Trace (manhwa)

Trace (Korean: 트레이스) is a South Korean webtoon series written and illustrated by the manhwa artist Go Yeong-hun, under the pen name "Nasty Cat".^[1][2] The series explores the darker aspects of human nature, including envy, jealousy, and selfishness. Yeong-hun has said he wanted to create a world of heroes with a distinctly Korean identity.^[3]

Trace won first prize and the Netizen's Choice Award at the 10th SICAF International Digital Cartoon Competition in 2006. Go received ten million won (approximately $970 USD at the time).

Since April 2007, the manhwa has been published on Daum, one of South Korea's leading internet portals and home to many popular webtoons.^[1][4]

The story takes place in modern South Korea. About 30 years earlier, unidentified humanoid creatures appeared on Earth and attacked humanity. These monsters, called "Troubles," caused mass destruction and chaos. At the same time, other mutants with supernatural abilities—called "Traces"—were born. Traces are the only ones capable of fighting Troubles, but they are feared and ostracized because many abuse their powers.^[1][5]

The plot focuses on two main characters: Sah Ghang Gwon, a high school student born a Trace who tries to hide his abilities, and Kim Yun-seong, who gained Trace powers in his early 30s. Shortly after Kim Yun-seong acquired his powers, his wife and daughter were taken away for experimentation.

Things You Need to Let Go

This arc follows Ghang Gwon and Tae Eun. Ghang Gwon, taken in by Tae Eun's family as a child, hides the fact that he is a Trace. At night, he hunts Troubles to protect Tae Eun and her father, whom he considers his family. His identity is accidentally revealed at school, and he is reported as a Trace. Forced to leave temporarily, he realizes that his life can never be like that of ordinary people.

Beggar

This arc centers on Kim Yun-seong. After gaining Trace powers, he tries to conceal them. The government discovers his secret and takes his family. He joins a group of Traces to infiltrate the facility where he believes his family is being held.

Rose

This arc tells the story of Morrienoah Jin, a child with the ability to shoot objects from his fingers. He works as an assassin until a girl named Jang Mi visits him and asks for his protection. Jin initially drives her away, afraid of falling in love. Eventually, he admits his feelings and allows himself to love her.

Rebellion

This arc begins with the formation of Trace factions led by Kim Yun-seong and Pierrot. The group, known as the Beggar Group, includes both new and returning characters. After Kim Yun-seong meets a mysterious Trace to enhance his powers, the group launches attacks on research labs across Korea, abducting top scientists and fighting rival Trace factions, including the government-sponsored group Hanjo.

The Last Day Pt.1

The Last Day Pt.2

Outro & Afterwards

Sa Ghang Gwon

Sa Ghang Gwon is born with uncontrollable ice powers that injure his parents. Unable to help him, they abandon him. He survives as a scavenger and loses much of his emotional capacity.

In his first battle with a Trouble, he encases himself in ice to survive and collapses in a park. Han Tae Eun finds him and convinces her father to take him in, calling him her possession. Her family adopts him, and he hides his Trace powers from them out of fear of being abandoned again.

Over the years, he secretly fights Troubles. At school, when a Trouble attacks, Tae Eun begs him not to intervene, but he does. His identity is exposed, and the government forces him to enroll in a Trace school. His goal is to leave the school and return to Tae Eun and her father.

Reserved and antisocial, Ghang Gwon hates being a Trace. He endures bullying without resistance to keep Tae Eun safe. He is deeply protective of her and her father, regarding them as his true family.

Han Tae Eun

Han Tae Eun is known in school as a strong fighter who often resorts to violence over words. She frequently yells at Ghang Gwon.

Her mother was killed by a rogue Trace when Tae Eun was young. She often returned to the site of her mother’s death, where she eventually found Ghang Gwon unconscious. She later discovered his Trace identity and secretly worked to protect it. After the government takes Ghang Gwon away, she vows to become a Trace. She fights Troubles recklessly until she awakens her own Trace powers, gaining immense strength.

Kim Yun-seong

Kim Yun-seong once lived an ideal life with a stable job, a wife, and a daughter. After becoming a Trace, he registers with the government, hoping to do the right thing. Instead, his family is taken to a secret facility for relatives of identified Traces.

When he attempts to visit them, guards drive him away. During this encounter, he meets Jeong Hee Sub, another Trace trying to enter the facility. Together they form a team to infiltrate it. When they finally succeed, they discover their families have already died during experiments.

Morrienoah Jin

Jin is an emotionless Trace who kills people he considers evil, following the belief that "The good should live, the bad should die." After being raised as a killer by Morrie, he becomes a top assassin known as Morrienoah. Considered the perfect killer due to his lack of emotion, his worldview changes when he falls in love with Jang Mi, a girl he was contracted to protect.

• Go Yeong-hun, Trace 1 by Pop Toon on April 15, 2008 ISBN 978-89-93208-03-0
• Go Yeong-hun, Trace 2 by Pop Toon on May 15, 2008 ISBN 89-93208-04-2
• Go Yeong-hun, Trace 3 by Pop Toon on December 15, 2008 ISBN 89-93208-20-4
• Go Yeong-hun, Trace 4 by Pop Toon on July 10, 2009 ISBN 978-89-93208-40-5

• (in Korean) The Trace on Daum
• (in Korean) The manhwa artist's webpage