Naver Webtoon is launching “Maengjong,” a prequel spinoff based on the South Korean occult thriller “Exhuma.” Multiple outlets report that the series is set to arrive on the Naver Webtoon platform at the end of May, expanding the film’s supernatural universe into the digital comic format. “Maengjong” is positioned as a story that takes place before the events of the 2024 movie, focusing on the teenage years of Hwa-rim and Bong-gil, the shamans at the center of the film’s narrative. The webtoon examines how their partnership begins and how key formative experiences shape the duo’s later actions. One synopsis describes Hwa-rim as a high school student who has been living a quiet, secluded life after a childhood connection to a snake deity named Jin. Her routine changes when she encounters Bong-gil at school, after which the story moves into a chain of supernatural events. The film “Exhuma” is cited as having drawn more than 10 million viewers and becoming one of Korea’s major box office successes, and the webtoon release coincides with a seasonal period when demand for horror and supernatural thrillers tends to increase.