When most American audiences think of Korean cinema, they think of Bong Joon-Ho's Oscar-winning 2019 film, Parasite. But in 2014, A Hard Day had a similar effect on movie fans in Korea. Based on the original film written and directed by Kim Seong-hun, A Hard Day was adapted into a webcomic by the publisher Manta Comics with Semi Kim as the producer, Gwanyu Kim in charge of the adaptation, and Manta's studio handling the art duties.
One of the biggest differences between the webcomic and the film is that, in the comic, the protagonist is a woman. A Hard Day follows detective Gunsoo Ko who kills a man in a hit-and-run while driving under the influence. She considers calling the police but decides against it at the thought of leaving her daughter by herself. In an attempt to cover her tracks, the detective hides the body inside her mother's casket. Little does she know her crime did not go unnoticed. Soon a stranger, who knows exactly what she did, tracks her down.
Much of the suspense is rooted in the characters' expressions, in particular, their eyes. In the first chapter, there's a close-up of Gunsoo's eyes as she's driving, and in her dilated pupils, the readers can see a shadow of what appears to be a person coming straight at her. It's an ingenious shot foreshadowing the event that will change her life. The shot of the dead man's face is paralyzing, freezing Gunsoo and the reader in place. Readers are thrust into the scene through the close-up shots of Gunsoo, perfectly conveying the stress and panic that she's feeling, knowing that one wrong move will expose her. Oftentimes, the artist chooses not to put any detail into her eyes and instead uses a stark contrast of red and black, highlighting how Gunsoo simultaneously turns into the hunted and the hunter in a single moment.
It can be challenging to show tension in a webcomic compared to a film. Luckily, the suspense in A Hard Day appears in the lettering and coloring as well as the line art. Readers can practically feel Gunsoo's heart beating harder and louder thanks to the sound effects growing larger with each repetition, interspersed with shots of Gunsoo's eyes as he searches for the murderer. The colors are brutal, harsh, and unforgiving in scenes where the artist primarily uses black and red to symbolize the metaphorical blood on Gunsoo's hands and her descent into darkness.
Gunsoo is far from a likable protagonist. She's brash, prone to violence, and corrupt, but there are layers of complexity to her character. She's a single mother with a daughter she loves very much. She recently lost her own mother, which explains why she has gone to such lengths to hide what she has done. Gunsoo's mother just left her, and she doesn't want to do the same to her daughter, Mina. The art team uses soft, warm colors to symbolize Gunsoo's love for her daughter. Mina is Gunsoo's light and reason for living. The choice to feature the main character as a single mother makes it a more emotionally poignant and grounded story.
As Gunsoo's desperation grows stronger, her motivation shifts. While much of her actions are the result of her desire to stay out of jail for her daughter's sake, it slowly becomes more about self-preservation. Gunsoo becomes increasingly paranoid. While her downward spiral makes sense, the pacing feels a little rushed. Although the story does attempt to bring it back to her daughter, it feels like an afterthought.
A Hard Day is advertised as an action thriller, but there aren't many action sequences in the first eight chapters, which set up the eventual conflict between Gunsoo and the mysterious stranger who witnessed her crime. However, what it lacks in action, it makes up for in suspense, setting up the remaining chapters to be a thrilling read.