Dear X: Webtoon Vs Kdrama ( Who wins? )

      Last year, we got a lot of gems to watch, and one of them was Dear X. It's also been adapted from a webtoon.

As a reader, we already know the history. When a webtoon is adapted as a K-drama, views never lie. And for me, Dear X serves a lot of points in many ways. As a fan of thrillers and psychological thrillers, it hits me in different ways. We love it because it's alluring yet elegant in its own way. Complex female leads always hit deeper.

So let's discuss the comparison between the webtoon and the K-drama. Ok?

We are starting with the character's details...

1. Baek Ah-Jin ( The Cold Sociopath )

        The female protagonist and villainess of the webtoon and K-drama "Dear X" is calculated, antisocial, conceited, and the mastermind of her own life. The story begins when her father murders her abusive mother, and she testifies that it was an accident at just 10 years old. Her father and stepmother's abusive behavior turns her into an intelligent but antisocial person. Her school life is a mess of bullies and revenge. She learns that sympathy is just a tool to use people as puppets. She hides her true nature perfectly — except from Kim Jae-oh, a kid in the same situation as her.

Her school bully, Shim Seong-hee, pours water on her and gets brutal revenge in return. Later, Seong-hee tries to threaten Ah-jin during her acting career. Ah-jin kills her own father and blames it on her cafe owner. She becomes an actress and discards her fiancé, Heo In-gang, after gaining fame. Then she plans to marry CEO Moon Do-hyeok, seduce Jun-seo to get pregnant, and try to pass the heir off as Do-hyeok's. There's a lot more to her deeds. Yet it all comes from the trauma she survived.

In webtoon, the story reveals her as a sociopath, a medical abnormality. A predator who never sees her trauma as pain, but stones in her life she successfully removed. She is the one who uses empathy as a tool to manipulate. 

In K-drama, it emphasizes that her childhood trauma and situation made her a person who uses tactics to survive in a cruel society like a survivalist. Kim Yoo-jung portrays Ah-jin as a vulnerable target who learned to bite in order to survive; meanwhile, Webtoon portrays her as the monster and mastermind. And also, Yoo-jung fits perfectly with Ah-jin's character.

2. Yoon Jun Seo ( The Victimized Protector )

            The story revolves around Jun Seo and Ah-jin, as he is the central protagonist of the story, and despite knowing everything, he treats her differently. The Son of Ah-jin's stepmother. He is the type of introverted traits with extroverted feeling. He was more like an observer who was dedicated.

After witnessing Ah-jin being abused by his mom, Ah-jin manipulated him as her first shield, though he always felt responsible toward her. Yet to Ah-Jin, he was a tool. He also helped her take revenge against Shim Seong-hee by faking a relationship with her, recording her gossip, and accusing her of stealing, which destroyed her life completely. After covering her father's murder, he disappeared for a long time. 

Yet at turning 23, he became an artist, and Ah-jin uses him to gather information. Yet when the reality of his real father was revealed to him, his mother told him the truth that Ah-Jin actually knew from the very start, and the abuse toward her was because of that. This reveals her manipulation of her.

In Webtoon, he survived the destruction and continued his life as a writer, forgiving her mother. He also made Ah-Jin pregnant, and she uses that child to control him, yet he stays until he snaps. He wrote a book exposing Ah-Jin's deeds and sociopathic nature to the whole country. He got used and discarded, yet his child remains with Ah-jin and is raised by Jae-oh. 

Meanwhile, in K-drama, he died while the suicide attempt taking Ah-jin with him. He drove his car off the cliff, yet Ah-Jin survived and left him there dying. There is no pregnancy, but guilt and affection that let Ah-Jin puppet him. He also exposed her wrongdoing at her ceremony, which led to her ultimate fall. Ah-Jin disappears after that and lives as a ghost.

3. Kim Jae-Oh ( The Devoted Protector )

            The guy was raised in the same darkness as her. He met Ah-jin during school when he was covered in scars from extorting money from kids. For Ah-jin, he was the ultimate tool. Yet he became the only one who remained with her till the end. He also served jail time for a couple of years for murdering his father, who abused him and his brother.

Yet when he came back, he remained actively stuck to Ah-jin despite her sociopathic nature. His relationship with her is wholly different from any other character.

In the webtoon, he stayed alive to the end and was devoted to her. He raised her daughter — the one Ah-jin abandoned — so technically, he brought up Jun-seo's daughter. He saved her from committing suicide. They escaped to Hong Kong together. He sacrificed his normal life to hide with her. He accepts her sociopathic nature and remains the only loyal ally she has.

In the K-drama, his death is brutal at the hands of her husband, Moon Do-hyeok. He sacrifices his life to get evidence against Moon's plan to murder Ah-jin. His death proves that whoever gets near Ah-jin only meets a tragic ending. More likely, she destroys everyone around her.

4. Heo In-gang ( The First Pawn)

          The story changes when he enters. Outside? Perfect. Famous. Rich. Happy.

Inside? Shattered. Traumatized. Cheated on. Alone.

As a fan of Hwang In-youp, his character was dear to me. He was the first pawn in her successful career. I love her but hate her for making him so pathetic that he took his own life. Like a pawn, she started dating him — fake love for him, dated him, did everything couples do. And boom. Left him at his worst.

She entered his life, spied on his family, conspired to get in touch with his grandmother, gained his trust, made him madly in love with her, and then left him with a pathetic ending: DEATH.

In the webtoon, he committed suicide, and the only reason was his suffering because of Ah-jin. He was exhausted emotionally and physically. Ah-jin wasn't present at his grandmother's death like in the drama. She simply used it to make him more vulnerable. The worst part? She ruined his reputation, so his fans hated him while he was taking his last breaths. He died in real pain. It was calculated and painful.

In the K-drama, his suicide is caused not only by Ah-jin but also by his existing past trauma and his grandmother's death. Betrayal was a reason, too. Ah-jin was present when his grandmother died. She even had a chance to help her, but she didn't. More guilt for her actions. Yet his fans don't hate him. It was more tragic because she told him he was just a pawn to her — nothing more, nothing less. It was really painful for me.

5. Moon Do-hyeok ( The Second Pawn )

           This man is referred to as the male version of Ah-jin. The same level of insanity. But the story differs in the webtoon and drama world. I mean, he was powerful and reliable, yet also dark. He made his ex-wife end up in an asylum.

In the webtoon, he was simply a pawn. Nothing more. A pawn for success to climb higher in the industry. He was not nearly her level at all. He was purely a tool for her power, and she left him when there was nothing left to use.

In the K-drama, he was the mastermind, the evil villain, the CEO who actually traps Ah-jin into marriage. He breaks her rhythm, playing with her on the same level of evilness. A fight between two demons. And the part that hits hard? He controls her, traps her, and even gives her drugs to make her obedient and submissive. Yet Ah-jin threatened him through Jae-oh's videos. He got exposed by the video of him murdering Jae-oh. But he didn't die. This shows the villain remains to the end, and the hero has to take the fall.

6. Im Rena (The Opposite Pole)

           Besides Ah-jin, there was Im Rena — a side character, a rival actress, and the ex-girlfriend of In-gang (she cheated on him).

In the webtoon, she was simply a rival to Ah-jin. Eventually, she left when there was nothing left after Ah-jin's success.

In the K-drama, she is the opposite of Ah-jin. She genuinely loves Jun-seo. In the beginning, Jun-seo just uses her for Ah-jin, yet they share a sweet-bitter bond until the end. She is both a victim and a bit of a rival to Ah-jin. Her life doesn't end in death, but her suffering is survival — she has to face Jun-seo's death in the drama.

The Ending Difference

       The ending is quite different in both worlds. In the drama, Jun-seo dies. But the webtoon keeps him alive as a writer trying to move on.

Baek Ah-jin survives and disappears in the webtoon — with Jun-seo's child (she used against him) — and takes Jae-oh with her, hidden. She plans a cruel revenge on Jun-seo. When he reveals that he will never see his baby, she thinks it's his fault her life is in ruins. So she uses that same kid to destroy his mental peace.

Her last letter summarized this:

"If the reason you ruined me was because of our child, I will use the same weapon to destroy you. You will live and die missing her. And that is how I will live and breathe in your consciousness forever."

— Baek Ah-jin

She didn't kill him. Yet she gifted him a wound that will haunt him until death.

The drama explains that she is really just a bad spirit — whoever is around her will die eventually, and she must leave them. The ending disappears her existence as she becomes a ghost to society.

What Fans Think

Most fans love the webtoon more. There is a clear ending. The drama blurred it with no real words from Ah-jin — just a ghosted life after Jun-seo's death.

The webtoon ending was logical. Fans think the writer killed the male characters irrationally in the drama, and there was no good reason to sacrifice Jae-oh and Jun-seo committing suicide.

A fan also said:

"The webtoon ending was a surgical strike — precise, painful, and logical. The drama ending was a grenade — messy, loud, and it destroyed everything just to make a scene."

Yet her performance remains the best. Kim Yoo-jung really lived up to her role. Maybe the script failed her, but her role won hearts.

My Verdict

For me, the webtoon is better. The drama ending really confused me.

But this is still a good show. A pure thriller with a sociopathic girl who leads as both villain and protagonist. So if you are looking forward to this, I recommend the webtoon version.

But the drama adds an emotional touch to it. So both have their own strengths that the other lacks.

See you in the next blog post.