Spotlight #109: Your Letter

Have you ever wanted a webtoon that's short and sweet? If so, please indulge me as we delve into the webtoon Your Letter by Hyeon A Cho.

Summary

Even when we get taught it, being good is hard. Especially when it seems no one wants to follow your example. Sori Lee had to learn that lesson the hard way as she became a victim of bullying after helping out a former friend. Sori tried moving on from this in her new school, but it's still hard for her to fit in. Until she finds a couple of letters from a faraway friend, entering her into a heartwarming tale.

Characters

Sori Lee: Our main lead, Sori, is an adventurous, kind, and polite girl. After her severe bullying, Sori at first suffers from anxiety issues, wondering if being good is even worth it. Through the letters, she can find strength enough to keep going.

Eugene Park: Sori's first friend at the school, Eugene, is a righteous, easily frustrated, and strict guy. Despite sometimes being a little aggressive, Eugene always has his heart in the right place, being willing to defend his friends at all cost.

Yeon Jung: The mysterious sender of the letters, Yeon is shown to be a highly perceptive, creative, and intelligent individual. He has many tricks up his sleeves but always has a heart of gold behind his actions.

Overview

Your Letter is one of the most exciting webtoons I've ever read despite being easily the shortest one (Seriously, only has ten chapters). When you've been reading and reviewing webtoons for as long as I have now, sometimes things can blur into my specific categories. However, Your Letter makes the most of its length and has left me feeling I've never known before.

The closest vibe I've felt is an anime movie like Your Name or the boy and the beast. The feeling you get from seeing something casually beautiful. The art reflects this feeling pretty well for me. It feels like a painted-over book, filled with simple character designs and bold outlines to set some ambiance. Add a dash of beautiful symbolism through the panels, and we get a treat for the eyes.

Other than that, though, we have a sickly sweet story ahead of us. Despite never making a present full-on appearance, Yeon gets a lot of character shown through flashbacks and the letters. Speaking of the title Mcguffin, the letters are a sweet concept that can only come from a story like this. They do well in building a character mystery, leading to some rather exciting locations and objectives.

They do an exhilarating job of easing Sori into her school, making her feel like less of an outsider. It radiates such a kid-like enthusiasm that I've not felt in a while. Like I was brought back to when I used to find my special hideouts" in school as if I owned it. Yet Sori never takes the backseat, still influencing the story and activities there, making the ending hit so hard, like nobody's business. I've seen webtoons, dozens of chapters longer, and I think this ending hits harder. Showing that short stories do have a place here as much as long ones. And the fact we get this all for free, and there is a book online is honestly one of the biggest blessings I have.

Epilogue

Welp, this is probably going to be one of the more interesting spotlights I have in this recent burst. I don't regret it either way, though. Different stories give me the confidence to try different things in writing one day. A confidence I want to carry for the next spotlight and onwards.