Title: How to Become a Dragon (original title: 합격시켜주세용)

Type: Webcomic

Year: 2020-2024

Country: South Korea

Genre: Fantasy

Status: Completed

Platform: Webtoon (read here)

Appropriate for 30+?: Yes

My rating: 4/5 stars

(Rating scale: 5/5 = masterpiece, 4/5 = quite good, 3/5 = mostly good, 2/5 = bleh, 1/5 = I regret ever being exposed to this series, 0/5 = affront to humanity)

How to Become a Dragon is a charming series about Korean mythical creatures and spirits forced to intermingle with humans in the modern world for the sake of a shared goal. Despite drawing heavily from Korean fairy tales, traditional culture, and history, the author presents the story in such a way as to be not in the least off-putting to international readers; far from it actually, I found the series’ use of these greatly enhanced my enjoyment of the series by providing something unique I hadn’t read anything like before.

I rated this series 4/5 stars because it is quite solid in all elements, but doesn’t stand out as especially exemplar in any of them. The art is visually pleasing and consistent, the pacing is generally good (while the story probably could have been told in less than its 200 chapter length, at least it never drags), the characters are likeable, the plot is engaging, the premise is original, etc. However I think the series’ greatest strength is also its greatest weakness: How to Become a Dragon reads like a modern-day Korean fairy tale. The themes and takeaways are timeless and often classic in a way that would fit right in with the traditional stories it draws upon (forgiveness, overcoming regret, generational karma, respect and honor, perseverance and personal growth in the face of adversity, importance of family, the pitfalls of immortality). However I felt like there was something missing from the series given its the modern setting: despite major plot points relating to 21st century problems (human-caused pollution, toxic work culture, income inequality, etc), there isn’t much critique from the series of the status quo, even as it shows clear disapproval of negative aspects of historic Korean life (arranged marriage, the caste system, the unfairly harsh judicial system, etc) and has characters fighting back against these historic inequities both in the past and present. Given the severe societal issues faced by South Korea today (as evidenced in their high suicide rate and low birth rate), this felt like a gross omission, especially given the generally pro-human theme of the series. Perhaps this would have cast too much negativity on what is a generally positive and uplifting series, however I cannot help but feel like it was a lost opportunity to a degree that this lack of reflection on the 21st-century condition undermines the overall humanitarian messaging. Despite this complaint, it is still a thoroughly enjoyable and undeniably charming series, and still one I would generally recommend.

I would definitely recommend this series to older fans of comics, if for no other reason than it’s so rare to find series appropriate for older audiences that aren’t steeped in mature content. Quite the contrary, How to Become a Dragon is in many ways an all-ages story: its heavy use of classic themes (and the frequent appearance of ageless/immortal characters) allows it to generally avoid getting pigeon-holed into a specific age demographic, even though the story’s premise of “pass an exam to successfully start your career after years of training” is undeniably targeted at young adults. The series thankfully lacks many of the more grating young adult fiction tropes and cliches, so even though most characters are around their 20s (either in actual age or appearance), I think it’s a perfectly enjoyable and relatable series for 30-somethings and up. The series has very little in terms of sexual content, and while there is some violence it is mostly on the milder side. However suicide does play a major, recurring role in the plot, although it too is presented as if it were part of a Korean fairy tale, which somehow softens the impact. Overall I would give the series a 12+ rating, but it’s probably most enjoyable for a 14+ or 16+ audience.