Kian 84, Lee Mal-nyeon, and Joo Ho-min chose the ‘easy path’ but faced ‘hard times’

Lee Mal-nyeon, Joo Ho-min, and Kian 84, who are now more familiar with the profession of broadcasters than webtoon writers, have taken up the pen again. This is because he had to live on a deserted island where reality becomes reality ‘just as he draws it’ in TVing’s new entertainment show ‘The Only Man Ripped’. Along with the three, ‘Modeltainer’ Joo Woo-jae also lived on a deserted island. ‘B-grade sensibility’ and ‘sick entertainment’ are expected.

'Man torn apart' is a desert island survival variety toon in which the main characters in the cartoon, Lee Mal-nyeon, Joo Ho-min, Kian 84, and Joo Woo-jae struggle to survive in the cartoon world. Also called ‘Thun Saeng Thun Sa Uninhabited Island Survival Story’.

Lee Mal-nyeon stopped publishing webtoons for the last time in 2018 with ‘Lee Mal-nyeon Series 2018’. Currently, he introduces himself as a ‘former webtoon writer.’ He also said on tvN's 'You Quiz on the Block', which appeared in February last year, that he intends to draw cartoons, but he has many difficult memories such as deadlines and cannot dare to do so due to issues such as internet broadcasting schedules. In 'You Quiz', Lee Mal-nyeon said, "I'm thinking about doing (webtoon), but I can't bring myself to do it. I'm tempted to do it, but I still remember how difficult it was. Broadcasting can be done with words, but pictures have to be drawn one by one. I've found an easy way." He confessed. Currently, he is focusing on internet broadcasting under the nickname Calm Man.

Joo Ho-min, the original author of the movie 'Along with the Gods' series, is currently broadcasting on the Internet such as YouTube and Twitch rather than webtoons. Joo Ho-min also appeared on 'You Quiz' last year and said, "It's been over two years since I haven't serialized a webtoon," but added, "I haven't given up on it yet. I will draw it someday."

Kian84 is also focusing on broadcasting activities such as entertainment shows ‘I Live Alone’ and ‘Around the World’. Kian84 attracted a lot of controversy by serializing webtoons. It was criticized not only for its lack of professionalism, such as frequent lateness and lack of screen time, but also for the webtoon scenes containing content such as disparaging the hearing impaired, racial discrimination, and misogynistic views.

At the production presentation held before the release of the first episode of 'The Man Who Tears Man', the three people announced that they were able to pick up the pen again through 'The Man Who Tears Man'. It's only for a little while while the program is being filmed. Lee Mal-nyeon said, "I didn't paint in a very serious way. I only painted at the right time and in the right place when I needed to draw." He also said, “I felt some regret, so I went to my YouTube channel and watched ‘The Wandering Painter Lee Byung-gun.’ It was quite fun,” he said, “but then I quit studying again.”

Regarding the reason for drawing cartoons in entertainment, "The setting is that Joo Ho-min was trapped in the cartoon by an unknown force. The power we have is the same. There were moments when we had to use it. There were restrictions, so the fun came from that. “I guess there is. It was fun to use my strength for the first time in a long time,” he said.

I chose broadcasting, which was the 'easy path', but living on a deserted island had many hardships. Lee Mal-nyeon said, “It also reveals physical and psychological details.” Joo Ho-min expressed, "It's completely different (from travel programs). This is not a travel program. I had a hard time." Joo Woo-jae also added, “When I came out of there, it actually felt like I was going on a trip,” and “the sand attack was difficult.” Kian84 said, “Joo Woo-jae collapsed and would have been in big trouble if the medical staff hadn’t been there.”

The content they appear in is fun in that it is direct and light. The reason it is loved is that it seems childish but intuitively approaches viewers. ‘The Man Who Rips Man’ also contains this B-grade sensibility. The members selected ‘Kian84’s germ’ as one of the worst items.

Joo Ho-min said, "Kian84 brought an infectious disease to an uninhabited island. He came here without finishing the treatment." Kian84 helped by saying, “I fought the disease there.” Joo Woo-jae confessed, "The whole week I was there, there was one thing that bothered me. Germs. I think I was on guard against that without even realizing it." Gian84 made everyone laugh by saying, "If we become friends because we are all right, we can become friends if we fight and overcome illness together. I thought positively that even if we were right, it would be an opportunity to build friendship." Joo Woo-jae explained, “I have a sister-in-law and I may also have a future partner, but the conclusion was clear.”

Lee Mal-nyeon, Joo Ho-min, and Kian84 are ‘former webtoon writers and current broadcasters’ who used their full-time job as a weapon for their current job. Attention is being paid to whether the new entertainment of those who chose the 'easy path' will also interest viewers with 'light fun'.

Kim Ji-won, Ten Asia reporter bella@tenasia.co.kr