Lost in Translation (webtoon)


Lost in Translation is an English language webtoon written and illustrated by Jjolee. It was first published in WEBTOON's self-publishing section Canvas since July 21, 2017 and has been republished as one of the platform's "official" webtoons since February 14, 2020. Set in South Korea, the webtoon follows the struggles of a rookie K-pop boy group, with particular focus on one of its members who is forced to take on a controversial persona for the sake of boosting the group's popularity.
As of March 2021, Lost in Translation garnered 545.4 thousand subscribers, 3.3 million likes and a rating of 9.72.
WWW webtoons.com/en/drama/los...

Plot

25-year-old K-pop idol Ahn Jae-won, a.k.a. Wyld, is a member of the rookie group Mayhem. Unbeknownst to his mother and to his co-members, he is being tormented by the group's boss who coerces him to take on a fake controversial persona in order to boost the group's popularity. As he quickly becomes, in the public eye, Mayhem's "bad boy" who is seemingly caught in successive scandals, Jae-won has to endure the suffering masked by the glamour of their rising fame while fearing he might soon become his own false persona.
The plot of Lost in Translation can de subdivided into the following story arcs:
  1. Jae-won being bullied by the CEO; his struggles with Min-young
  2. Jae-won and his sasaeng fan
  3. Mayhem in the idol sports competition; the conflict between Min-soo and Min-sung
  4. Dae-hyun and the conflict between Min-young and Min-seok
  5. Jae-won confesses to his mother about his suffering as an idol
  6. Dong-ho reconciles with his mother
  7. Jae-won and Ah-ra
  8. Jae-won tries defending Ah-ra from the CEO; Jun-su opens his story up to Jae-won
  9. Dae-hyun learns the truth about Min-seok's hatred against Min-young
  10. Min-seok issues a formal apology; public opinion on Jae-won starts to improve
  11. Mayhem wins their first award
  12. Min-soo and Min-sung reconciles
  13. The CEO tries to cause a rift between Jun-su and Jae-won
  14. Jae-won and Ah-ra being tormented by the CEO in a frame-up

Characters

Main

Ahn Jae-won Kim Dae-hyun Kang Dong-ho
  • '''Lee Min-soo '''

Supporting

People around Jae-won

  • Jae-won's mother
  • Jun-su
  • Song Ah-ra

SA1NT

Marshmell-o

  • Kwon Min-young
  • Koko
  • Yoomi

Others

  • Mr. Park
  • Na-ri
  • Mr. Choi
  • So-hee
  • Min-seok
  • Jeong-min
  • Dong-ho's mother

Background and publication history

Though its serialization formally started in 2020, Lost in Translation began as a self-publishing webtoon in 2017, a "personal project" of its author, webtoon writer-illustrator Jjolee, who at that time was working in a pharmacy. On July 21, 2017, Jjolee uploaded the first chapter of Lost in Translation in WEBTOON through its self-publishing section Canvas where webtoon authors can earn income based on page views. Two years later, WEBTOON selected it for licensing to become one of the platform's official webtoons under WEBTOON Originals. The 78th chapter of the Canvas version of Lost in Translation was uploaded on July 21, 2019 and in a written message to readers ten days later, Jjolee said that there are things about the webtoon that she wants to "change and add" though she will still "keep the integrity of the story."
The re-launching and serialization of Lost in Translation as part of WEBTOON Originals began on February 14, 2020 with the uploading of its prologue and first three chapters. Jjolee collaborated with Korean artists YooLee, Day6's Jae, Kim Soo-yoon and Eliit to provide voices for its four main characters Jae-won, Dae-hyun, Dong-ho and Min-soo, respectively. YooLee, who has made music for webtoons, is also in charge for the production of two songs in the Lost in Translation universe, "Find a Way" and "Be The Change".

Music

As a third generation webtoon, Lost in Translation employs the use of music as part the universe or story and as part of the overall artwork.
The following are the musical pieces that are part of the Lost in Translation soundtrack:
  1. "Find a Way" - composed and performed by YooLee
  2. "Be the Change" - composed by YooLee; produced by YooLee and 220; performed by YooLee, Jae, Kim Soo-yoon and Eliit

Reception

The Canvas version of Lost in Translation gathered 417.2 thousand subscribers and attained a rating of 9.85. As of March 2021, the ongoing WEBTOON Originals version garnered 545.4 thousand subscribers, 3.3 million likes and a rating of 9.72. The webtoon has also generated a fandom called "Mayniac", taking after the fandom of the webtoon's fictional idol group Mayhem.