A promotional artwork for the horror-occult webtoon “Maengjong” / Courtesy of Naver Webtoon
The sprawling occult universe of “Exhuma,” the supernatural thriller that captivated more than 10 million moviegoers to become one of Korea’s biggest box office sensations, is expanding into the digital comic realm.
Naver Webtoon said Friday that it will launch “Maengjong,” a prequel spinoff of the blockbuster film, on its platform Saturday evening. The debut arrives just as local appetite for horror and supernatural thrillers begins its seasonal spike ahead of the humid summer months.
The new series delves into the formative teenage years of Hwa-rim and Bong-gil, a charismatic duo of shamans whose slick, youth-driven subversion of ancient rituals anchored the emotional core of the film. “Maengjong” explores the eerie undercurrents of their lives before the timeline of the movie, tracing the genesis of their partnership.
The narrative follows Hwa-rim, a high school student living a quiet, cloistered life after a childhood entanglement with a snake deity named Jin. Her fragile status quo is upended when she meets Bong-gil at school, initiating a chain of supernatural events. The title itself — written with Chinese characters that translate to “blind obedience” — alludes to the unconditional execution of orders without moral judgment, a theme that creators say will heavily influence the psychological horror of the plot.
