ohsangwoosbasement

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killing stalking, deluxe edition

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finding appreciation in the art that is Killing Stalking, written and illustrated by Koogi—a yaoi-manhwa that caresses the thin line between the genre ‘boys-love’ (BL), abuse, and psychological horror—is a dark abyss that whirls you into an armageddon. Yet, orchestrates a narrative that focuses on the pain in queer obsession, the suffocation of trauma, and the obscure fascination with suffering.

the basis of why I have chosen this narrative is because of how the concept of infatuation can develop into a nightmare. Killing Stalking is inherently a horror manhwa, but is commercialized by the title of ‘yaoi’ which manifested into the weird emotional connection fans believed the two suffering characters had; Were people killed for love?

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critique: sshio review via myanimelist

Just to be clear, the blame doesn’t fall just on the crazy fujoshis. If you have a Thriller with straight, ‘normal’ romance it’s still a Thriller. If you have a Thriller with gay romance, like Killing Stalking it’s suddenly become Yaoi. When series have gay (particularly male x male) relationships, that series will suddenly get the “Gay label.” It’ll be placed on a special Gay bookshelf where all the other books with The Gay are placed. Even if there is a substantial amount of gay content (like with Killing Stalking), the main genre is far overshadowed by the fact that it’s Gay. With Killing Stalking, I imagine that a lot of people see the Yaoi tag and automatically turn away, or are at least somewhat deterred. Then they hear about or see the violence/abuse/psychological aspect and they tie the two together and think, “oh, so it’s weird gay torture porn,” whereas if the couple was straight it would just be “an abusive relationship.”

I think it was important to begin the project with an example of how this manhwa became such a popular piece of queer media, and where the term yaoi and fujoshi originate. A ‘fujoshi’ is basically a cis-girl who is beyon obsessed with the genre yaoi, and romantic relationships between men. The term really means ‘rotten girl’ which derives from the lude attitudes many of these fans have towards fictional and real gay relationships, especially Sangwoo’s and Bums. 

I agree that we shouldn’t be blaming the ‘fujoshi’s’ for their obsession with the manhwa, but rather how their actions on the internet describing the narrative can be very unreliable. The loudest claims about the Yaoi genre are mainly from non-readers who emphasize the fact that many of the mangas/manhwas are torture gay porn, which kind of taints the genre as a whole, basically saying that all of it is under that umbrella. That is not true, there are definitely wholesome Yaoi…they are just harder to find lol. I think this can stem from the idea of many queer media being “too much” or “provocative” causing harm to many queer corners in art and media. The argument that if this manhwa would be labeled as “straight” would cause less discourse is beyond true because of the idea of building a world for the heternormative majority.

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yoon bum, killing stalking

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critique: 'killing/stalking review (spoilers)' from jackson p. brown

What’s depressing about Killing/Stalking is the lack of virtue in the extended cast. The first murder victim, the daughter of a pharmaceutical CEO, threatens Sangwoo with the full force of her social privileges during her dying moments. Sangwoo’s second victim, a man he picked up at a gay bar, is a serial cheater living a double life. The third murder victim is an equally popular girl at the university, but she is cruel to Bum simply because of his weak appearance and his proximity to Sangwoo. And when she officially becomes a missing person, her mother flaunts her designer bag as proof of her daughter’s exemplary upbringing. The fourth victim is Bum’s own uncle, murdered during an act of retributive rape in Sangwoo’s kitchen. The last person to die is the police chief who, whilst an upstanding example to others in the force, was equally negligent and indirectly allowed Sangwoo to commit his crimes because his appearance played into the chief’s personal prejudices: handsome, good middle-class family, charismatic. He also projected the loss of his own son onto other young men, often clouding his better judgement.

This critique by Brown describes the extended cast of Killing Stalking, and the fact that there is a minimal amount of sympathy towards their characters. I think what Brown fails to realize is the idea of characters foils, as they are a sub-genre of characters that play as influence and important to the entire theme of the narrative. The victims basically play as examples as to how insane Sangwoo is, and the affects it has on Bum who is somewhat obsessed with how he is perceived by Sangwoo. 

I don’t see these unfortunate endings to these characters as ‘depressing’ outcomes, but rather layers to the suspense of the work as a whole. Again, this is a psychological horror, so there are going to be cruel demises for characters in order to elongate the tension and build suspense towards the ending. I don’t believe Koogi planned for these characters to be as important as they could have been, but rather focused on the importance of understanding a character's situation.

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oh sangwoo, killing stalking

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critique: 'why do people like killing stalking? i mean i like BL but isn't that too much?' from maggie smith via quora

Lastly, why don’t we appreciate the artwork? Killing Stalking goes for a darker and spookier theme obviously, so the author shifted her drawing style to fit that theme. The lines are thick and thin depending on what the chapter is about, or what’s happening in that moment. Another thing, most authors can’t keep up the same drawing style with all the effort. If they can, they usually make a lot of frames lazier by making the characters in a “chibi style” so it’s less effort for them. Unlike those people, the author of KS keeps up her game the whole time. You can also tell that there is a lot of effort in the coloring too. She makes some colors stand out more so your pupils focus on them, while the other colors are more of a blur so your focus is not on that.

One of the biggest arguments I have about Killing Stalking is the lack of appreciation for the authors illustrations. Smith’s critique emphasizes the obsession with the genre of the comic, and how it removes the talent of the artist. Koogi aimed for a dark, suspenseful art style that mirrored a gloomy world where no character has a good life, this world is ruled by corrupt police officers, and serial killers disguised as hot, charismatic men. (honestly very accurate to real life) 

The critique even indulges in how many illustrators for comics get “lazy” changing the style of the art, and cutting corners in releasing chapters quicker; Yet, Koogi is appreciated for the time and effort spent drawing these detailed surroundings, characters, and gore. Many individuals argue on the internet about how we should separate the art from the artist, but Koogi ensures that there is no way you could possibly separate the two.

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critique: 'reviewing: killing stalking (isn't just about yaoi)' from sunnylubby0

I started to dislike this woman. She was the epitome of all women who are bad. She was a mother but also a slag at the same time. I don’t know if she was the cause for Sangwoo’s father’s abusive nature, but I will connect it. Frankly, Sangwoo did not have a good childhood. There was too much crazy going on. It started off with his mom being crazy, but then progressed into his father becoming crazy. I originally thought that Sangwoo hated his father. Later we found out that Sangwoo did not hate his father. He just did not want to become like his father as he pretty much mentions in chapter 54. At this point I finally can connect to Sangwoo’s odd obsession with killing women and perhaps being gay as well. I also find a connection to some of his behavior as well. I begin to realize why he did some of his actions much earlier in the story. His mother was 80% of the root to his misery. When you read the manhwa you’ll get a good idea of what I’m talking about.

In this critique, the author explores the history of Sangwoo’s relationship with his parents, and the unhealthy household he lived in. Both his mother and father were terrible figures in his life, which is why he is so terrible, but where this critique clicks is when the connection between his mom and his killing tendencies is recognized. There is no doubt about the anger Sangwoo has towards his mother, and how much of that anger affected him in the long run. 

Where I disagree is that I don’t think Sangwoo was necessarily gay, and that became the reason he killed these women. Koogi even states in many q&a’s how his sexuality is straight, and that he is sexually attracted to women. I think where they missed the point is that Sangwoo began to torture and kill these women because of the trauma of his mother. The mother was not in her right mind and did everything in her power to tear the family apart, especially tainting Sangwoo’s idea of a feminine figure.

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illusions between oh sangwoo's mom and yoon bum

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critique: r/killingstalking, 'killing stalking is a bl (thriller)'

Then there is the infamous Italian interview where she said she didn't want Ks to look like a romantic story, which is always used as a proof it's not a BL, but it actually doesn't prove anything! In this interview, Koogi never says it should not be considered a BL: what she means is that as an author, she didn't want to trivialize the relationship between victim and abuser as it happens in many stories! And she perfectly managed to do so, since it's not the usual cliché with Stockholm syndrome used as an excuse for the captive to fall for their captor, Sangwoo and Bum have complex and multifaceted reasons to do what they do, connected to their past and personalities! Also as a story, KS is not a romance per se, this is very clear, but there is a romance! A dark, unhealthy, toxic romance but still a romance! This doesn't mean Koogi romanticises abuse: KS is targeted to an adult audience, readers that have the tools to tell fiction and reality apart and that can understand the depth of the story. KS never glorifies abuse, that's a fact. It's also interesting to notice this interview actually heavily implies KS is a BL.

For the author to emphasize this within a personal interview goes to show how powerful the fanbase for this comic turns out to be, and the internet's perception toward the narrative as a whole. As if Koogi is teasing the audience for their portrayal of abuser and victim because the complexities of their identities and relationship are a foundation point for the theme that they want to orchestrate; They kind of play into the audience's delusions, which is very comical. It is heavily implied that this piece is a BL due to the many questions formed by the interviewer, and the atmosphere where this question was answered–at a comic event–surrounded by potentially thousands of fans who know it for this reason. Yes, Sangwoo loved Bum, but that came with days of harm and manipulation on his part.

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the infamous koogi etna 2019 interview

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yoon bum sees imagines oh sangwoo

killing stalking, chapter 67