Kang Full

Early career

Kang began his career as a cartoonist in 1997, contributing comic reviews to the Wonju Yeongseo Newspaper under his birth name, Kang Do-yeong. His early work faced limited commercial success; of the two publishers that showed interest in his series, one went bankrupt during serialization. During this period, he published work intermittently in various magazines and sports newspapers.^[2][8][11]

Career breakthrough

After working briefly as an illustrator for Weekly Toto,^[12] Kang resigned to focus on digital publishing.^{[note 1]} In 2002, he launched his personal website, kangfull.com,^[7][8] where he began serializing his debut webtoon, Everyday Matters (Korean: 일쌍다반사). The series utilized a daily comic strip format focusing on relatable, observational humor. Kang has noted that his transition to online platforms was prompted by a lack of interest from traditional publishers and a desire to prioritize long-form storytelling over technical draftsmanship. He is frequently cited as a first-generation webtoon artist who helped establish the narrative structure of the medium at a time when web-based comics were primarily limited to short, essay-style strips.^[9]

By July 2002, Kang's website averaged 10,000 daily visitors, ranking it among the most popular personal sites in Korea. This digital success led to regular features in media outlets including Ddanji Daily, JoongAng Ilbo, and Sports Today, as well as collaborations with organizations such as the Korea Teachers and Education Workers' Union. ^[13] In late 2002, Kang curated a selection of his online and new works for his first print compilation, Unwavering Question Mark, published by Yeoreumsol on October 28.^[13]

In late 2002, Kang signed with Daum to produce the movie review comic Let's Have Fun with Movies.^[14] Following its conclusion, he joined the newly launched "Daum Manhwa-sok-sesang" (the precursor to Daum Webtoon). While the platform initially focused on essay-style comics and political commentary, Kang moved away from these trends to develop a long-form, fictional narrative format. ^[9][15]

Serialized fiction webtoons

From August 2003 to April 2004, Kang serialized Pure Love Comics on Daum. The series was a significant commercial success, averaging 2 million daily page views and totaling 60 million by its conclusion. It was later published as a two-volume print manhwa and served as the basis for a 2008 film adaptation.^[15] This showed the potential of webtoons as a medium for One Source Multi-Use (OSMU).^[16][17] In November 2004, Kang signed a 10 million yen (approx. 100 million won) publishing deal for the series with Japan's Futabasha, marking a record for a Korean comic export at the time.^[18]

In May 2004, he released the horror thriller Apartment, which follows an unemployed man living in a mysterious apartment complex.^[19] A film adaptation directed by Ahn Byeong-ki, titled Apt., was released in 2006. The film featured actress Ko So-young in her return to cinema and altered the protagonist's gender from the original webtoon. These early adaptations are credited with establishing the commercial viability of webtoons as source material for other media.^[20]

Between November 2004 and April 2005, Kang serialized the romance webtoon Babo (Fool), which centers on a mentally disabled man and his relationships with his sister and a childhood friend. The work was later adapted into a 2008 film starring Cha Tae-hyun and Ha Ji-won.^[21]

In June 2005, Kang shifted toward supernatural fiction with the serialization of Timing. The plot follows four individuals with distinct temporal abilities (time stopping, rewinding, and precognition) who collaborate to prevent a series of deaths at a high school. Timing marked Kang's first significant foray into the supernatural thriller genre and served as the foundation for his shared narrative universe. The series was published in print in August 2006 and adapted into an animated feature film of the same name in 2015.^{[22][23][unreliable source?]}

In 2006, four of Kang's webtoon Pure Love Comics, Fool, Apartment, and Timing, were simultaneously in development for film adaptations, reflecting his growing influence on the South Korean film industry.^[24] That same year, he serialized 26 Years (April 10 to September 28), a fictional thriller centered on the children of victims from the 1980 Gwangju Uprising who conspire to assassinate former President Chun Doo-hwan. Kang has identified 26 Years as the most personally significant work of his career due to its historical and political subject matter.^[25] The webtoon was eventually adapted into a feature film 26 Years after years of production delays..^[2]

In 2007, Kang serialized the third installment of his romance series, I Love You (also known as Late Blossom). Departing from the youthful focus of typical webtoons, the series depicts the relationship between an elderly milk delivery man and a woman who collects recyclables. The work was a major commercial success on Daum, growing from 2.7 million monthly views at launch to over 6.3 million by its conclusion. It was later adapted into a 2011 film and a 2012 television series, both noted for their sensitive treatment of aging and poverty.^[26]

During the same period, Kang's success as a storyteller led to his recruitment as a screenwriter for major film productions. In June 2007, he was announced as the writer for the 3D sequel to Bong Joon-ho's 2006 film The Host.^[27][28]Despite a high-profile announcement at the Tokyo International Film Festival and an estimated $12 million budget, the project faced significant production delays. While Kang completed his script, the project was never realized in its original form, and he eventually moved on to other serialized webtoon projects.^[29][30][31]

In 2008, Kang serialized the mystery thriller The Neighbor from June 9 to October 29. The plot centers on residents of an apartment building who begin to suspect a serial killer lives among them, exploring themes of social apathy. A 2012 film adaptation starring Kim Yoon-jin and Ma Dong-seok became a commercial success, drawing 2.4 million viewers.^[25] By the end of 2008, Kang’s collected works had surpassed 300 million cumulative page views on the Daum platform.^[7]

In 2009, he released Again, the fourth installment in his "Mystery Psychological Anecdote" series. The story introduces a conflict between immortal beings and characters with temporal or telekinetic abilities. Again functions as a pivotal narrative link within the "Kang Full Universe," integrating the characters and supernatural elements established in his earlier work, Timing, into a broader shared continuity.^[31][32]

In August 2010, Kang began serializing Every Moment of Your Life (also known as Your Every Moment) on Daum's 'Manhwa-sok-sesang' platform. The series, which ran for six months, reached a total of 150 million views and averaged 2 million daily visitors. Departing from traditional romance, the story is set during a 2012 zombie outbreak in Seoul and follows a protagonist attempting to rescue his family from the city. The work was noted for blending the horror and romance genres, focusing on the emotional impact of the apocalypse.^[33][34]

From August 8 to December 6, 2011, Kang serialized the horror-mystery webtoon Lighting Store on Daum. The narrative focuses on a mysterious shop located at the end of a dark alleyway, which acts as a transition point for souls between life and death. Kang has acknowledged that Lighting Store is among his most complex works, noting that he intentionally moved away from his usual detailed exposition to allow for more reader interpretation. He suggested that while the plot contains various supernatural vignettes, the overarching emotional core is a woman’s reflection on love and loss. The series was highly successful and was later adapted into a 2024 Disney+ original series, which Kang also scripted.^[35]

On March 31, 2012, Kang marked his tenth year as a webtoon artist by hosting a book concert, Kang Full, 10 Years of Romance Comics, at Art Center K in Seoul. The event was the first of its kind for a South Korean webtoon author and featured guest appearances by fellow cartoonists Yoon Tae-ho and Joo Ho-min. During the event, Kang reflected on his career trajectory from his debut with Everyday Matters to his more complex supernatural thrillers like Lighting Store.^[36]

In 2013, Kang serialized his eleventh webtoon, The Witch from October 18, 2013 to June 20, 2014. The series centers on a man’s efforts to support a woman who has become a social pariah after being blamed for a series of misfortunes surrounding her. Moving away from the supernatural elements of his previous "Universe" works, The Witch returned to the mystery-romance genre. It was later adapted into a 2025 television drama on Channel A.^[11][37]

Kang's action series: Moving, Bridge, and Hidden

Kang Full did presentation in webtoon's course in 2018

In February 2015, Kang started serializing Moving. The narrative centers on a group of high school students possessing superhuman abilities and their parents, who work to protect their children while hiding their own pasts as former government black ops agents.^[38] Spanning 45 episodes until September 2015, it became his most extensive work.^[25] The series was later published as a five-volume set by Wisdom House on April 28, 2016.^[39]

In November 2015, Kang returned to his earlier format of film commentary with Kang Full's Jojo. Serialized weekly on NCSoft's "Space Conquest" blog, the strip featured reviews of new releases with a focus on character analysis. This project marked a return to the short-form, observational style of his debut work, Let's Have Fun with Movies, following several years of focusing on long-form narrative fiction.^[40][41]

In March 2017, Kang released Bridge, a sequel to Moving set in the "Kang Full Universe." The webtoon features the protagonists of Moving (Bong-seok, Hee-su, and Kang-hoon) alongside key characters from Timing, including Kim Young-tak and Kang Min-hyuk. By placing the physical superhuman abilities of the former alongside the temporal powers of the latter within the same universe, Bridge creates a cohesive continuity between Kang's supernatural-themed works.^[42]

In April 2017, Kang Full's webtoon adaptation Moving was announced as part of future drama line-up of newly established Studio and New, subsidiary of Next Entertainment World.^[43] In 2021, Moving was announced as a Disney+ original series, starring Ryu Seung-ryong, Han Hyo-joo, and Jo In-sung.^[44] This project, marked Kang's debut as a screenwriter.^[45] Directed by Park In-je, director of the film Ordinary People (2017) and Netflix series Kingdom Season 2.^[46]

Following the conclusion of Bridge, Kang announced plans for Hidden, the final installment in a planned trilogy of supernatural action webtoons. Although originally scheduled for serialization in 2019, the project was postponed as Kang shifted his focus to the live-action adaptation of Moving. During the development of the Moving television series (2023), Kang incorporated several narrative elements and characters originally intended for Hidden. This includes the antagonist Frank, a supernatural assassin, and the character Jeon Gye-do. As of 2024, the webtoon version of Hidden remains unreleased, though Kang has indicated that his work on the Disney+ series has allowed him to expand the "Kang Full Universe" beyond the constraints of the original webtoon format.^[32]

Children picture books

In January 2013, Kang published his first children's picture book, Hi, Friend (Korean: Annyeong, Chinguya). Written as a dedication to his daughter, the book reached the top 20 on national bestseller lists in its first month of release.^[47][48][49] Later, in December, Hi, Friend was adapted into a family musical. Produced through a collaboration between the performance production company NEO and the Hwaseong City Cultural Foundation, the musical was performed at the U&I Center Hwaseong Art Hall from December 19 to 31.^[50]

In the following year, Kang released a second picture book, Ice Ding!, which focuses on traditional Korean children's games. The book aims to familiarize children with traditional outdoor games and evoke nostalgia in adult readers.^[51][52]

In early 2016, Kang's illustrations were displayed in a collaborative exhibition with children’s author Choi Sook-hee at the Incheon City Lifelong Learning Centre. The exhibition, titled Hi, My Friend! It's Okay, featured 15 original artworks from Kang's children's picture book Hi, Friend and delved into topics of social development and self-confidence in early childhood.^[53]

The Kang Full Cartoon Alley

In September 2013, the Gangdong District Office completed "The Kang Full Cartoon Alley" in Seongnae-dong as part of an urban regeneration initiative. Kang worked with the agency Pingpong Art and volunteer muralists to transform the residential neighborhood with murals based on his most popular works, including Pure Love Comics, Fool, and I Love You.^[54]

On February 8, 2017, the district expanded the project with the opening of "Seungryong's House," a community center named after the protagonist of Fool. Situated at the end of the cartoon street, the center includes a cafe, a public comic book library, and a subsidized workspace for emerging webtoon artists.^[55]

The project's positive impact on urban revitalization was acknowledged globally when it won the Landscape Award at the 2017 Asia Urban Landscape Awards, which was co-hosted by UN-Habitat.^[56] Building on this achievement, the district commissioned ten more murals in late 2017. These murals were created in collaboration with residents and artists from "Seungryong's House" to ensure that the new additions complemented the existing streetscape.^[57]

Art Style/Technique and materials

Kang prefers to work from a plot rather than from a full script.^[58] Film adaptation.^[59][60]

Kang Full Universe

The "Kang Full Universe" is a shared continuity encompassing many of Kang's supernatural and action webtoons serialized on Daum. Established over more than a decade, the universe began with the horror-thriller Apartment (2004) and expanded through Timing (2005), Again (2009), Light Shop (2011), Moving (2015), and Bridge (2017). The series is characterized by the intersection of different supernatural "types." For example, the "time-sleepers" and precognitives from Timing reappear in the afterlife-focused Light Shop and the thriller Again. This culminated in the 2017 series Bridge, a major crossover event that united the physically superhuman characters of Moving with the temporal-manipulators of Timing to face a common antagonist. The continuity is noted for its "grounded" approach to superpowers, often focusing on how these abilities impact family life and Korean social issues.^[61][62][63]

Moving pop up Store.^[64]

Daily/weekly strips webtoons

Serial webtoons

Published manhwa

Children picture books

Film

More information Year, Country ...

International adaptations of Kang's works

Year	Country	Title		Credited as		Note(s)	Ref.
		English	Native	Creator	Scriptwriter
2022	China	I Love You	我要和你在一起	Yes	No	Adapted from the webtoon "The Witch" (마녀)
2023	China	Love Life Light	照明商店	Yes	No	Adapted from the webtoon "Light Shop" (조명가게)
2023	China Hong Kong	Love Never Ends	我爱你！	Yes	No	Adapted from the webtoon "I Love You" (그대를 사랑합니다)

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Television and web series

Theater and musical

Awards and nominations

Listicles