"Paradise on Earth" is a webtoon, a Korean comic in the genres of zombie, horror, mystery, and action. This is such an amazing and refreshing take on a zombie apocalypse. The story begins with a love reality show where boys and girls participate to find the true love of their life and can win up to 400 thousand USD! Our female protagonist is called Oreum. She decided to participate in this reality show because of her sick sister, whose name is Nareum. Her sister Nareum needs transplant surgery in order to get well. But that surgery is going to cost a lot, which Oreum can't afford. She found a way through the reality show—the final couples of the show are going to win a big amount of prize money, and with that money, Oreum can get her younger sister treated.
The show follows eight men and eight women. Everyone is going to live on Paradise Island for a month to find the perfect match. Basically, you have to make it through the final pairing and pass a test to prove your love is true. After that, the contestants can leave the island with their prize money and their new lover. In the beginning, it is seen how hard everyone is trying to cooperate with each other. They are all trying to get votes from each other so that they can stay on the show until the end.
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Oreum was also trying to be with two boys. One of them is called Geumil Ju, who is strong and tall; his head is shaved but he looks attractive. He likes to take the lead, and Oreum is giving him the opportunity to do things for her, which made Geumil feel flattered toward Oreum. Another guy is called Seonu Ban. He has black hair and looks innocent. He's the type who is really shy and is drawn to bold, direct approaches. Oreum figured this out and continued to impress him. In this way, Oreum got votes from two guys, which kept her safe.
Oreum was feeling bad for toying with the boys, but she was helpless that she has to do it because of her sick sister, who was waiting for her. There were a few female participants who did not receive any votes. They were given a separate table to sit at. They were feeling left out and started to gossip about a girl whose name is Gyeongseo, who is an idol. They were also spreading the fact that Oreum was openly flirting with the guys. Gyeongseo came over and took a stand for Oreum, which stopped the other girls from gossiping as they were confronted. Later on, it is seen that Gyeongseo was being forced by her ex, and Oreum stepped into the room to help her. Even though Oreum helped her, Gyeongseo did not seem to be grateful.
On the other side of the story, it is seen that birds on the seashore were acting strange as they were facing some kind of sickness. Also, the sailors catching fish found some fish with red eyes, which looked scary, and on the boat, a guy was acting strange. Later, we see that the show staff were senseless in the camera room, and a lady staff member who takes care of the phones was seen to feel itchy on her skin. Oreum was looking for the lady staff member, and she saw that staff was shoving her head into the ice. Later on, that staff lady jumped into the pool, and her death was confirmed. But after a while, she was standing, and it turned out that she had become a zombie and started to attack whoever was near her. This shocked Oreum as her dreams began to shatter.
The webtoon is still ongoing; you can read it now and catch up with the storyline. I can guarantee that you won't regret reading this because it's kind of like a fresh plot. I am not a big fan of the art style—the lack of noses bothered me a lot in the beginning, but I got used to it. Well, each chapter gets better and better, so I will recommend reading a couple of chapters before deciding whether you want to continue it or not. In terms of romance, it is minimal, but it doesn't matter because the story is so gripping. I am sad because I found this to read so soon, and now I need to wait for the new chapters.
The female lead is very smart and reliable. Out of all the characters, I really like her the most. She notices every small detail, which truly impresses me. I have always preferred strong female leads because when they are dumb, I don't feel the necessity to move on with the storyline, even though the plot is good. I really like to see the smart and independent ones. Each female and male character is very attractive—no one is less than another. I can't guess what will happen next in the story because the concept is unique and unexpected things keep happening.
Ratings: 10/10
The images are from chapter 1,2,3,4,5 available on webtoon. The images are edited with Canva.
