Chapter 65 – First Semester Goal
Mid-May, after Yang Jae-han had swept through the school like a storm.
In the meeting room next to the faculty office, four or five teachers responsible for practical subjects in the Comic Creation Department sat gathered, each holding a document with grave expressions.
Then, a gentle-looking man in his mid-30s adjusted his glasses and spoke.
His name was Kim Geon-yeong.
He was the homeroom teacher for third-year Comic Creation students.
“Among the third-years, the number of students who have clearly expressed intent to pursue animation or comic-related departments is about 17 out of 25… The rest have completed interviews confirming their goal is either direct comic artist debut or industry entry.”
“Only 17? That’s a bit low this year.”
Ma Dong-hyun, the department head, widened his eyes in surprise.
In Korea, even students who aspire to become comic artists…
Most end up entering related departments due to parental expectations or their own sense of practicality.
No matter how free-spirited Animation High’s atmosphere might be, it couldn’t completely ignore this reality.
That’s why, by third year, the school itself began supporting students’ college entrance exams.
While first and second year focused on teaching the fundamentals of comics…
Third year shifted the overall atmosphere.
Sejungdae, Geonyang University, Hanyang Arts University.
The so-called “Big Three” comic departments.
The school specialized its curriculum and teachers toward getting as many students as possible accepted into these top programs.
This was the reality of teaching comics in Korea…
And Animation High had no choice but to follow the same system.
There were usually one or two exceptions every year, but those were rare, special cases.
So having eight students outright declare they would not pursue college entrance was bound to be seen as highly unusual.
Kim Geon-yeong stroked his chin and replied,
“Yes… I suspect it has something to do with <New Chance> this time.”
“New Chance?”
“Yes. With Brave King and Deadline becoming such a hot topic recently… I think it gave some of them the idea that ‘maybe you really can make it in comics in Korea.’”
“Ahh, I see.”
Yang Jae-han and that kid Kang Min-Hyuk’s comics had lit a fire under them.
‘Good. This is exactly what I wanted.’
Ma Dong-hyun was the type to mutter “revive Korean comics” even in his sleep.
Seeing this phenomenon filled him with satisfaction.
Though he was still just a little annoyed that Yang Jae-han was strutting around with his shoulders squared.
Ma Dong-hyun nodded and continued.
“Well, we’ll do more detailed interviews within the week to make sure no one’s deciding impulsively… But if a lot of them are leaning toward direct debut, send them my way. We’ll need to have serious talks from there.”
“Yes, we’ll proceed that way.”
Ma Dong-hyun nodded, then turned his head.
“How about second year?”
This time, Jo Bit-na—the second-year homeroom teacher and Character Design instructor, a petite woman with round glasses—spoke from her prepared notes.
“Second year has no major issues. Interviews are all finished… No one’s showing any particularly unusual behavior.”
“Good. Let me know if anything comes up. What about first year, Choi Jung-an?”
Finally, Choi Jung-an—the first-year homeroom teacher—looked down at her document and continued.
“First year has no major problems at the moment. Min-Hyuk is managing both serialization and assignments steadily… His interpersonal relationships seem smooth too.”
“And Yu-ra?”
“…As I mentioned before, her contest manuscript is progressing without any issues.”
Choi Jung-an answered seriously.
A few months ago,
Han Yu-ra had suddenly requested a private meeting.
- Teacher… I want to challenge this.
- Hm? Jump Comics Newcomer Contest?
- Yes… Could you help me? I really want to debut.
She had asked for support to enter a newcomer contest.
Given her tremendous enthusiasm and the fact that she was balancing it perfectly with schoolwork, Jung-an had been supporting her in various ways.
And from Ma Dong-hyun’s perspective…
- Of course we have to support her!
He was fully in favor of a young student daring to challenge the pro comic world.
After the teachers finished their reports,
Ma Dong-hyun rested his chin on both hands and spoke with a serious expression.
“…Well, I think that’s enough reporting for now. It’s about time we start preparing for ‘Tujiman Chang’.”
“Yes.”
Tension appeared on the teachers’ faces.
‘Tujiman Chang’ was… one of the most important events for Animation High, especially the Comic Creation Department.
In simple terms, ‘Tujiman Chang’ meant that each student had to complete one finished short comic by early July.
With 25 students per grade, that totaled 25 short stories compiled into a single anthology.
First-years: ‘Rookie Man Chang’
Second-years: ‘Yeolhyeol Man Chang’
Third-years: ‘Tujiman Chang’
They held a grand exhibition and sale event called ‘Tujiman Chang’ right before summer break.
The degree of completion of each short, along with the student’s diligence and skill improvement throughout the process, were evaluated and reflected in their internal grades…
It was the single most important assignment and task of the year for Comic Creation students.
Sometimes, outstanding works even received direct contact from publishers…
And since these anthologies were used as portfolios for entrance to the most coveted school—Hanyang Arts University—the school poured all its resources into running this event and assignment.
If there was one thing most crucial about Tujiman Chang…
“Then, let’s decide the themes for this year’s Tujiman Chang by grade. If any teachers have suggestions, please speak up first.”
…it was that each grade had a predetermined ‘theme’ for the comics they were required to draw.
***
After Yang Jae-han’s visit to the school, Kang Min-Hyuk’s school life continued as usual.
“Alright, Min-Hyuk—present your storyboard.”
“Yes. This time… I focused on developing the comedy elements.”
Comic directing theory, character design, basic design, etc.
He steadily kept up with Comic Creation classes while completing all assigned tasks.
Scratch scratch!
After pouring everything into finishing Chapter 15, he eased off slightly and steadily built up the manuscripts for Chapter 16 onward.
Since serialization was once every two weeks and didn’t require color, the pressure was far lower compared to his webtoon days.
‘Right now, simply winning or losing doesn’t mean much.’
It was a small realization he’d gained after meeting Yang Jae-han.
Serializing Brave King right now had meaning in itself, but the current serialization also had clear limits.
This was still the twilight era of Korean published comics—even massive success here…
Most Koreans had already stopped reading comics entirely. Focusing solely on success in this market held limited meaning.
Brave King’s success and mentions in online communities…
All of it was confined to the small circle of people who still loved comics.
It would never reach the level of a national phenomenon or cultural syndrome.
That was the current limitation of the Korean market—and also, to some extent, Min-Hyuk’s own shortcomings.
That truth became even clearer.
‘This is just a process. That’s why I came to Animation High in the first place.’
Starting Brave King had fundamentally been a choice made to earn tuition money and ease Hong Mi-seon’s burden—the pursuit of a concrete “result.”
But through his meeting with Yang Jae-han, Min-Hyuk had realized something new.
‘From now on… serializing Brave King must become a process to grow the artist named Kang Min-Hyuk.’
He would try as many things as possible, boldly.
Min-Hyuk reaffirmed his goal for Brave King’s serialization and made up his mind.
However, one slightly annoying side effect had emerged from the incident…
“Kang Min-Hyuk! Kang Min-Hyuk!”
“What?”
“Yang Jae-han-sensei—what’s he up to these days? Is he coming back for another lecture?”
The kids kept bombarding him with questions about Yang Jae-han.
Min-Hyuk scratched his head and sighed inwardly.
‘…Guess I’ll have to smooth this over somehow.’
His once-quiet school life had suddenly become a lot noisier.
“Why are you asking me?”
“Why not? You’re close with Yang Jae-han-sensei, right?!”
“I keep telling you, it’s not like that.”
‘This is annoying…’
Ever since the rumor spread that Min-Hyuk had some personal connection to Yang Jae-han, the kids in class had started bothering him more often.
“Hey, don’t just eat with Dong-gyo all the time—come eat with us sometime!”
“…Yeah. Let’s do it this weekend.”
“Okay! Promise?”
Well… as a side benefit, he had actually gotten closer to quite a few classmates because of it.
And still…
“Ahaha! This is the outfit I made this time~ Isn’t it super cute?”
“You made this yourself?”
Kim Rok-hee blended right in with the other kids, passionately preaching her gospel of cuteness.
“Huuu… Min-Hyuk-kun. Have you seen the new Jump Comics series that just started?”
“Not yet.”
“Naruhodo… It’s by Killibi, the guy who used to do gag comics before…”
Oh Dong-gyo still showed boundless passion for comics, happily engaging in otaku talk every single day.
“Yu-ra! We’re going out tomorrow—wanna come?”
“…Sorry, I have work to do tomorrow.”
“Ah… okay…”
Han Yu-ra still kept a subtle distance from the others, focusing solely on her work.
Day by day, Min-Hyuk lived a life that was, in its own way, fulfilling.
Then, one day in mid-May—
After classes ended as usual, during homeroom.
Their homeroom teacher, Choi Jung-an, handed out flyers to each student and spoke.
“Alright, everyone—there’s an important announcement today. Listen carefully.”
Min-Hyuk skimmed the flyer in his hand.
[‘Tujiman Chang’ Event Guidelines]
- The Comic Creation Department at Korea Animation High holds the annual ‘Tujiman Chang’ event to inspire students’ comic abilities and provide practical experience in creating actual comic books. We hope all current students will participate actively to improve their skills as comic creators.
(1) Submission Requirements: Completed manuscript of 18+ pages.
(2) Manuscript Deadline: Friday, July 7, 2006 – before the end of homeroom.
(3) Event Period: July 10 (Mon) – July 12 (Wed), 2006.
(4) Themes:
- 1st Year: Sports Comics
- 2nd Year: Shonen/Shojo Comics
- 3rd Year: Free Theme
(5) Process:
- Preliminary planning interviews with each grade’s homeroom teacher (by May 31)
- At least two mid-process check-ins and feedback sessions (during June, scheduled individually with homeroom teachers)
- Post-event feedback (July 13–14, group sessions)
Tujiman Chang.
The flower of the Comic Creation Department… or at least half of it, depending on who you asked.
Min-Hyuk already roughly knew how the event worked, so he wasn’t surprised by its existence.
What truly shocked him—and the other first-years—was just one single line written on the flyer.
The theme for this year’s Tujiman Chang was:
“S-Sports comics?”
“Teacher… isn’t our theme a little… weird?”
It was sports comics.
The realization hit the kids’ faces with visible worry.
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