"A Shoulder To Cry On" by DongMul on Lenzhin Comics / Picturesque
"A Shoulder To Cry On" is one of the Korean BL web dramas that K-Drama fans have been raving about lately. Starring OMEGA X’s YeChan and JaeHan, Shin SiYe, Jeong HoGyun, and Kim DongWon, the drama has been getting praise for the great chemistry between the characters and its impactful message. Based on a webtoon, fans of the BL have become curious about the differences between the "A Shoulder To Cry On" webtoon and BL web drama.
"A Shoulder To Cry On" tells the story of Lee DaYeol (played by OMEGA X's JaeHan), who dreams of becoming an archery master, who encounters Jo TaeHyun (played by OMEGA X's YeChan), who hides his feelings because of past wounds. It's about their blooming romance that walks the line between love and hate.
The webtoon was written by DongMul and is known as "소년을 위로해줘" in Korean. You can read the webtoon in Korean here and in English here.
Although the webtoon and web drama are not exactly the same, none of the differences drastically change the story. However, you might find some of the differences interesting.
Today we'll take a look at the "A Shoulder To Cry On" BL drama and webtoon differences, how they've impacted the story, and come up with theories behind why the differences were made. Here are 6 differences between the two formats.
Note: This article contains spoilers for episodes 1-5 of the "A Shoulder To Cry On" webtoon and the entire web drama. Read at your own risk if you haven't finished the drama yet!
Character Differences
1. The Way DaYeol's Personality and Social Interactions Are Portrayed
"A Shoulder To Cry On" by DongMul on Lenzhin Comics / Picturesque
Detail: In the webtoon, DaYeol is a little bit more confident when it comes to social interactions and less reserved. He is a little more honest with his feelings and straightforward with his actions, too. His character in the webtoon expresses his anger/distaste more obviously than in the drama where he just shows annoyance. In the webtoon, his character storms off when he's angry, points fingers, and generally exclaims more when he's exasperated by TaeHyun.
Whereas in the drama, he is also quite confident but sometimes shows a somewhat awkward or hesitant side of himself - especially in certain social situations. For example, in the webtoon when something happens to him (like a prank or something distasteful), he immediately reacts in a way that shows his displeasure.
Some instances where we can see his personality differences best are in the drama when he gets pranked with the juice. Another is when he called SoYeong SoRa without asking her name first (in the webtoon he admits to not knowing her name and asks what it is first).
"A Shoulder To Cry On" by DongMul on Lenzhin Comics / Picturesque
Impact on the story: There's not much of an impact on the story through this change. His personality is more or less the same, just with minor differences. You could argue though that some scenes in the webtoon wouldn't have happened if his personality was more like the one portrayed in the drama (which is probably why some webtoon scenes weren't included or changed in the drama).
Potential theories for change: The change in his personality seen in the drama might simply be due to the difference in mediums. If JaeHan acted out the character with the same level of reactions and with an equally animated personality, then the web drama would just seem comical because real people don't generally react in such big ways for every single situation.
2. WonKyung's Attitude and the Extent of His Actions
"A Shoulder To Cry On" by DongMul on Lenzhin Comics / Picturesque
Detail: The personality and attitude of the character Jang WonKyung (played by actor Oh JooSeok) in the drama and webtoon are also slightly different. In the webtoon, he's portrayed to be more aggressive. During the scene where he and DaYeol have a confrontation in the school hallway, he interacts with DaYeol differently.
In the drama, he only gets annoyed with the way that DaYeol is speaking to him. This goes hand-in-hand with his general prankster persona in the drama until later when he shows a bit more physical aggression. Whereas, in the webtoon, he goes as far as hitting/shoving DaYeol - presenting himself as a bit of a bully sooner in the story.
Impact on the story: Again, this doesn't have a huge impact on the story besides perhaps changing the way that the viewer thinks of the character.
Potential theories for change: Perhaps showing WonKyung going to the extent of hitting DaYeol in the drama would've changed the focus and tone of the story. Since their interaction in the hallway was in one of the earlier episodes of the series, making him react the same way as in the webtoon would possibly add a bullying theme to the story far too soon, distracting from the main storyline.
Storyline and Plot Detail Differences
3. How the Story Begins/Where We Start the Story
"A Shoulder To Cry On" by DongMul on Lenzhin Comics / "A Shoulder To Cry On" Screenshot
Detail: The web drama starts at a different point from the webtoon. In the drama, we get to know some of DaYeol's backstory and some details about his home and school life before he ends up in the school infirmary. However, in the webtoon, we are immediately placed at the scene of the school infirmary where DaYeol and TaeHyun meet.
Impact on the story: In terms of the webtoon, the storytelling style quickens the pace of the story and gets to the point. We also end up curious about who the characters in the story are which grips us in a different way to want to keep reading and find out their backgrounds. In terms of the drama, by introducing us to DaYeol's world first, we up the stakes of the infirmary scene and its potential consequences.
Potential theories for change: In terms of upping the stakes, the director probably just chose to reveal the information differently for the character's sake. By showing us more of DaYeol's life before the two leads have their meet cute, the audience's sympathy for his character grows first, giving us more attachment to the outcome of the infirmary scene. Because we saw DaYeol's interaction with his dad and his fellow archery athlete, we kind of understand how important archery is to him beforehand.
4. How Quickly TaeHyun Intervenes in the Misunderstanding From the Nurse's Office Incident
"A Shoulder To Cry On" by DongMul on Lenzhin Comics / Picturesque
Detail: TaeHyun's intervention in the lie he tells about what happened in the nurse's office happens at different times. In both mediums, he tells the lie and then enjoys watching DaYeol get in trouble when they end up in the staff room being scolded for what he 'did', but TaeHyun tries to play the situation off at different times to different people.
In the webtoon, TaeHyun already insists that he's okay with what 'happened' and wants to move on from the incident to focus on their studies while they are in the staff room with the school nurse and their homeroom teacher.
However, in the web drama, TaeHyun rides out the lie for a bit longer before trying to diffuse the situation. During their scolding in the staff room by the school nurse and homeroom teacher, TaeHyun simply enjoys watching DaYeol get in trouble and keeps feeding the misunderstanding. He only tries to diffuse the situation later on when he spots DaYeol getting scolded again by his coach (another party added to the adults) outside. TaeHyun swoops into their conversation stating that he wants to move on from the situation and focus on their studies - probably because he feels bad that DaYeol looks so sad and is getting scolded once again.
Impact on the story: This change made in the K-Drama by adding another adult to the situation and having the issue escalate to a point where an external party (the coach) also has to be informed, ups the stakes in the story. It also shows just how big a deal the situation could've ended up becoming as the coach emphasizes what this could do to DaYeol's athletic career. The webtoon goes over the happening quickly, making it feel insignificant.
Potential theories for change: As we said, this ups the stakes for the story and thus adds a dramatic effect which was lacking a bit from the webtoon.
5. What DaYeol and TaeHyun Save Each Other's Phone Numbers As
"A Shoulder To Cry On" by DongMul on Lenzhin Comics / Picturesque
Detail: In the webtoon, TaeHyun says that he'll save DaYeol's number as 'DaYeolI' (read as Da-Yeol-ee which is the addition of the subject particle '이' in Korean) on his phone. Whereas DaYeol saves TaeHyun's number as a Korean swear word which basically translates to 'son of a b****'; he later changes the contact name to just his name 'Jo TaeHyun'.
In the drama, TaeHyun saves DaYeol's number as 'Hamster 🐹'. Whereas DaYeol saves TaeHyun's number as 'Sociopath'.
Interesting but somewhat unrelated fact: In real life, OMEGA X's JaeHan has OMEGA X YeChan's number saved as 'Burger King' (not the brand but because he loves burgers so much). Whereas YeChan has JaeHan saved as 'Kim JaeHan hyung'.* (as of March 2023).
Hyung = older brother in Korean.*
Impact on the story: This also has little to no real impact on the story.
Potential theories for change: The change in the web drama might've just been to make things more interesting or cute. Also, changing DaYeol's contact name for TaeHyun to something more appropriate might've been due to broadcasting restrictions or just to keep the drama's content clean and at a certain level of appropriate.
6. When TaeHyun Gives DaYeol the Script For Their Group Presentation
"A Shoulder To Cry On" by DongMul on Lenzhin Comics / "A Shoulder To Cry On" Screenshot
Detail: In the webtoon, TaeHyun contacts DaYeol before their group presentation, asking him to come over to his house to work on their project. During this visit, TaeHyun shows DaYeol the script and DaYeol gets angry about what it says (the same script that he ends up presenting in the drama). Regardless, of how he feels about the script, he does eventually end up reading it as is anyway.
Whereas, in the drama, DaYeol doesn't get to see the script beforehand and ends up being embarrassed when he reads it for the first time whilst presenting it in class.
"A Shoulder To Cry On" by DongMul on Lenzhin Comics / "A Shoulder To Cry On" Screenshot
Impact on the story: As a result of what happens in the webtoon, they get into a tussle and TaeHyun ends up falling on top of DaYeol on the bed.
This also changes the first time that DaYeol visits TaeHyun's home. In the drama, DaYeol first visits TaeHyun's house when he's been absent from school for a while, and their homeroom teacher asks someone to go check on him.
Potential theories for change: In the webtoon, the writer might've decided to let DaYeol's character see the script first to create a reason for them to tussle and have that somewhat intimate bed scene. In the drama, the director might have wanted to exclude the scene and thus change the way he first reads the script. This might have been to increase the level of humiliation when he presents to the class for a more dramatic effect. It also changes the character significantly. The image we have of DaYeol after he knowingly presents the script, in the webtoon, is of a weaker person who doesn't stand up for himself. However, in the drama, he's just a victim of circumstance.
These are only a few of the web drama and webtoon differences for "A Shoulder To Cry On" that we've spotted so far.
Have you spotted any other differences between the drama and the webtoon for "A Shoulder To Cry On"? How do you think these differences impact the story? Let us know in the comments below!
If you would like to read about more K-Dramas that are different from their webtoons, check out this article.
Webtoon Differences: Comparison Of 22 Webtoon-Based K-Dramas And Their WebtoonKDRAMA STORIES Mar 3, 2023
Here are some other webtoons that are different from their K-Drama:
7 Differences Between "The Heavenly Idol" K-Drama And Webtoon & How They Impact The StoryKDRAMA STORIES Mar 3, 2023
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