The Blue Beacon

Originally known as Mujik Park 박무직, Boichi ボイチ (Japanese Wikipedia) is a graphic novelist who holds a unique position in the manhwa industry.  For one, he has a unique background for a shojo/josei manhwaga (Korean mangaka) which he debuted as—he holds a bachelor’s degree in physics.  And he has largely been ostracized by fellow manhwagas (Korean mangakas)—there is a multitude of conflicting accounts about what caused this, but it is generally believed that his uncompromisingly blunt personality played a role—then moved to Japan, and has finally joined the rank of mainstream mangaka in Japan.

Although better known as a mangaka who caters to male tastes in general now, he still keeps his shojo/josei touch of style, which the two titles above embody well.  Some titles also manifests his original focus, sci-fi (he had a rare determination to specifically take a physics major in order to draw sci-fi manhwas); in fact, most of his works that I hold in high regards are of the genre, including the HOTEL above.  For years now I have been trying to get a hold of this collection of his short stories, titled 하늘 속 파람 별 and long out of print, which contains the short story that I count as “the” masterpiece of his of all time: LTU (Love That Universe), a story of lovers who have been parted literally by time-space (some people liken it to Voices of a Distant Star 星の声 by Makoto Shinkai, and I agree with the assessment).