Taejun Pak
Description
Taejun Pak, also known by the pen name T.Jun, is a South Korean manhwa creator and the writer behind the original webtoon Viral Hit. Born on September 3, 1984, in South Korea, Pak developed an early interest in drawing and Japanese manga during his childhood. He pursued studies in a university program dedicated to comics but temporarily paused his education to work various jobs, including appearances on television variety shows and managing an online mens clothing store, in order to earn a living before debuting as a creator.
Pak made his official debut in 2014 with the series Lookism, which he both wrote and illustrated. The success of Lookism allowed him to continue his career, and he has since become known for creating multiple hit series. In addition to Viral Hit, his other notable works as a writer include My Life as a Loser and Hannamdong K-House. Pak is also the founder and CEO of PTJ Cartoon Company, also known as The Grimm Entertainment, a webtoon production company that manages his original stories and collaborates with other artists to produce series such as Questism and Manager Kim.
Viral Hit, which Pak writes while Kim Junghyun handles the illustration, began serialization on the Naver Webtoon platform in November 2019. The story follows Yoo Ho-bin, a scrawny high school student who starts a fight-focused video channel to earn money for his mother's medical expenses, learning martial arts from a mysterious online creator. The webtoon has been collected into multiple print volumes and has been published in English by Line Webtoon since October 2022. An anime television series adaptation of Viral Hit, produced by the studio Okuruto Noboru, aired from April to June 2024 on Fuji TV's +Ultra programming block.
Pak often works as a writer in collaboration with other illustrators, as seen on Viral Hit with Kim Junghyun, rather than drawing every series himself due to time and physical limitations. His creative process involves outlining the general story framework, then meeting with his team to discuss storyboards and finalize the work on a weekly schedule. To ensure realistic action scenes in Viral Hit, Pak consulted with active Brazilian jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts professionals to accurately depict various martial arts styles.
Recurring themes in Pak's work include social hierarchy within schools, appearance-based discrimination, and the struggles of underdog protagonists who face bullying and financial hardship. His stories frequently feature protagonists who gain unique tools to overcome injustice, such as the body-swapping ability in Lookism or the instructional YouTube channel in Viral Hit. Pak has stated that he sees manga as a mirror of its era and aims to depict the world as it is, entertaining readers while raising awareness of societal injustices without necessarily providing solutions. His works have gained significant international popularity, with Viral Hit garnering hundreds of millions of views globally, and Lookism receiving a Netflix animated adaptation in 2022.
Pak made his official debut in 2014 with the series Lookism, which he both wrote and illustrated. The success of Lookism allowed him to continue his career, and he has since become known for creating multiple hit series. In addition to Viral Hit, his other notable works as a writer include My Life as a Loser and Hannamdong K-House. Pak is also the founder and CEO of PTJ Cartoon Company, also known as The Grimm Entertainment, a webtoon production company that manages his original stories and collaborates with other artists to produce series such as Questism and Manager Kim.
Viral Hit, which Pak writes while Kim Junghyun handles the illustration, began serialization on the Naver Webtoon platform in November 2019. The story follows Yoo Ho-bin, a scrawny high school student who starts a fight-focused video channel to earn money for his mother's medical expenses, learning martial arts from a mysterious online creator. The webtoon has been collected into multiple print volumes and has been published in English by Line Webtoon since October 2022. An anime television series adaptation of Viral Hit, produced by the studio Okuruto Noboru, aired from April to June 2024 on Fuji TV's +Ultra programming block.
Pak often works as a writer in collaboration with other illustrators, as seen on Viral Hit with Kim Junghyun, rather than drawing every series himself due to time and physical limitations. His creative process involves outlining the general story framework, then meeting with his team to discuss storyboards and finalize the work on a weekly schedule. To ensure realistic action scenes in Viral Hit, Pak consulted with active Brazilian jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts professionals to accurately depict various martial arts styles.
Recurring themes in Pak's work include social hierarchy within schools, appearance-based discrimination, and the struggles of underdog protagonists who face bullying and financial hardship. His stories frequently feature protagonists who gain unique tools to overcome injustice, such as the body-swapping ability in Lookism or the instructional YouTube channel in Viral Hit. Pak has stated that he sees manga as a mirror of its era and aims to depict the world as it is, entertaining readers while raising awareness of societal injustices without necessarily providing solutions. His works have gained significant international popularity, with Viral Hit garnering hundreds of millions of views globally, and Lookism receiving a Netflix animated adaptation in 2022.
Works
- Topics: Anime overview