Darkness" is the second Manhwa in which you have participated.

-

Can you tell us more about this turning point in your career?

-

Author Moon Mi-Ra has an unsurpassable graphic talent. I learned a lot from her.

-

In gratitude, I contributed to her work, creating Wang Shin.

-

Risky bet! This manhwa was known for its main character... The Queen of Darkness!

-

What pleased the readers was the surprising and dark side of the story, featuring a villain instead of a heroine.

-

Yes, and she has made a great consumption of heroes, killed in all kinds of Machiavellian ways.

They both giggle. The view recedes and...

... Soo-Bong talks on a giant screen of Home Theater.

~

However, a regular hero could stabilize the story, and interest new readers.

The giant screen is in a spacious luxury apartment, both modern and Gothic.

Thick smoke hangs in the air of the room with black, white and gold tones.
It's messy, with cans and food wrappers lying on the floor.
On a coffee table, in an ashtray, a hand-rolled cigarette .

~

And that doesn't stop the Queen of Darkness from continuing her exactions, which her traditional fans love so much.

MOON MI-RA, 30, divine beauty, but with a naturally disdainful face identical to Cha Yu-Sun's.
As if to make her impossible to seduce, even by the most handsome of kings.
Dressed in a black and y gothic style, with make-up and black nails.

KIM YOON-HEE, 28, very fat, blonde, with a round and charming face.
This greedy and cheerful girl is a former assistant of Oh Sung-Moo (seen in W, episode 1 and 2).
Dressed in a comfortable brightly colored sweatsuit, she eats a small cake.

~

I am satisfied that readers like Wang Shin, even one year after I left.

-

You'll see what I do with your hero, Soo-Bong!

Mi-Ra looks drunk, or under the influence of a psychotropic drug.

-

But Unnie, it's true that the manhwa sells better thanks to him... (Unnie = Older girl: sister or friend)

-

When I draw Wang Shin, all I see is Soo-Bong.

-

And I have only one desire, it's to dismember him!

-

After all, I would rather see you angry than depressed. It was about time.

-

Only you understand me a bit, Yoon-Hee.

-

You must be the only girl who is less lucky in love than I am.

-

"Butterfly Girl", it's a totally different style.

A drawing style with very bright colors, characters with unrealistic proportions.
Faces with big eyes drowned in light bubbles, and a small nose, romantic and comical.

-

By what incredible feat did you assume the role of lead illustrator?

-

Not so new to me, I had already worked for author Jang Soo-Bin before.

-

No one could have guessed that.

-

It's again a success for you.

-

How did you come up with the idea of participating in "Butterfly Girl"?

The view gradually recedes and...

... Soo-Bong is found in an ordinary television screen.

~

I really appreciate the rigor of Jang Soo-Bin's scripts, as well as her eccentric and acidulous universe.

Good standing home of average size, moderate luxury, neat, impeccably clean.

~

She didn't have time to draw this manhwa, in addition to her main work.

PARK DA-YE, 44, classic high class, wife of professor Park Min-Soo.

JANG SOO-BIN, 44, large round glasses, dressed and styled in a whimsical way.
She is the extravagant author of cute and sentimental manhwas (seen in W Ep 06).

~

As we had kept in touch, I jumped at the opportunity to draw her story.

-

Your designer has style. I thought he was dressing like a teenager.

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That's because I forced him to wear a suit for his interview!

-

And to remove his fake stupid glasses...

-

I will miss this manhwa, you wrote such a moving story...

KLOM! Sound of front door closing, from nearby hallway.

-

Is that you, darling?

-

Hurry up, you just have time to see the end of the show.

Professor Park Min-Soo enters.

-

They'll talk about "Queen of Darkness"?

-

It has already been done.

-

Now they're talking about "Butterfly Girl"...

-

Rah, I missed the point!

-

And now we'll have to endure this tear-jerking rose-water romance.

-

... (sad and vexed)

-

Oh, sorry, Soo-Bin, I wasn't saying that to upset you.

-

You certainly are very good at what you do, although it's boring.

-

Doesn't matter, it needs something for all tastes...

-

Wang Shin versus the Queen of Darkness. That! It's a story that is punchy!

-

For coronary bypass' sake! "W" finally had a worthy successor.

-

And no grotesque intruders coming to ruin this masterpiece!

-

Well, I have to leave you.

-

I promised Soo-Bong I would pick him up at the TV studio.

Da-Ye nods with a smile.
She takes Soo-Bin's elbow to her out.
Soo-Bin looks sadly at Min-Soo, who ignores her.
He watches the television, intrigued.

-

Hey, that's the mad dog!

Without sound: Soo-Bong is angry, agitated, and yells at the fearful Professor Park.

~

The lunatic who yelled at me in the hospital two years ago...

-

He is working for her? (TING!)

-

"Butterfly Girl", it ended this week.

-

What do you plan to do now?

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Wait, I have something new for the public.

-

Surprise us.

-

We will publish a special episode for "Butterfly Girl".

-

A fan service epilogue!

-

Yes, the audience often likes to know the characters' futures at the end...

-

And enjoy some of the touching moments of their happy lives.

-

"Butterfly Girl" was a too short one-year work. So, we wanted to please our readers.

-

We look forward to that.

-

But tell us about your future projects.

-

I think it's time for me to become an independent, full-fledged author.

-

My current assistant is gifted enough to create stories, in addition to her drawing skills.

-

Then we should team up...

A woman's voice, wide sound, using a microphone.

~

1st principle, autonomy.

~

Let your characters live! Ask yourself what they would do, not you.

-

They should not become a substitute for your wishes.

-

2nd principle, consistency.

-

Who has a first aid certificate here?

Many students raise their hands.

-

A lot of people.

-

And what do you think when you see a cliché scene, in which a character gives a cardiac massage on someone who is still breathing?

A student raises his hand more, Song Jae-Jung signals him to speak.

-

Give a cardiac massage, when heart is beating, causes cardiac arrest.

-

That's right, and it's really unbearable to see that.

-

Not only is it poorly written, but if ignorant people reproduce this gesture, they could put someone in danger.

-

So, consistency in detail, and consistency of the scenario as a whole.

-

Take for example a story in which the hero poses as dead, after someone tried to murder him.

-

He returns to his city a few years later, determined to take revenge.

-

He makes a false identity for himself, although he is barely disguised.

-

The city is fuuuuuull of people or relatives who knew him.

-

In fact, he might be unmasked every 5 minutes!

-

It's simple, my 5-year-old nephew is smarter than this hero...

-

... Or than his writer! (proud of her joke).

General laughter in the amphitheatre.
An unknown female student interrupts.

-

Seonsaingnim! (Seonsaingnim = Teacher)

-

Yes?

-

I just read a manhwa with this scenario recently.

-

Share your feelings with us.

-

I loved it!

-

There was a terrible suspense when he would be unmasked by his enemies.

-

Heartbreaking when he had to ignore his former fiancée, whom he still loves.

-

And also, the hero was such a cute Oppa...

General laughter in the amphitheatre. Much louder than the previous one!

-

(amused) Thank you for your candor and enthusiasm, Oh Yeon-Joo.

(a surprised female student looks at Yeon-Joo)

-

It is undoubtedly because of such naive reactions that some scriptwriters take the easy way out.

-

But the audience has become more mature. We can no longer offer a scenario filled with unbelievable things out of context.

-

And just that...

-

3rd principle, the context.

-

Investigate thoroughly the environment in which your story takes place.

-

Reality is often more extraordinary than what comes out of your imagination.

-

It will also give you tons of unexpected ideas, all credible.

:

Ah, what if I wrote my manhwa script in the hospital environment?

:

I would have lots of fabulous and realistic stories...

:

Surgical operations would have instructive reversals.

:

I could even put a character who looks like the Mad Dog in it.

Yeon-Joo leaves through the campus.

-

Unnie, wait for me!

The female student of the conference room catchs up with her.

-

The teacher called you Oh Yeon-Joo...

-

Yes, it is me.

-

The real Oh Yeon-Joo?

-

Oh Sung-Moo's daughter, the one he drew in "W"?

-

I look like me, don't I?

-

You are also pretty.

-

It's amazing! I never thought I'd meet you at this script class.

-

About the lesson, isn't that a bit rigid as a method?

-

Are you kidding? You don't know who the teacher is?

-

Song Jae-Jung...

-

Is it someone famous?

-

Of course, she wrote scripts for TV.

-

Wait. (she does a search on her smartphone)

-

Look. (she hands the smartphone to Yeon-Joo)

-

Oh I see, I rarely watch television.

-

She even takes care of the future adaptation of "W" into a drama.

-

Gosh... the world is a small place.

-

Would you like to have a drink?

-

I'm sorry, I have an appointment.

-

After maybe? Please, Unnie.

-

Then I have to pick up my baby from my mother.

-

I had so many questions to ask you.

-

We can do that next time, before the class.

-

Promised?

-

Yes, I promise.

-

Taxi!

-

Where should I take you?

-

At the Han River Bridge.

-

I thought my destiny was in this world.

-

But I was wrong, my destiny has always been here, on this bridge.

Yeon-Joo's taxi arrives near the bridge, but a crowd blocks its access.

-

Looks like something bad happened.

-

I'm sorry, I have to drop you off here.

Yeon-Joo gets out of the taxi, and...

... she hurries to join the crowd of curious people, all looking at the bridge.
As Yeon-Joo makes her way, she hears the conversations.

-

Did he jump off the bridge?

-

Yes, I saw it all!

-

Omo!

Starring :

-

Lee Jun Ki is Wang Shin. Excerpts from the drama "Joseon Gunman".

-

Kim Tae Hee is Cha Yu-Sun. Excerpts from the drama "Jang Ok Jung, Living in Love".

-

Kim Tae Hee is Moon Mi-Ra. Excerpts from the drama "IRIS".

-

Yang Hye-Ji is Kim Yoon-Hee. Excerpts from her Youtube channel Mukbang.

-

Han Hyo-Joo is Oh Yeon-Joo. Excerpts from the drama "W: two worlds".

-

Lee Jong-Suk is Kang Chul. Excerpts from the drama "W: two worlds".

-

Lee Si-Un is Park Soo-Bong. Extracts from all available sources.

-

Heo Jung-Do is Park Min-Soo. Excerpts from the drama "W: two worlds".

-

Adrien Lee is himself. Excerpts from the "Showbiz Korea" program. Disclaimer: the character is fictional. It isn't the personality of the real person.

-

Song Jae-Jung is herself. Excerpts from the drama conference "Nine". Disclaimer: the character is fictional. It isn't the personality of the real person. Same name and profession, as a tribute to the creators of W. And for comedy.

-

Lee Yo-Won is Park Da-Ye. Excerpts from the drama "Avengers social club".

-

Hwang Suk-Jung is Jang So-Bin. Excerpts from the drama "W: two worlds".

-

Baek Seo-E is a university student. Excerpts from the drama "Let's Fight Ghost".

-

Jung Jin-Young is Wang Il-Do. Excerpts from the drama "Dong-Yi".

-

Choi Cheol-Ho is an officer of Joseon. Excerpts from the drama "Joseon Gunman".

-

Choi Jae-Sung is an officer of Joseon. Excerpts from the drama "Joseon Gunman".

-

Jung Sun-Il is Intendant Han. Excerpts from the drama "Dong-Yi".