Sitting in a Samcheong-dong cafe and fidgeting nervously with his hands, webtoon artist Yoon Tae-ho makes a surprising confession about his latest work. "I'm basically a nihilist," he admits. "My original ending for 'Low Life' was about shutting everything down -- I felt these people deserved nothing. But watching the Disney adaptation, I realized their ending was actually better than mine."
This candid admission comes from the creator behind some of South Korea's most successful webtoon-to-screen adaptations. His previous works have achieved remarkable success without a single failure. "Inside Men" exposed the corrupt underbelly of Korea's elite through a brutal gangster revenge story, with its 2015 film adaptation drawing over nine million viewers. "Misaeng: Incomplete Life" transformed the mundane politics and daily struggles of corporate life into must-watch television, resonating deeply with office workers across the country who saw their own lives reflected in protagonist Jang Geu-rae's challenges.
"My work doesn't have many fantasy elements, so I guess the bar's pretty low when it comes to adaptation," Yoon says modestly about his track record. His latest project, "Low Life," follows a group of small-time hustlers in 1977 who chase rumors of sunken treasure off the coast of Sinan, located at the southwestern tip of Korea. The 11-episode Disney+ series premiered last month featuring an impressive ensemble cast including Ryu Seung-ryong, Lim Soo-jung, and TVXQ's Jung Yunho.
Like many of Yoon's creative endeavors, "Low Life" began during a late-night internet research session while he was experiencing a creative slump. He had been hearing stories about a 14th-century treasure ship discovered off Sinan since his childhood. "Word traveled slowly back then," he explains. "You'd hear rumors and either jump in your truck or assume you were too late. My characters were definitely the 'let's go' types."
Yoon's commitment to authenticity is evident in his extensive research process. He first visited a maritime museum in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, where he carefully examined recovered artifacts and studied the reconstructed vessel. He conducted interviews with local residents whose relatives had participated in the original underwater excavation project. To capture the setting perfectly, he hired a drone company to photograph 11 different locations around Sinan from every possible angle.
A pivotal moment in his research came when a radio producer in Busan introduced him to an antiques dealer whose rapid-fire dialect completely captivated him. "That's when I knew this couldn't be some local story," Yoon recalls. "It had to pull people from all over the country." This encounter helped shape the broader scope and appeal of his narrative.
Yoon's meticulous attention to facts and historical context is central to his creative process, which invariably begins with establishing a comprehensive chronology. "I build a timeline for every major character from birth to the present," he explains his methodology. "Then I map historical events alongside them." He uses the example of Korea's former midnight curfew to illustrate how different generational experiences shape character perspectives: "One character lived through it, another heard about it as a student, another only knows it from their father's stories. That completely changes how they see the world."
In an entertainment landscape where tensions between original creators and adaptation teams often run high, Yoon takes a refreshingly hands-off approach. While social media frequently erupts with fans scrutinizing every change and deviation from source material, Yoon remains unbothered by such concerns. "Once I sell the rights, that's it," he states matter-of-factly. "My work should already contain everything I wanted to express. Why expect the adaptation to fix what I couldn't?"
Director Kang Yoon-sung maintained regular communication with Yoon throughout the adaptation process, occasionally calling to discuss potential changes. Would it be acceptable to switch the order of certain scenes? How bald should a particular character appear? "The director was incredibly considerate," Yoon laughs. "Always checking if he's overstepping." This collaborative yet respectful approach contributed to the smooth transition from webtoon to television series.
Despite his casual attitude toward adaptations, Yoon acknowledges that larger productions bring significantly greater pressure. The scale of major television productions has given him a new perspective on responsibility and failure. "What I loved about webtoons is their privacy," he reflects. "If I fail, it's not like the entire world collapses. But visiting TV production sets with 100-person crews -- these people have families to feed. If this fails, it's not just me who takes the hit."
To cope with this increased pressure, Yoon consciously avoids dwelling on potential outcomes, working hard to maintain the freewheeling creative spirit that characterized his earlier career. "The more responsibility you shoulder, the easier it is to lose that lightness. I work hard to hang onto it," he explains. This philosophy helps him balance commercial success with artistic integrity.
Currently, Yoon is juggling multiple projects that showcase his expanding influence in Korean entertainment. He's working on the third season of "Misaeng" while simultaneously writing his first original screenplay for another television drama -- a substantial 100-page treatment that reads more like a novel than a traditional script. Since November, he has been living in a traditional hanok in Boseong, South Jeolla Province, after the city offered him workspace as part of a residency program.
What was initially planned as a month-long creative retreat has now stretched to eight months, suggesting that Yoon has found an ideal working environment. "The four-hour drive there is perfect," he says with satisfaction. "I queue up dozens of YouTube videos I've missed." For someone who once described himself as a nihilist, Yoon Tae-ho appears to have discovered a sustainable balance between creative fulfillment and commercial success, continuing to produce content that resonates with audiences while maintaining his artistic independence.
