"'Apartment Determines Nobles and Slaves' Kian84, Controversy Over Real Estate Market Satire"

A scene from Episode 329 "Move-in 2" of Return to Campus King, released on Naver Webtoon on the 2nd. Photo by Naver Webtoon homepage capture.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Webtoon artist Kian84 once again criticized the real estate market situation in his ongoing webtoon "Bokhakwang." Previously, in last week's webtoon, Kian84 depicted a scene where he was shocked by the rapid rise in housing prices, showing his "head splitting."

Some have interpreted this as a veiled criticism of those who blindly support President Moon Jae-in. Others view it as a form of satire.

This humor seems to stem from the government's real estate policies. The current administration has announced 24 real estate policies so far, but there are criticisms that the frequency of policy announcements has not translated into effectiveness. According to recent data from the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice, since the Moon Jae-in administration began, apartment prices in Seoul have surged by a staggering 82%. The actual transaction price index for multi-family housing has also risen by more than 60%. This has led to criticism regarding wealth disparity based on apartment ownership.

Episode 329 of "Bokhakwang," titled "Move-in 2," released on Naver Webtoon on the 2nd, deals with the conflict between the protagonist, who moves into an apartment, and those without homes.

The protagonist, who has acquired a new apartment, hears from a mover organizing his belongings, "There are talks that the price might go up to 2 billion won, so never sell it."

When the protagonist asks, "Is it okay to make money this easily?" the mover replies, "If you make money like that, how else would you make a living? Were you trying to become rich by saving your salary?" The protagonist even refuses calls from friends, fearing that even comforting calls might sound insincere.

Later, the protagonist orders food at a friend's Chinese restaurant for lunch. As the friend is about to leave after placing the food down, he struggles to open the front door, asking, "How do you open this?" The protagonist explains, "It's a new house, so the door opens a bit differently." Suddenly, the friend kicks the front door hard.

Startled, the protagonist asks, "Why are you doing that? Why kick someone else's door?" The friend complains, "You want me to ask? The house prices have gone up a lot anyway," adding, "Some people work hard to earn 1 million won, while others sit and make 1 billion won. It's messed up."

A scene containing dialogue that seems to satirize real estate policies in Episode 329 'Move-in 2' of Return to Player, released on Naver Webtoon on the 2nd. Photo by Naver Webtoon homepage capture

The last paragraph of the webtoon includes the line, "From the same status, one is a noble, the other a slave. What decides this is not a job, but an apartment."

Earlier, on the 26th of last month, Kian84 also drew a webtoon that seemed to satirize the government, sparking attention. Episode 328 of "Bokhakwang," titled "Move-in 1," showed the protagonist working delivery jobs without a day off to earn 5 million won to buy a house.

However, within a few days, the house price rose by 10 million won, leaving the protagonist frustrated. Eventually, the protagonist collapses and suffers a serious injury after hitting his head on the road. Some interpreted the "head splitting" scene as reminiscent of "Ddaekae-moon" (a term referring to ardent supporters of President Moon Jae-in), suggesting it was an indirect criticism of them.

Meanwhile, readers have mixed reactions to Kian84's webtoon, which criticizes the government and real estate policies, with some saying, "I wish they would stop talking about politics in the webtoon," while others find it "refreshing."

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