"Now It's Time for the Bubble to Burst" Kian84 Targets Moon Administration Again?

A scene from episode 317, "Real Estate Episode 1," of "Bokhakwang," released on Naver Webtoon on the 10th./Photo by Naver Webtoon capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Webtoon artist Kian84 is once again stirring controversy by including criticism of the government’s real estate policies in his ongoing webtoon series.

In episode 317, titled "Real Estate Episode 1," of "Return to School King," released on Naver Webtoon on the 10th, the story follows the protagonist Woo Gi-myeong and his friend Kim Du-chi as they apply for new apartment subscriptions.

Kim Du-chi and his girlfriend tour a 25-pyeong apartment in a new town, exchanging dialogues such as "How much is the subscription price here?" "Was it 550 million won?" "Who would pay over 500 million won for a 25-pyeong place?" "People buy it on credit."

Other characters then explain the subscription frenzy, saying, "This is prime land in the metropolitan area; if you get this apartment, the actual market price can go up to 1 billion won," "If you win the subscription, you already make 500 million won," and "Now you know why so many people came."

When Kim Du-chi’s girlfriend says, "House prices can fall, right? What if you buy and then the price drops...," Kim Du-chi’s senior replies, "I also thought prices would fall, so I didn’t buy a house. But in the end, prices went up. Only those who bought houses made money. Ultimately, house prices kept rising!"

Expressions such as "Now is the time the bubble will burst," "Current house prices are abnormal," "A soap bubble that will eventually pop," and "Everyone pinned their hopes on subscriptions" appear. Some argue that this is a critique aimed at the Moon Jae-in administration’s real estate policies.

Previously, on the 6th of last month, Kian84 included a scene in episode 2 of the "Mole" series from "Return to School King," where a hand reaches for the full moon, accompanied by the line, "Sometimes it’s frustrating. No matter how hard you work, there’s no way to buy a house. It feels like an unreachable story!" This also sparked claims that he was criticizing the current government.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.