Sweet Home (webtoon)
Sweet Home is a South Korean webtoon written by Kim Carnby and illustrated by Hwang Young-chan. First published in Naver Webtoon, the webtoon ran for a total of 140 chapters plus 1 prologue from October 12, 2017, to July 2, 2020. It centers on a suicidal high school boy who, along with a group of fellow apartment residents, tries to survive a "monsterization" apocalypse where people turn into monsters that reflect their innermost, most desperate desires.
The webtoon is the second collaborative work by Kim and Hwang, the first being Bastard. As of January 2021, its official English version garnered 2.4 million subscribers and 15.2 million likes. A print version of Sweet Home was released since February 28, 2020 by Wisdom House. It has also been adapted into a Netflix series of the same name released on December 18, 2020. A prequel titled Shotgun Boy, written by Kim and illustrated by Hongpil with Hwang providing editorial supervision, was released in Naver Webtoon starting February 22, 2021.
Plot
Prologue, Chapters 1–38
After his family is tragically killed in a vehicular accident, suicidal 18-year-old Cha Hyun-soo moves into Room 1410 of the Green Home apartment complex. Soon after, he and other residents begin experiencing auditory hallucinations and nosebleeds, and one night, through his video door-phone, he witnesses his female neighbor from Room 1411 transform into a human-eating monster.Two days later, Hyun-soo learns that society has collapsed as people undergo a "monsterization" apocalypse, a phenomenon widely discussed online. Downstairs, a group of residents led by Lee Eun-hyuk fend off the first monster attack on the building, but not before one is killed. Many more residents are killed as the attacks continue. Hyun-soo crafts a makeshift spear with a kitchen knife as a spearhead and, following advice from Han Du-sik of Room 1408, uses his phone as a monster detector, where if a call produces a beeping sound, it signals a monster is nearby. He goes to Room 1408, where Du-sik modifies his spear to deliver an electric shock.
Hyun-soo rescues two orphaned siblings, 9-year-old Kim Soo-young and 6-year-old Kim Young-soo, in Room 1210. However, as he attempts to return to Du-sik's apartment, his transformation into a monster momentarily takes hold and another attack separates him from the children. Yoon Ji-soo of Room 1510 and Jung Jae-heon of Room 1506 rescue him. Meanwhile, the children are caught in a battle between two monsters but are saved by Im Myung-sook, a partially 'monsterized' resident. Hyun-soo, Ji-soo, and Jae-heon arrive to help her.
After spending a day in Du-sik's apartment, Hyun-soo, Ji-soo, and Jae-heon decide to join the survivors on the ground floor, leaving the children in Myung-sook and Du-sik's care. During a battle with a monster, Hyun-soo is knocked unconscious. In his mind, his inner monster tempts him with a hallucination where he watches his favorite film, Maria From the Sky. Realizing he is only hallucinating, Hyun-soo rejects the temptation and awakes to find Eun-hyuk and his younger sister, Lee Eun-yoo, by his side.
Chapters 39–85
The residents debate whether to oust Hyun-soo due to his partial monsterization. Eun-hyuk proposes a vote but argues that forcing him out would be tantamount to killing him. The vote results in a tie, causing an elderly man, Kim Seok-hyun, to protest. However, his nose begins to bleed, exposing his own impending monsterization. Later, Eun-hyuk tasks Hyun-soo and Pyeon Sang-wook,, a gangster-like resident, with rescuing the survivors in Room 1408 to utilize Du-sik's technical skills. While they are away, Myung-sook fully succumbs to monsterization; however, her deep longing for her lost child rather transforms her into a passive, fetus-like monster within Du-sik's apartment.On their way to Du-sik's apartment, Hyun-soo and Sang-wook encounter other survivors: elderly Ahn Gil-seop and his caretaker Park Yoo-ri. The two successfully return to the ground floor with Du-sik, leaving Gil-seop, Yoo-ri and the children in Du-sik's apartment. Du-sik repairs one of the apartment's elevators but it inadvertently leads to the fully monsterized security guard entering the ground floor and attacking the residents, killing many, including Jae-heon. The sight of Jae-heon's corpse causes Hyun-soo's inner monster to temporarily manifest. Upon regaining control, he kills the monsterized security guard. The remaining survivors in Du-sik's apartment use the elevator to join the ground floor survivors.
A group consisting of Hyun-soo, Sang-wook, Ji-soo, Gil-seop and Yoo-ri successfully retakes the underground parking lot from the monsters. Du-sik modifies a car into an armored vehicle, which Hyun-soo, Sang-wook, Gil-seop, and another survivor, Byung-il, use to venture outside the complex in search of food and medical supplies. However, a monster attacks them, killing Gil-seop while Byung-il escapes. Just as Eun-hyuk and the remaining survivors prepare to leave the complex to help Hyun-soo and Sang-wook, Byung-il returns with a prison bus and runs over the monster, killing it. Byung-il emerges from the bus with five outsiders, the first four of whom Sang-wook immediately recognizes as criminals: group leader Shin Joong-seop, conman Im Hyun-sik, rapist Seo Kap-soo, and gangster Baek Ho-yeon.
Chapters 86–111
The Green Home residents are forced to accommodate the criminals, leading to rising tensions as the criminals begin enacting their secret plan to take control of the complex. While Hyun-sik spreads fear and discord among the survivors, Joong-seop tries to recruit Hyun-soo to join their group and reveals another outsider, a young man named Yi-hyun, to be a powerful half-monster. The criminals soon assume superiority, leading to some residents joining their side, including Hyun-soo. Eun-hyuk, refusing to share any plans with the criminals, is imprisoned along with Sang-wook. Eun-hyuk reveals to Sang-wook that he has a plan known only to himself and Du-sik, but he collapses after his nose starts to bleed. Du-sik is forced to show Joong-seop a large box containing what appears to be a chain of clothes, which Joong-seop dismisses. Du-sik is relieved, as the "rope" is actually over 100 meters long with a grappling hook at the end.On Joong-seop's orders, Hyun-soo and Yi-hyun search the upper levels of Green Home for monsters. Yi-hyun, communicating with Hyun-soo's inner monster, finds out about the harmless fetus monster in Du-sik's apartment bathroom and, under the influence of his own inner monster, attempts to kill it. Hyun-soo fights Yi-hyun to protect the monster and manages to knock Yi-hyun back to his normal state. When they check the bathroom again, they find a human-sized cocoon where the monster once was, which Hyun-soo realizes is alive after hearing a heartbeat. Yi-hyun, fearing it is a potential threat, attempts to destroy it but his half-monsterization powers unexpectedly resist, knocking him unconscious.
Ji-soo arrives in the apartment as Hyun-soo remains hesitant about destroying the cocoon. Although also seeing it as a potential threat, Ji-soo is reluctant to act and tells Hyun-soo that Eun-hyuk and Sang-wook are imprisoned. Yi-hyun regains consciousness with his inner monster's personality and sets the cocoon on fire with his lighter, causing nearby monsters to swarm the complex. He then rushes to the rooftop, where he believes he sees a naked woman standing on the parapet. Meanwhile, Sang-wook and Eun-hyuk escape imprisonment and discover coolers containing chopped human remains in the outsiders' prison bus. Sang-wook attempts to use the remains to lure the monsters away from the complex but comes upon a grove with four cocoons. To his shock, he witnesses a naked human emerge from one of the cocoons.
Chapters 112–139
As monsters begin breaching the barricade on the front door, Eun-hyuk confirms to Du-sik that the survivors must proceed with their escape plan: launching the grappling hook from the rooftop to zipline to a hill 80 meters away. Eun-yoo uses Ji-soo's smartphone to distract the monsters, allowing the survivors flee to the upper floors. Sang-wook uses the prison bus to block the front door and throws Joong-seop to the monsters. Du-sik, who is undergoing monsterization himself, decides to stay behind in the underground parking lot and starts a fire to kill multiple monsters. As Eun-hyuk and the survivors arrive at the rooftop, Hyun-soo goes to the parking lot, where he finds Du-sik dying. A naked man appears and triggers another hallucination in Hyun-soo with his inner monster.The inner monster reveals the true nature of monsterization to be a "revolution" and a "new beginning". Inner monsters, malevolent versions of their hosts' souls, take control when the hosts succumb to its callings, after which the hosts transform into monsters that reflect their desires. After the hosts' desires are fulfilled, they become new humans — emotionless beings thriving on a "sense of futility". Hyun-soo rejects his inner monster's temptations, firmly deciding to remain himself and continue fighting.
Sang-wook and Hyun-sik join Hyun-soo in the parking lot, where they kill the fully monsterized Du-sik. Meanwhile, Ji-soo returns to her apartment room and uses her bass guitar and amplifier to lure the monsters away from the rooftop, leaving a manageable number to fight. Hyun-soo, briefly succumbing to his inner monster, rescues Ji-soo in his near-monsterized form. After Eun-hyuk and Byung-il set up the escape equipment, Eun-hyuk decides to remain in the building due to his own monsterization.
The women and children zipline to safety first. Eun-hyuk, Sang-wook, and Yi-hyun join Hyun-soo and Ji-soo in fighting the remaining monsters. They then head to the rooftop, but their escape is thwarted by the fully monsterized Joong-seop. With no other choice, Hyun-soo sacrifices himself to fully embrace his monsterization, transforming into a powerful monster resembling his favorite character from Maria From the Sky and allowing him to defeat Joong-seop with one blow. Ji-soo tries to communicate with him, but the true Hyun-soo only responds faintly to her voice, while the monster reacts with hostility. Eun-hyuk, deciding to also embrace his monsterization to stop Hyun-soo, transforms into a massive tangle that engulfs the monsterized Hyun-soo, killing them both.
After the battle, rain falls over the remains of the two monsterized men. Most of the remains disintegrate, causing two cocoons to materialize; Hyun-soo emerges from one of them and descends the building. On the ground floor, he finds Ji-soo's unlocked smartphone and plays an audio file, revealed to be Ji-soo's composition, which was supposed to have lyrics written by the old Hyun-soo. Strangely, the new Hyun-soo listens to the music and sheds tears.
Chapter 140 (Epilogue)
During winter in the post-apocalyptic world, the Green Home survivors live in a military camp. While guarding the perimeter, Byung-il notices something approaching and calls for Ji-soo. She rushes to the fence and sees Hyun-soo, barefoot and dressed in thin clothing, walking through the snow toward the camp. Upon seeing Ji-soo, Hyun-soo smiles with tear-filled eyes. Ji-soo, overcome with emotion, steps beyond the fence and embraces him tightly as the other survivors hurry to reunite with him.Characters
Main
Cha Hyun-sooYoon Ji-sooPyeon Sang-wook- '''Lee Eun-hyuk'''
Supporting
Green Home Residents
Han Du-sik Jung Jae-heonLee Eun-yooPark Yoo-riAhn Gil-seopKim Soo-youngKim Young-sooIm Myung-sookByung-ilAhn Seon-youngKim Seok-hyunSon Hye-inSecurity GuardGirl from Room 1411Ryu Jae-hwanSang-soo- '''Ji-eun'''
Outsiders
Shin Joong-seopIm Hyun-sikJo Yi-hyunSeo Kap-soo- '''Baek Ho-yeon'''
Notable Monsters
Note: The following monsters are in their monster forms upon their first appearance in the webtoon. Some of their former human identities are revealed through flashbacks or hints in the story.Blood-sucking MonsterHalf-headed MonsterEyeball MonsterMuscular MonsterLiquid MonsterTentacle Monster '''/ Spider MonsterLong-armed MonsterTrack-and-field MonsterFlying Monster'''Other characters involved in the monsterization apocalypse
- The inner monsters
- The emergent humans
Style
Art
The artistic style of Sweet Home is characterized by maintaining a "claustrophobic and grotesque atmosphere". There is additional emphasis on the characters' appearance: the human characters' facial expressions, and the monsters' physical forms which take on a "familiar yet horrific twist". The webtoon also exhibits multiple changes in font style which help set the atmosphere of various scenes, through "color changes, opacity changes, capitalization, size changes, and font changes".Just like many modern, third-generation webtoons, Sweet Home uses built-in background music, particularly in its 140th chapter which contains a track titled "MZ - Sweet Home ".
Narrative and characterization
Among thriller-horror stories that deal with gruesome characters such as zombies and monsters, Sweet Home is notable for treating a relatively similar set of characters in a different light. This is evident by its introduction of the idea of human beings turning into monsters not through external factors but through the expression of their desires.The webtoon is also said to go beyond simple horror storytelling and focuses on character development, especially on its protagonist Cha Hyun-soo. In the webtoon, Hyun-soo is portrayed as a reclusive boy who, at first, lives only for himself and is ready to die. But as soon as the monsterization apocalypse begins, he makes a big change by wanting to step out of his room, connecting with other people and staying alive.
Background and publication history
Naver webtoon
Sweet Home marks the second collaborative work between webtoon writer Kim Carnby and webtoon artist Hwang Young-chan. The first work by Kim and Hwang is Bastard, a thriller story about son who lives with his father, a serial killer.First published in Naver Webtoon, Sweet Home ran on a weekly basis on Thursdays. Its prologue was uploaded on October 12, 2017, followed by the first chapter on October 19; the webtoon ended with the uploading of its epilogue and 140th chapter on July 2, 2020. The official English version of the webtoon was uploaded on Mondays in WEBTOON starting January 15, 2018, while Chapter 140 was uploaded on September 29, 2020. It is also available in Chinese, Japanese, French, Indonesian, Spanish and Thai.
After the success of Sweet Home, Kim collaborated with webtoon illustrator Hongpil for its prequel titled Shotgun Boy which was released in Naver Webtoon starting February 22, 2021, with Hwang providing editorial supervision. The webtoon tells the story of the titular "shotgun boy" Han Kyu-hwan and the events prior to Sweet Home.