Interview

This author's art style is so beautiful! This story is very bittersweet, compared to Wolf in the House, which is very happy and a little comic. The relationships in Momentum seem much more realistic and unpredictable.
There was an interview with Park Ji Yeon that I found really interesting- if anyone is interested, here is my (very much) shortened translation of it (sorry if I spell the names wrong..I haven't read the english version):

Q. The meaning behind the title?
A. Momentum is when a moving object hits something and changes direction (*I think she might have misunderstood the meaning of the word momentum, but I might be wrong). The characters in "Momentum" are each moving in their own direction, but then they meet people who change the direction they are moving in. They become involved with others who change their lives.

Q. If you could enter the world of "Momentum," which character would you like to be?
A. Of course, Misha. He gets so much inheritance, and his job is his hobby.

Q. If you had to choose a bf from "Momentum," who would it be?
A. My ideal bf would be Eric or Dio. Many people say their ideal is Teo, but personally I think Teo isn't very mature, has a lot of prejudices, and is too inflexible.

Q. Where did you get info about SM?
A. Magazines. Also I saw Irene Adler from the drama, "Sherlock," and with her in mind, I searched online. There are English websites advertising dominatrix services with very detailed information.

Q. It seems "Momentum" does not adhere to common cliches in the bl genre. For example, treating the uke as feminine, or the uke being embarrassed or ashamed of being on bottom.
A. Yes, there has been that kind of trend in bl. But now times have changed, and the world of homosexual relationships is no longer taboo. My aim was to describe romance between two individuals while drawing erotic homosexual scenes. I didn't want to waste time on exploring the question of how a man comes to love a man. There is so much more in what comes *after* they meet, and the dynamics and tension within a relationship. In "Momentum" there's no dilemma of "Should I date him or not?" Other romances follow the pattern of "dragging out a love/hate relationship and finally they become an official couple."

Q. Is there a reason why most of the stories are set in foreign countries?
A. Actually, that wasn't the original plan; originally, I was going to make only "Take 8" take place outside of Korea. During the scenario phase, we changed more and more scenes to take place in foreign countries, and eventually I just decided not to set it in Korea at all.

Q. In "Phantom" I could sense your interest in F1. It was also the longest story.
A. I am very interested in racing. I worked with the Grand Prix Korea for a year, and was able to see close-up what goes on.

Q. What kind of work did you do during that year?
A. I worked with the PR team to make the drawings on the cars. I saw the car being put together, and was able to see how the racers live.

Q. Japanese fanfic and Western fanfic have very different writing styles. I think this is due to the different types of works the creators look to for inspiration. I am curious as to what works you looked at for inspiration when writing "Momentum."
A. There wasn't any one work that made me think "This is it!" But I like romance movies. I especially like "Atonement," "Engagement," and "The English Patient." The way these movies depict romance is similar to the romance in "Momentum."
In Korean dramas, two characters meet through a trivial incident, bicker (push and pull), and finally begin a serious relationship. I believe this kind of relationship isn't possible once you're in your thirties. My target age group for readers of "Momentum" was higher than the usual target age group in bl. I have watched a lot of Western movies revolving around the relationships that older people have, and I wonder if that has influenced my writing.

Q. "M's Study" seems to have been influenced by the works of Woody Allen.
A. That's correct. I got my inspiration from "Vicky Cristina Barcelona."

Q. Readers seem to either love or hate "M's Study." There are quite a lot of people who didn't like the story.
A. In bl we often see the ideal romance, where two people love each other, and no-one and nothing can disrupt their relationship. Even if one of them behaves wrongly, the other must love him unconditionally. In "M's Study" I wanted to eliminate that certainty. No matter how long two people have had a relationship, the stability can be threatened at any time, and a lover can easily become a stranger. There was a lot of opposition to my portrayal of such a relationship. The thing readers find hardest to accept is that the characters' feelings change.

Q. Did you expect this kind of reaction?
A. I did, because this is quite different from the typical love triangle where one competitor clearly loses.

Q. Even if the characters were changed to male/female couples, there would be no awkardness in the script.
A. In reality also, I don't think there is a difference in the interactions within m/m versus m/f relationships.

Q. It feels like female characters were put into "Phantom" to make up for the lack of female characters in "Momentum" overall.
A. That's correct. I felt that more female characters were needed. Ultimately, because this is bl, I couldn't place a female in the position of main character.