Sweet Home (webtoon)

''Sweet Home'' () is a South Korean webtoon written by Kim Carnby and illustrated by Hwang Young-chan. First published in Naver Webtoon, the webtoon ran for a total of 140 chapters plus 1 prologue from October 12, 2017, to July 2, 2020. It centers on a suicidal high school boy who, along with a group of fellow apartment residents, tries to survive a "monsterization" apocalypse (''goemulhwa'') where people turn into monsters that reflect their innermost, most desperate desires.

The webtoon is the second collaborative work by Kim and Hwang, the first being ''Bastard'' (2014–2016). As of January 2021, its official English version garnered 2.4 million subscribers and 15.2 million likes. A print version of ''Sweet Home'' was released since February 28, 2020 by Wisdom House. It has also been adapted into a Netflix series of the same name released on December 18, 2020. A prequel titled ''Shotgun Boy'', written by Kim and illustrated by Hongpil with Hwang providing editorial supervision, was released in Naver Webtoon starting February 22, 2021.

Plot

Prologue, Chapters 1–38

After his family is tragically killed in a vehicular accident, suicidal 18-year-old Cha Hyun-soo moves into Room 1410 of the Green Home apartment complex. Soon after, he and other residents begin experiencing auditory hallucinations and nosebleeds, and one night, through his video door-phone, he witnesses his female neighbor from Room 1411 transform into a human-eating monster.

Two days later, Hyun-soo learns that society has collapsed as people undergo a "monsterization" apocalypse (''goemulhwa''), a phenomenon widely discussed online. Downstairs, a group of residents led by Lee Eun-hyuk fend off the first monster attack on the building, but not before one is killed. Many more residents are killed as the attacks continue. Hyun-soo crafts a makeshift spear with a kitchen knife as a spearhead and, following advice from Han Du-sik of Room 1408, uses his phone as a monster detector, where if a call produces a beeping sound, it signals a monster is nearby. He goes to Room 1408, where Du-sik modifies his spear to deliver an electric shock.

Hyun-soo rescues two orphaned siblings, 9-year-old Kim Soo-young and 6-year-old Kim Young-soo, in Room 1210. However, as he attempts to return to Du-sik's apartment, his transformation into a monster momentarily takes hold and another attack separates him from the children. Yoon Ji-soo of Room 1510 and Jung Jae-heon of Room 1506 rescue him. Meanwhile, the children are caught in a battle between two monsters but are saved by Im Myung-sook, a partially 'monsterized' resident. Hyun-soo, Ji-soo, and Jae-heon arrive to help her.

After spending a day in Du-sik's apartment, Hyun-soo, Ji-soo, and Jae-heon decide to join the survivors on the ground floor, leaving the children in Myung-sook and Du-sik's care. During a battle with a monster, Hyun-soo is knocked unconscious. In his mind, his inner monster tempts him with a hallucination where he watches his favorite film, ''Maria From the Sky''. Realizing he is only hallucinating, Hyun-soo rejects the temptation and awakes to find Eun-hyuk and his younger sister, Lee Eun-yoo, by his side.

Chapters 39–85

The residents debate whether to oust Hyun-soo due to his partial monsterization. Eun-hyuk proposes a vote but argues that forcing him out would be tantamount to killing him. The vote results in a tie, causing an elderly man, Kim Seok-hyun, to protest. However, his nose begins to bleed, exposing his own impending monsterization. Later, Eun-hyuk tasks Hyun-soo and Pyeon Sang-wook, , a gangster-like resident, with rescuing the survivors in Room 1408 to utilize Du-sik's technical skills. While they are away, Myung-sook fully succumbs to monsterization; however, her deep longing for her lost child rather transforms her into a passive, fetus-like monster within Du-sik's apartment.

On their way to Du-sik's apartment, Hyun-soo and Sang-wook encounter other survivors: elderly Ahn Gil-seop and his caretaker Park Yoo-ri. The two successfully return to the ground floor with Du-sik, leaving Gil-seop, Yoo-ri and the children in Du-sik's apartment. Du-sik repairs one of the apartment's elevators but it inadvertently leads to the fully monsterized security guard entering the ground floor and attacking the residents, killing many, including Jae-heon. The sight of Jae-heon's corpse causes Hyun-soo's inner monster to temporarily manifest. Upon regaining control, he kills the monsterized security guard. The remaining survivors in Du-sik's apartment use the elevator to join the ground floor survivors.

A group consisting of Hyun-soo, Sang-wook, Ji-soo, Gil-seop and Yoo-ri successfully retakes the underground parking lot from the monsters. Du-sik modifies a car into an armored vehicle, which Hyun-soo, Sang-wook, Gil-seop, and another survivor, Byung-il, use to venture outside the complex in search of food and medical supplies. However, a monster attacks them, killing Gil-seop while Byung-il escapes. Just as Eun-hyuk and the remaining survivors prepare to leave the complex to help Hyun-soo and Sang-wook, Byung-il returns with a prison bus and runs over the monster, killing it. Byung-il emerges from the bus with five outsiders, the first four of whom Sang-wook immediately recognizes as criminals: group leader Shin Joong-seop, conman Im Hyun-sik, rapist Seo Kap-soo, and gangster Baek Ho-yeon.

Chapters 86–111

The Green Home residents are forced to accommodate the criminals, leading to rising tensions as the criminals begin enacting their secret plan to take control of the complex. While Hyun-sik spreads fear and discord among the survivors, Joong-seop tries to recruit Hyun-soo to join their group and reveals another outsider, a young man named Yi-hyun, to be a powerful half-monster. The criminals soon assume superiority, leading to some residents joining their side, including Hyun-soo. Eun-hyuk, refusing to share any plans with the criminals, is imprisoned along with Sang-wook. Eun-hyuk reveals to Sang-wook that he has a plan known only to himself and Du-sik, but he collapses after his nose starts to bleed. Du-sik is forced to show Joong-seop a large box containing what appears to be a chain of clothes, which Joong-seop dismisses. Du-sik is relieved, as the "rope" is actually over 100 meters long with a grappling hook at the end.

On Joong-seop's orders, Hyun-soo and Yi-hyun search the upper levels of Green Home for monsters. Yi-hyun, communicating with Hyun-soo's inner monster, finds out about the harmless fetus monster in Du-sik's apartment bathroom and, under the influence of his own inner monster, attempts to kill it. Hyun-soo fights Yi-hyun to protect the monster and manages to knock Yi-hyun back to his normal state. When they check the bathroom again, they find a human-sized cocoon where the monster once was, which Hyun-soo realizes is alive after hearing a heartbeat. Yi-hyun, fearing it is a potential threat, attempts to destroy it but his half-monsterization powers unexpectedly resist, knocking him unconscious.

Ji-soo arrives in the apartment as Hyun-soo remains hesitant about destroying the cocoon. Although also seeing it as a potential threat, Ji-soo is reluctant to act and tells Hyun-soo that Eun-hyuk and Sang-wook are imprisoned. Yi-hyun regains consciousness with his inner monster's personality and sets the cocoon on fire with his lighter, causing nearby monsters to swarm the complex. He then rushes to the rooftop, where he believes he sees a naked woman standing on the parapet. Meanwhile, Sang-wook and Eun-hyuk escape imprisonment and discover coolers containing chopped human remains in the outsiders' prison bus. Sang-wook attempts to use the remains to lure the monsters away from the complex but comes upon a grove with four cocoons. To his shock, he witnesses a naked human emerge from one of the cocoons.

Chapters 112–139

As monsters begin breaching the barricade on the front door, Eun-hyuk confirms to Du-sik that the survivors must proceed with their escape plan: launching the grappling hook from the rooftop to zipline to a hill 80 meters away. Eun-yoo uses Ji-soo's smartphone to distract the monsters, allowing the survivors flee to the upper floors. Sang-wook uses the prison bus to block the front door and throws Joong-seop to the monsters. Du-sik, who is undergoing monsterization himself, decides to stay behind in the underground parking lot and starts a fire to kill multiple monsters. As Eun-hyuk and the survivors arrive at the rooftop, Hyun-soo goes to the parking lot, where he finds Du-sik dying. A naked man appears and triggers another hallucination in Hyun-soo with his inner monster.

The inner monster reveals the true nature of monsterization to be a "revolution" and a "new beginning". Inner monsters, malevolent versions of their hosts' souls, take control when the hosts succumb to its callings, after which the hosts transform into monsters that reflect their desires. After the hosts' desires are fulfilled, they become new humans — emotionless beings thriving on a "sense of futility". Hyun-soo rejects his inner monster's temptations, firmly deciding to remain himself and continue fighting.

Sang-wook and Hyun-sik join Hyun-soo in the parking lot, where they kill the fully monsterized Du-sik. Meanwhile, Ji-soo returns to her apartment room and uses her bass guitar and amplifier to lure the monsters away from the rooftop, leaving a manageable number to fight. Hyun-soo, briefly succumbing to his inner monster, rescues Ji-soo in his near-monsterized form. After Eun-hyuk and Byung-il set up the escape equipment, Eun-hyuk decides to remain in the building due to his own monsterization.

The women and children zipline to safety first. Eun-hyuk, Sang-wook, and Yi-hyun join Hyun-soo and Ji-soo in fighting the remaining monsters. They then head to the rooftop, but their escape is thwarted by the fully monsterized Joong-seop. With no other choice, Hyun-soo sacrifices himself to fully embrace his monsterization, transforming into a powerful monster resembling his favorite character from ''Maria From the Sky'' and allowing him to defeat Joong-seop with one blow. Ji-soo tries to communicate with him, but the true Hyun-soo only responds faintly to her voice, while the monster reacts with hostility. Eun-hyuk, deciding to also embrace his monsterization to stop Hyun-soo, transforms into a massive tangle that engulfs the monsterized Hyun-soo, killing them both.

After the battle, rain falls over the remains of the two monsterized men. Most of the remains disintegrate, causing two cocoons to materialize; Hyun-soo emerges from one of them and descends the building. On the ground floor, he finds Ji-soo's unlocked smartphone and plays an audio file, revealed to be Ji-soo's composition, which was supposed to have lyrics written by the old Hyun-soo. Strangely, the new Hyun-soo listens to the music and sheds tears.

Chapter 140 (Epilogue)

During winter in the post-apocalyptic world, the Green Home survivors live in a military camp. While guarding the perimeter, Byung-il notices something approaching and calls for Ji-soo. She rushes to the fence and sees Hyun-soo, barefoot and dressed in thin clothing, walking through the snow toward the camp. Upon seeing Ji-soo, Hyun-soo smiles with tear-filled eyes. Ji-soo, overcome with emotion, steps beyond the fence and embraces him tightly as the other survivors hurry to reunite with him.

Characters

Main

* Cha Hyun-soo
: An 18-year-old who becomes a half-monster and the protagonist of the webtoon. Formerly a spoiled and suicidal high-school student, he is the sole occupant of Room 1410 in Green Home after losing his family in a car accident. He severed ties with his relatives after a dispute over his small inheritance, which he intended to live off before pursuing a professional gaming career. Shortly after moving in, Hyun-soo finds himself caught in a "monsterization" apocalypse, and fights against monsters using a makeshift spear with an electrified knife as its tip. Due to his strong resistance to his inner monster, he does not fully transform, instead becoming a "half-monster" with abilities such as self-healing, electricity resistance, and enhanced strength, agility, and durability. Over time, he develops feelings for Ji-soo.
* Yoon Ji-soo
: A 20-year-old bass guitarist and composer, as well as the sole occupant of Room 1510 in Green Home after her boyfriend's suicide. Since her unit is directly above Hyun-soo's, her loud bass playing frequently disturbs him. In the wake of the apocalypse, she assists Hyun-soo in battles against monsters, wielding a baseball bat as her weapon, and later develops feelings for him.
* Pyeon Sang-wook
: A 32-year-old former police officer and Green Home resident. Due to his tall, muscular build and intimidating presence, he is often mistaken for a gangster. He fights alongside Hyun-soo and the survivors using brute strength and is responsible for guarding food supplies and rationing resources. Later, it is revealed he was dismissed from the police force for excessive use of force. He eventually develops feelings for Yoo-ri.
* Lee Eun-hyuk
: An 18-year-old resident of Green Home and the older brother of Eun-yoo. Despite his young age, Eun-hyuk becomes leader of the survivors thanks to his quick, strategic thinking and composure. Online, he goes by the alias "CrewCrew" in gaming. In the prequel ''Shotgun Boy'', he is revealed to be a friend of the main character, Han Kyu-hwan.

Supporting

Green Home Residents

* Han Du-sik
: A former engineer and the sole occupant of Room 1408. Du-sik lost his leg while rescuing a child and relies on a wheelchair. Skilled in crafting weapons, he enhances the survivors' gear — most notably Hyun-soo's spear — and works with Eun-hyuk to devise an escape plan.
* Jung Jae-heon
: a Korean language teacher from Room 1506. A devout Christian, Jae-heon wields a long sword and recites prayers while fighting mosters.
* Lee Eun-yoo
: Eun-hyuk's younger sister. She carries a lighter and aerosol spray, which she uses to set monsters on fire.
* Park Yoo-ri
: A 28-year-old resident and caretaker of Gil-seop. She fights using a crossbow and later develops a romantic relationship with Sang-wook.
* Ahn Gil-seop
: A 50-year-old resident of Green Home under Yoo-ri's care. He fights monsters using Molotov cocktails.
* Kim Soo-young
: A 9-year old girl from Room 1210 and Young-soo's older sister. Their father is tragically killed by a monster.
* Kim Young-soo
: A 6-year-old boy from Room 1210 and Soo-young's younger brother.
* Im Myung-sook
: A middle-aged woman and half-monster resident of Green Home. Driven delusional from grief, Myung-sook believes her deceased infant is still alive. Her intense longing allows her to resist hostile monsterization, transforming her into a harmless, giant fetus-like creature.
* Byung-il
: A resident who unknowingly leads a group of outsiders into Green Home, unaware of their true intentions.
* Ahn Seon-young
: Seok-hyun's abused wife and a resident of Green Home.
* Kim Seok-hyun
: Seon-young's abusive husband. Seok-hyun strongly adheres to traditionalist beliefs, viewing adults as inherently superior to younger people.
* Son Hye-in
: A fearful resident prone to rash survival decisions. She later sides with the outsiders.
* Security Guard
: The unnamed security guard of the Green Home apartment complex. Resentful of the residents' mistreatment, he transforms into a monster that grows stronger and heavier with each kill.
* Girl from Room 1411
: Hyun-soo's next-door neighbor and an aspiring celebrity. She frequently starves herself in pursuit of fame, transforming her into a ravenous, flesh-eating monster. She is the first monster Hyun-soo encounters.
* Ryu Jae-hwan
: Also an aspiring celebrity who transforms into an attention-seeking monster, causing intense headaches in victims who fail to compliment him.
* Sang-soo
: A resident who sides with the outsiders.
* Ji-eun
: A resident who also sides with the outsiders.

Outsiders

* Shin Joong-seop
: The leader of a group of criminals. Joong-seop is driven by a desire to kill monsters after losing his entire family to them. He is familiar with Sang-wook.
* Im Hyun-sik
: A member of Joong-seop's group of criminals, Hyun-sik is a conman.
* Jo Yi-hyun
: A half-monsterized man who is an outsider, but not a member of Joong-seop's group of criminals. He has multiple personalities, only one of which is controlled by his inner monster, preventing full monsterization. Yi-hyun has the ability to extend his arms, which can swell or transform into a branching form capable of stabbing multiple monsters simultaneously.
* Seo Kap-soo
: A criminal in Joong-seop's group and a rapist.
* Baek Ho-yeon
: A gangster in Joong-seop's group.

Notable Monsters

Note: ''The following monsters are in their monster forms upon their first appearance in the webtoon. Some of their former human identities are revealed through flashbacks or hints in the story.''

* Blood-sucking Monster
: the first monster to invade and attack the Green Home apartment complex. It is a humanoid, hematophagous monster with a large mouth extending to its chest and a long, proboscis-like tongue used to drain its' victims' blood.
* Half-headed Monster
: A blind humanoid monster that became half-headed after Jae-heon sliced its head transversely. Highly sensitive to sound, it can extend its arms like Yi-hyun, allowing it to puncture objects and impale humans or other monsters at high speed. The monster was once a disgruntled office worker who lost his job.
* Eyeball Monster
: A monster with a long, extendible neck and a giant, round mass with multiple eyes as its head.
* Muscular Monster
: A tall, hulking humanoid monster that repeats the words "protein", "strength", and "muscle". It is enraged when mocked for being weak.
* Liquid Monster
: A relatively harmless, non-hostile monster resembling a mass of transparent slime with two floating eyeballs in its "head". It was once a young boy named Min-cheol, who hid in a closet when his mother was killed by the half-headed monster. The monster's repeated phrase, "Can you see me?" hints at Min-cheol's desire to remain unseen.
* Tentacle Monster / Spider Monster
: Initially a human corpse with multiple tentacles protruding from its back. When set on fire, it douses itself with water from a sprinkler and evolves into a spider-like monster capable of spitting corrosive fluid.
* Long-armed Monster
: A gibbon-like humanoid creature capable of extending its arms. Once a man consumed by guilt after failing to save his son from monsters, the monster repeats, "Hold my hand".
* Track-and-field Monster
: A fast-moving, three-eyed humanoid that repeats "too slow". It was once a track-and-field athlete who murdered his roommate and rival before becoming a monster.
* Flying Monster
: A bat-like monster, and the only known monster capable of flight.

Other characters involved in the monsterization apocalypse

* The inner monsters
: the malevolent personas that awaken in people and transform them into monsters; the prime movers of the monsterization apocalypse. It is revealed in latter chapters that the inner monsters are the fiendish forms of the souls of humans beings born through the repression of human desires; seeking for the satiating of those desires, they incite a "revolution" through the monsterization apocalypse. An inner monster takes advantage of its host's innermost, most desperate desires and transforms the host into a monster that reflect those desires, while the host's subconscious is imprisoned in a "paradise of desires", a parallel world where those desires are fully met (letting the host turn into an emotionless, desireless human being later on when the desires are finally exhausted).
* The emergent humans (''Übermensch'')
: a new race of humans that emerge from cocoons that form from the remains of dead monsters. When a monster dies or after a monster's true persona exhausts his or her desires while being in the "paradise of desires", the monster transforms into a new human being void of desires and emotions and thriving on a "sense of futility". In the prequel ''Shotgun Boy'', it is revealed that these beings are also referred to as the ''Übermensch''.

Major themes

Style

Art

The artistic style of ''Sweet Home'' is characterized by maintaining a "claustrophobic and grotesque atmosphere". There is additional emphasis on the characters' appearance: the human characters' facial expressions, and the monsters' physical forms which take on a "familiar yet horrific twist". The webtoon also exhibits multiple changes in font style which help set the atmosphere of various scenes, through "color changes, opacity changes, capitalization, size changes, and font changes".

Just like many modern, third-generation webtoons, ''Sweet Home'' uses built-in background music, particularly in its 140th chapter (epilogue) which contains a track titled "MZ - Sweet Home (incomplete ver.)".

Narrative and characterization

Among thriller-horror stories that deal with gruesome characters such as zombies and monsters, ''Sweet Home'' is notable for treating a relatively similar set of characters in a different light. This is evident by its introduction of the idea of human beings turning into monsters not through external factors (e.g. virus, curse) but through the expression of their desires.

The webtoon is also said to go beyond simple horror storytelling and focuses on character development, especially on its protagonist Cha Hyun-soo. In the webtoon, Hyun-soo is portrayed as a reclusive boy who, at first, lives only for himself and is ready to die. But as soon as the monsterization apocalypse begins, he makes a big change by wanting to step out of his room, connecting with other people and staying alive.

Background and publication history

Naver webtoon

''Sweet Home'' marks the second collaborative work between webtoon writer Kim Carnby and webtoon artist Hwang Young-chan. The first work by Kim and Hwang is ''Bastard'' (2014–16), a thriller story about son who lives with his father, a serial killer.

First published in Naver Webtoon, ''Sweet Home'' ran on a weekly basis on Thursdays. Its prologue was uploaded on October 12, 2017, followed by the first chapter on October 19; the webtoon ended with the uploading of its epilogue and 140th chapter on July 2, 2020. The official English version of the webtoon (Prologue up to Chapter 139) was uploaded on Mondays in WEBTOON starting January 15, 2018, while Chapter 140 (Epilogue) was uploaded on September 29, 2020. It is also available in Chinese, Japanese, French, Indonesian, Spanish and Thai.

After the success of ''Sweet Home'', Kim collaborated with webtoon illustrator Hongpil for its prequel titled ''Shotgun Boy'' which was released in Naver Webtoon starting February 22, 2021, with Hwang providing editorial supervision. The webtoon tells the story of the titular "shotgun igh schoolboy" Han Kyu-hwan and the events prior to ''Sweet Home''.

Print version

Print versions of ''Sweet Home'' from the prologue up to Chapter 105 were released on February 28, 2020 (volumes 1–3), October 15, 2020 (volumes 4–6) and April 29, 2021 (volumes 7–9), by Wisdom House.

Volume list

Reception

As of January 2021, the official English version of ''Sweet Home'' garnered 2.4 million subscribers and 15.2 million likes. The print version of the webtoon was also recognized by the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency (KOMACON) as one of the "50 Best Comic Books of 2020". ATK Magazine's Kate Maugans called the webtoon a "wild ride" and marked its "compelling story and intriguing art".

Adaptations

''Sweet Home'' has been adapted by Studio Dragon and Studio N into a Netflix series of the same name starring Song Kang, Lee Jin-wook and Lee Si-young who play Hyun-soo, Sang-wook and a new character Seo Yi-kyeong, respectively. Netflix officially announced the series' cast on December 18, 2019. Helmed by director Lee Eung-bok, the series was released on December 18, 2020, to mixed reviews.

Notes

References

External links

스위트홈 (original Korean version)

''Sweet Home'' (official English translation)
{{Webtoon (platform)

Manhwa titles
South Korean webtoons
Naver Comics titles
2010s webtoons
Horror webtoons
2010s manhwa