Welcome to Room #305!

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Homosexuality is taboo in Korean society. It's very unfortunate, but homosexuality is usually regarded with disgust, or ignored. There are few Korean movies with LGBT themes, and even less tv shows. And while manhwa is a much more flexible medium, there are rarely even any BL or GL works, much less any pieces that have LGBT themes at all.

Welcome to Room #305 is published through Naver Webtoons; it is for the mainstream Korean audience, who are generally homophobic, unlike BL/GL works that target mostly readers familiar with and interested in homosexual relationships. It's unique in that there isn't really any romance centered on a ... homosexual couple. Instead, it is more about educating these South Korean readers on LGBT issues. As a Korean (American now) frustrated with the way queerness is treated in South Korea, it does a great job in clearing up the stereotypes and animosity rooted in our culture.

Welcome to Room #305 is a slice-of-life comedy. While the manhwa generally light-hearted, queerness is treated seriously. The drama and conflict comes from homophobic views against the queer characters. Some of the LGBT themes are played with (like the gay guy's name being "Homo"), but not treated as a joke.

There isn't a big cast, but they are diverse enough to provide entertaining interactions and to progress this manhwa's daring explorations in LGBT themes. Most of the character's developments are focused on queer acceptance, whether they're straight, or not. And even though LGBT themes is the central point of the manhwa, it does have the slice-of-life charm by telling a story about a young, initially homophobic, man and his friends, making of friends, and his mishaps during his university years.

The art is simple and in full color, and well fitting. There really aren't any backgrounds. WANAN (the author) focuses more on the characters, who have cartoony and exaggerated expressions for comic effect. And simple does not mean bad, as the art style is consistent and in proportion; the coloring, solid.

Overall, it is a fun read. And while the dramatic arcs gets drawn out sometimes, it is well done and sadly consistent with the culture this story reflects. As a slice-of-life piece, rather than a message on morality, Welcome to Room #305 is fun and has interesting short stories and gags that allows it to hold the mainstream audience's attention-- probably why it is so well acclaimed and popular, despite its "taboo" focus.