[The Hounds of Sisyphus] Discussion on Korean tags

‼️This is going to be a long post explaining the tags for “The Hounds of Sisyphus”‼️

I would like to talk about the debate surrounding the tags for “The Hounds of Sisyphus”, particularly those appearing on the Lezhin KO platform which, in the end, is the original platform this work is being published in.

I’ve seen a lot of uncertainty regarding what kind of character (flag) Guwon will be, and it’s true that the story is still very new and it’s difficult to predict what will happen, but with these tags and by referencing other works with similar tags, we can get an idea of the possible personality his going to end with.

I’m writing this post because I’m studying Korean and part of my strategy for vocabulary mining is translating these types of tags, not just literally, but by looking for the context and the different nuances that a single word or set of words can have. This often isn’t possible just by using automatic translation in apps or with Google Translate.

Tags referring to Guwon:

• 광공 🏴: Crazy / demented / unstable top. These types of tops tend to be extremely possessive and obsessive, and can even reach the point of being violent towards their bottoms (NOT ALWAYS). They can be characterized as controlling and manipulative. Think of a yandere type, since yanderes don’t always go to extremes, but the qualities are there. Note: Many black flags share this tag 💔
• 대형견공 🐶🌻: This is a term that literally means “Large dog top”. It refers to a golden retriever type of top. They are those giant tops (although it can apply to characters who aren’t that big) that scare everyone but are complete sweethearts on the inside, always trailing after their bottom, obsessed with them and GENERALLY always treating them well, even if they are completely different with the rest of the world.

As you can see, these two tags fall into different extremes. On one hand, we have a potentially dangerous, obsessive, and possessive top, but on the other, there’s a top who would die for his bottom, having a more “cute” obsession. Had he only had the first tag, one might think Guwon could even become a black flag, but the other tag balances it a bit, so I hope we can at least avoid that hahaha. But even so, it’s possible he won’t be completely green, which makes sense if we consider the context in which the story unfolds. I know the last chapter made him seem like someone “despicable”, but we really don’t know yet if what he did was directly related to Jinwoo or if it’s simply something that hasn’t been explained yet. Many have mentioned it could have something to do with his condition as a “worm”, because at this point it’s more than clear he isn’t human.

Tags referring to Jinwoo:

• 단정수: This can be translated as a tidy / neat / “well-behaved” bottom. Basically a bottom with good manners.
• 다정수: Kind-hearted / affectionate / gentle bottom. Which he has proven to be so far, if we ignore when he tried to kill Guwon while he was sleeping.

Nothing else is specified about Jinwoo, so there will surely be some surprise regarding his past and how he acts while asleep. But in general, the tags align with how he has been portrayed so far. An honest, kind, respectful character with a lot of affection to give 💚

General tags for the work:

• 아포칼립스 🧟: Apocalypse, not much to say.
• 짝사랑 💔: The tag that has many in a state of panic: Unrequited love / One-sided love.

Something I want to mention about this tag is that it doesn’t necessarily mean the protagonists will never end up together, but it’s most likely that the relationship will have many “bumps” and difficulties that will prevent them from becoming official until very late in the story. Why do I say this? Because the author’s other very well-known work had the same tag. “Dangerous Convenience Store” had its two characters completely in love with each other but as we all know, making the relationship official took almost the entire story. This means both characters might show affection in one way or another, but it will definitely be a complicated relationship.

On Lezhin and other platforms, there aren’t many works (or they haven’t been translated yet, are very new, etc.) that fit the two tags Guwon has (which makes him an uncommon character type in itself). But to give you an idea of the personality type each tag refers to, I made two collages with some famous characters.

But ultimately, only the author knows who Guwon (and Jinwoo) really is and how she will end up developing his character, so we’ll have to be patient and try not to get too ahead of ourselves, although making theories is always fun 😋.

I needed to get all of this out of my head, so whoever read everything from beginning to end, thank you very much! 🥰

Sources for unhinged tops collage (from top to bottom / left to right):

• Painter of the Night
• Codename Anastasia
• Roses & Champagne
• Payback
• Dark Fall
• Toxin
• The Heart of the Lotus
• The Rotten

Sources for golden retriever tops collage (from top to bottom / left to right):

• Romantic Captain Darling
• Taming the Tiger
• Bongchon Bride
• XXX Buddy
• Honey Bear
• Under the Green Light
• Love so Pure
• Is Just a Dream, Right?