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June 2024 - Munhakdongne Wayama Yama Korea Trip Retrospective

Translation by nag2n on Twitter. Original translation post can be found here. Translated from this article.

MANHWA/WEBTOON INSIDE SCOOP - EVERYDAY MANHWA

1. Let's Go to Korea!

April 5th, 3 PM, Gimpo Airport. Immigration was taking longer than expected, and even still I found myself thinking, "Maybe all that talk about the author visiting was just a lie...? 😇" Upon the arrival of the two chief editors of Kadokawa Publishing and author Wayama Yama, I realized it was anything but and snapped out of it and exchanged greetings. Those of you in the know will already know, but it was the day after the May cover of magazine Feel Young was released, featuring the author's other work Hoshi of the Girls' Garden. While waiting for the taxi (it'd been about 10 minutes since we met...), I couldn't hold my fangirl back anymore.

"I saw the illustration you drew for the cover of Feel Young's May issue yesterday."
"Ohh!"
"T-the three of them like this, and Nakamura-sensei's tie like this..."
"Oh, yeah. The tie is hanging over Hoshi-sensei's shoulder... hehe."
"Right, right, right, that! I was SO moved. I thought, 'She must be a genius!' (said with my hand over my heart)"
"Ahahaha! Thank you so, so much. (said with her hand over her heart)"

Though I felt like Baum-superfan Morita in that moment, it was the author who kept thanking me. I should really be the one doing the thanking, though... When she asked me what other series I was in charge of, she was happy when I told her "Hadaka Ikkan! Tsuzui-san". She said that the two of them were actually close friends. While chatting about this and that, we grabbed a spot to eat for lunch so we could talk more comfortably.

What surprised me the most was learning that she works alone, without any assistants, from start to finish. Come nighttime: it's go time! When she said that she goes to bed at around 8 AM and wakes up at 1 or 2 PM, I was concerned for her health, but thankfully she reassured me that she was fine. I also remember her saying that when she got stuck on a storyboard, she'd sit at her desk until she worked something out. Until then, I'd been under the impression that it all came easily to her. She consumes a lot of Korean content while working: she's watched the drama Mask Girl and three seasons of Single's Inferno and says she likes the idol group Stray Kids. During our meal, my favorite topic came up, and I asked if she'd decided on which character to feature on the cover of volume 4 of Hoshi of the Girls' Garden. As expected, Wayama smiled and said, "I draw the characters who show up frequently and are central to each volume". That should tide me over until the release, right? With her marathon of a schedule (two interviews + a four hour autograph session 😂) coming up tomorrow, we parted ways while enjoying some ice cream popsicles...

2. Let's Go to the Interview!

A media interview for Wayama was prepared in collaboration with Kyunghyang Shinmun and Cine21, alongside some questions collected from the readers. It was so interesting to see the difference between the vibes of the reporters' questions and the readers'... During our interview, we spoke in length about the characters, the setting, and her workflow. First off was the 25 year age gap between Kyouji and Satomi. As for why Satomi was specifically a 'middle schooler' came down to an 'elementary schooler' being too young, and that a 'high schooler' probably wouldn't follow a yakuza member who asked them to go to karaoke. Hearing the reasoning, I thought, "Oh, I guess that does make sense..." She said that she enjoys drawing scenes where Satomi reveals his emotions through his actions over his words, so she doubled over when I told her that some Korean readers refer to the scene where he boils the watch as "watch soup".

Wayama said that she was worried about how the readers would feel about the ending after being asked if there really were no plans to change the ending, having answered earlier that it was already decided on. Though the beginning and ending were set in stone upon the work's inception, as we've come to expect, the author expressed her desire to draw what she wanted as she learned about Satomi's true happiness. I was already wondering what kind of ending was in store for us, but after she stated that she currently had no plans to draw the story from Kyouji's perspective, my curiosity was piqued even further. The biggest difference between Let's Go Karaoke! and Let's Go to the Family Restaurant. is the focus on people's emotions. As she endeavors to depict Satomi's emotions with care, she asked that we watch over his changes. Trembling, I asked, "No one's going to die, right...? 😨". She laughed and said no, so not to worry about that.

While listening to the interview, I kept thinking about the immense love she had for her characters. It left a huge impression on me that she chose to bring back characters she had already previously drawn when offered to work on a new series by her publisher. Though she could've gone with an entirely new story, she instead decided on a sequel so that Satomi could sort out his feelings. I felt that affection again when she said that she's the type to start with the characters first when creating a story, and again when she described how she'd ensure that her characters moved naturally by referencing how real people would normally move, from the way they'd cross their arms or the posture they'd assume when standing up from a chair. I felt that it was this love and care to detail that was at the heart of her characters' charm.

3. Let's Go to the Autograph Session!

We arrived at the venue for the autograph session that was to be held from 2 to 5 PM. Both the author and editors were delighted when they saw the life-size cutouts and standees on display. Prior to the session, I was contemplating what the vision was for the venue, ultimately deciding to use the panels to capture the compositions of the "Howdy do?" business card exchange from "Let's Go Karaoke!" and the popular watch scene from Let's Go to the Family Restaurant. I also juxtaposed panels of part-timer Satomi (2023) against 20-year-old Kyouji (2000), to which Wayama expressed that she'd like to have a panel featuring a 20-year-old Satomi and 20-year-old Kyouji side-by-side from behind. After a deluge of photos and welcoming guests, agency staff, and translators, before I knew it, it was time for the autograph session.

Just before it began, she pulled out all kinds of markers from her bag. I thought it was going to be your usual autograph session where they'd just scribble their name down with a black permanent marker, but she whipped out three different markers - a pink one for the heart, a black one for the signature, and a gold one for detailing. Seeing her sign each autograph with so much sincerity, I could feel the love she had for her fans. 😭🧡

Thank you
Wayama Yama

Her kindness stood out the most while she was meeting the fans. Around 10 minutes after the autograph session had started, I heard someone say, "We're running behind, so let's be mindful of our pace." I thought, "??? It feels like we just passed the 10 minute mark and we're already running late 😨???" and started to get anxious (the waiting readers, the cafe rental period, when the interpreters would get to clock out, the dinner reservation, and above all else, how the author was holding up...), but she greeted, answered, and shook each and every person's hand, giving everyone a sincere reception. Despite there being quite a few repeat questions from the readers, she answered each one just as warmly as the first time she heard it. It was thanks to her that I was able to cool my jets and meet the rest of the readers with a light heart, and for that I'm grateful. Though I'd apologize later for the hour-long delay, she said she was actually glad to have been able to meet the Korean readers at a more leisurely pace and wished she could've stayed a little longer. Hearing that, I felt like I was becoming Baum-superfan Morita once again... The most memorable moment of the day was Wayama's answer to a fan's question about Captivated, by You: "When are Medaka and Nikaidou's birthdays?" After thinking for a moment, she responded, "Let's decide together. Which seasons do you think suit Medaka and Nikaidou?"

"For Nikaidou... spring?"
"Spring! Then I'll pick the day this question was asked (it was spring at the time). April 6th."
"And Medaka reminds me of winter."
"That fits him. Then for Medaka... how about Christmas?"

My favorite character's birthday... I got to choose it together with the author...? And since the day I asked the question was in spring, it'll be his birthday?? If it'd been me, I think I would've just keeled over and died. It was a Q&A session jam-packed with love not just for the characters, but the readers as well. By the way, I was touched again by her sincerity when I learned that, even though she had plans on Sunday morning, she'd stayed up until 5 AM reading the gifts and letters she'd received from the readers.

Wayama Yama ☺
2024.4.6

After the autograph session, we compared the sessions in Korea and Japan over a meal. The Japanese readers dutifully addressed the characters with honorifics like "Satomi-kun" or "Kobayashi-sensei", so it was interesting for the author to hear the Koreans readers omit them altogether and refer to them as just "Satomi" and "Kobayashi". While both groups asked similar questions, she said it was also interesting how the Japanese readers tended to focus on the relationships between characters, while the Korean readers were more interested in specific details about the characters. She remembered readers asking about things like who Hojo Reiko's favorite character is, which Osaka baseball team Kyouji supports, and what Satomi's junior, Wada's, full name is. I mentioned that I heard that there was a question she had answered prior to her trip to Korea about Kobayashi-sensei's BWH (...I was a liiiiiittle curious...). While laughing, the author said that he was around 180 cm tall, definitely on the tall side for a Japanese man.

4. Let's Go Have Fun!

I was surprised at just how many readers at the autograph session were curious about what Wayama ate, but rest assured, she got to eat her fill before she left. 😉 Steamed eggplant and bulgogi pot rice, seafood pancakes, boiled pork, ginseng chicken soup, marinated beef short rib, seasoned beef tartare, fried rice, abalone porridge, cream cheese bagels, eggs nested in sweet-savory pancake dough, chicken, Starbucks Choux Cream Lattes, Auntie Anne's pretzels, knotted donuts, banquet noodles (T/N: thin, wheat flour noodles in light broth), mini kimbap... As for the tteokbokki: she got to enjoy both premium (FULL NAME: "Burrata Cheese Tteokbokki", $20 per serving. It was delicious.) and street vendor tent (Hongik University Station Exit 9, $3 per serving. This was tastier, to be honest...) versions. She said she wanted to try eating tteokbokki from a street vendor tent after seeing it in a Kdrama. The author especially likes simpler breads like salted butter rolls and bagels, and said the rice fried on the grill with meat was the most delicious thing she had during her stay, which filled me with a sense of accomplishment as I scraped the crispy, browned rice off the grill. As expected, many readers asked about 'sweet and sour pork with pineapple' - which the author does actually like - and went on to state that she's also in the anti-mint chocolate camp. When asked what was popular nowadays with Korean high school girls, I mentioned tanghulu, so it was a bit of a shame that she wasn't able to have any before her departure. The McDonald's sweet potato fries sold out nationwide, so I wasn't able to arrange any of those for her either... She also went to go see the subway lightbox promotion at the Hongik University Station and visited the Kyobo bookstore in Gwanghwamun. Even though it was the 2nd overall bestseller, I remember feeling a little embarrassed because there were so few books on display (they were all sold out).

During our down time, there were two instances where Wayama burst out laughing. The first time was because of a peculiar keychain: it was a jet-black cat that was also wearing white lace panties. While laughing with her and wondering "What's up with those panties?? 😆", I told the clerk that I'd take the keychain with the panties. We couldn't stop laughing after the clerk politely informed me that she'd wrap it up for me along with a 'pair of pants'... When I asked her to include this in a manga one day, she said it'd fit right in as a gag in Hoshi of the Girls' Garden. The second time was when we were at a photo booth. We laughed while looking at some of the more colorful 4-panel photos Koreans were taking (like splitting up their facial features between the 4 panels) but ended up taking our photos normally. When asked if she could create an illustration using the photo booth's 4-panel framing, she replied, "Maybe I should give it a go later?" With this in mind, our readers can look forward to the gags and illustrations in the upcoming chapters. (By the way, this is the illustration that was released for the July issue of Feel Young).

5. Let's Go to Japan.

On the last day, when asked what the most memorable part of her trip to Korea, the author replied that the entire time was a blast. As for us, the short time we spent together was something we could only describe as a truly 'dream-like' experience. We'd like to express our gratitude to author Wayama Yama and the chief editors at Kadokawa for taking time out of their busy schedules to visit Korea.

When the author first received the invitation to visit Korea, she was overjoyed and eager to go, having already been made aware of the Korean readers' active engagement on social media through quotes, retweets, and Instagram comments. It was all thanks to the readers that we were able to invite her to Korea, so I like to think that the invitation was a collaborative effort between us and the readers. We'd like to extend our gratitude to all of you for always showing us so much love and continued interest!

CAPTION: Toploader with the author...❣