[magazine kave]=Reporter Lee Tae-rim
On the way home from work, inside the subway. The only joy in a mundane life is a B-grade disaster web novel that has been serialized for over 10 years. As always, the protagonist dies and regresses, dies and regresses again, in a predictable plot. But on the very day the novel finally concludes, the world actually begins to end. The electronic display turns off, the train stops, and a small fairy-like being declares, "From now on, this Earth will be operated according to the scenario." Naver Webtoon's 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint' begins with a scene that turns an ordinary subway car into the end of the world. It feels like a scene from 〈Train to Busan〉, but instead of zombies, a cosmic-scale reality show begins.
Kim Dok-ja is an ordinary office worker. Diligent but with a faint presence, one of the replaceable personnel at work. The kind of person you realize is missing from the year-end party much later. The only special thing about him is that he is the only reader who completed the bizarre web novel 'Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World' (abbreviated as TWSA), which no one else read to the end. Reading all 3,149 chapters over 10 years without missing a single one is, in a way, a level of dedication that even the 〈One Piece〉 fandom can't match.
But then, the 'Dokkaebi Broadcast' that appeared only in the work manifests in reality, and the first disaster scenario from the novel is executed as is. A 'participant information' window appears above the heads of the people in the subway car, and a game where failure means death is forcibly started. It's not that they're trapped in a game like 〈Sword Art Online〉, but reality itself has become a game. And Kim Dok-ja realizes, "This plot... it's exactly like the novel I read."
From then on, the true meaning of the title 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint' is revealed. A person who knows the future developments before anyone else. Kim Dok-ja knows where and what the novel's protagonist Yoo Joong-hyuk will be doing, in what order the scenarios will unfold, who will survive, and who will be eliminated here. In game terms, he's like a max-level strategy YouTuber hidden among newbies. But what he knows is only the 'skeleton of the story', and the actual reality deviates slightly. The butterfly effect operates in real-time. He must continually choose. Should he let things flow as he knows, or intervene as if rewriting a spoiled episode that the director has read?
Cosmic Reality Show, Earth Edition Begins
The 'scenario' broadcast by the dokkaebi is a kind of survival game and show. It's like expanding 〈The Hunger Games〉 or 〈Battle Royale〉 to a cosmic scale. Participants choose a 'constellation' to sponsor them, receiving support. Constellations named after ancient myths, heroes, or monsters sponsor interesting participants' fights and shoot coins in return. It seems like a Twitch sponsorship system applied to a mythological worldview, but it's actually more brutal. Here, a "haha so fun" comment becomes a lifeline.
Participants use those coins to buy skills and enhance traits. As the scenario progresses, the rules become more brutal and complex. The entire city becomes a game board beyond the train car, and the board opens on a national and global scale. It's like transplanting the gym system of 〈Pokémon〉 into a disaster survival setting. However, within this vast structure, Kim Dok-ja's goal is simple and clear. To change the novel's ending and save as many of the characters he liked as possible. It's a kind of "all character rescue ending" route strategy.
In the process, we meet various characters. Yoo Joong-hyuk, the 'real protagonist' of the novel with monstrous combat power. A character upgraded to a hardcore version of Subaru from 〈Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World〉, worn out by hundreds of regressions. Yoo Sang-ah, a senior in reality and a colleague in the scenario, Han Soo-young, a writer who always sneers but loves narratives more than anyone, and many readers and participants.
At first, they find Kim Dok-ja strange. A person who knows too much, appears at odd timings, and sometimes recites someone's lines in advance. Like a friend who spoils a movie by saying "Oh, that person dies here," but what if it actually saves lives? Kim Dok-ja endures such gazes and continues to use the 'future only the reader knows' to turn the tables. Sometimes using spoilers as a weapon, sometimes throwing intentional variables.
However, as the story progresses, one fact becomes increasingly clear. Knowing everything is closer to a curse than a blessing. Like the weight Dumbledore felt in 〈Harry Potter〉. Choices made with knowledge of the future lead to new catastrophes, and variables not in the novel keep emerging. Yoo Joong-hyuk's regression was a repetition of tragedy even in the original setting. Although Kim Dok-ja's intervention changes the nature of that tragedy, the structure where someone else bears the wounds doesn't easily change. Like Murphy resenting her father in 〈Interstellar〉, well-intentioned interventions are not always welcomed. Readers begin to question, "Was Kim Dok-ja's intervention really the best for everyone?"
The Pinnacle of Meta-Narrative, or Genre Self-Reflection
'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint' is fundamentally a meta-narrative. It's a structure where the reader enters the story and simultaneously views the characters, the author, and the narrative. Kim Dok-ja is not just an isekai protagonist but closer to a symbol of "someone who has read the story to the end." For readers familiar with numerous regression stories, game system stories, and disaster survival stories, familiar clichés are scattered throughout the work, but this webtoon twists them from a step back instead of following them directly.
Take the 'tutorial' stage, for example. Here, the work views the stage from the perspective of "someone who knows the tutorial is a tutorial." Like the difference between someone who genuinely plays the tutorial mission when first installing StarCraft and someone who has already played dozens of rounds. This subtle difference in perspective elevates the entire narrative to a completely different dimension.
The world-building is also meticulous. Concepts like scenarios, dokkaebi, constellations, channels, coins, and probabilities actively borrow the language of games and streaming platforms. The survival of participants becomes 'content', and the constellations of distant space are both viewers and sponsors. They shoot more coins at those who fight interestingly and withdraw their gaze if it's boring. This structure not only serves as a simple setting but also precisely overlaps with the real content consumption structure.
Only popular stories survive, and unnoticed narratives and characters are easily forgotten. The way YouTube algorithms work, the mechanism by which Netflix kills series, the process by which low-viewed works quietly disappear from webtoon platforms—'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint' uses this mechanism as a genre device while subtly aiming the arrow of criticism. "How cruel are the existence of readers and viewers, after all." The question that 〈Black Mirror〉 asked with technology, this webtoon poses with narrative.
Characters Are the Narrative
Characters are also a major asset of this work. Kim Dok-ja is far from the typical 'good protagonist'. He calculates, hides, and lies if necessary. He's not as ruthless as Light from 〈Death Note〉, but like Holmes from 〈Sherlock〉, he knows how to use emotions as a tool. However, he's not cold-blooded. He's someone who wants to protect the story he loved in reality, and feels a sense of responsibility as a reader who has read the story to the end. It's like the heart of people who can't stand their favorite character dying and write fanfiction.
Yoo Joong-hyuk stands on the opposite side. A typical regression story protagonist worn out by hundreds, thousands of regressions, but slowly begins to see other choices due to Kim Dok-ja's intervention. Their relationship is not just colleagues or rivals, but closer to "co-authors" who cannot exist without each other's narratives. Like Frodo and Sam from 〈The Lord of the Rings〉, the story is not complete with just one of them.
Han Soo-young adds another layer. As the actual author of the novel 'TWSA' and a participant in the scenario, she embodies the triangular relationship of author, reader, and character. The feelings of an author watching their created character move in reality are embodied in this character.
Whose Bookshelf Should It Be On?
Anyone who has read web novels or webtoons for a long time can almost certainly enjoy it. The more familiar you are with the grammar of regression stories, game system stories, and munchkin fantasies, the better you can see where this work follows tradition and where it twists it. There are constant moments of "Oh, they're making this kind of meta joke here." Just as you need to know the original to fully enjoy 〈Shrek〉's parody of Disney princess stories.
Also, I recommend it to readers who want to reflect on their attitude towards consuming stories at least once. We always scroll down, watching someone's life and tears, and comment "I'm curious about the next episodeㅠㅠ." We like, sponsor, and sometimes leave malicious comments. 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint' pushes that perspective to the end, drawing the reader into a pillar of the narrative. The question "What kind of reader are you?" is hidden throughout the work.
After closing the last page, there's a high chance you'll view other webtoons or novels with a slightly different mindset than before. Just as you can't watch reality shows the same way after watching 〈The Truman Show〉.
Finally, I want to offer this story to those who feel their life "seems to flow only according to a script written by someone else." Commute-lunch-commute-Netflix-sleep. The loop from Monday to Friday. The checklist of life that seems predetermined by someone. Kim Dok-ja starts as someone who knows the story written by others better than anyone, but eventually moves towards rewriting that story. Of course, he has to endure tremendous wounds and losses in return. There's no free ride.
Following this process, you might think, "Who is the reader of my life? And when can I start writing my own story?" 'Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint' leaves that question lingering in your mind for a long time without forcing it.
Like the time you walk aimlessly after watching a good movie. If you need that kind of story, this webtoon will surely leave a long-lasting impression. And the next time you take the subway, you might suddenly think, "What if the scenario starts in this car right now?" At that moment, you will already be a reader like Kim Dok-ja.