Yen Press’ Your Letter Manhwa Made Me Cry 

When I heard about Yen Press’ Ize Press manhwa Your Letter, I was a bit shocked to see the Hyeon A Cho comic is one completely sealed in plastic wrap. Given what that tends to mean, I was like, “Wait, what am I about to read?” However, there’s a good reason for it, and one which I won’t spoil for those who work their way to the end. However, it is as touching as the story itself is. So much so that once I passed the 180 page mark, I was ugly crying (happily) over the situation.

Editor’s Note: There will be no spoilers for the manhwa Your Letter from Ize Press comics below.

Sori Lee couldn’t just mind her own business. This is one of those situations when that is a good thing. When a girl in her class named Jimin is being severely bullied, Sori speaks up. However, while that does help, it doesn’t help her. Because now she’s a target as well. When Jimin decides to transfer schools as a result of the harassment, Sori does as well. So even though she made it into a private school, she’s heading back to the public one she would have attended back home. The PTSD from the trauma she endured is hanging over her, so much so that she doesn’t get to make a good impression in her new class. 

A letter from a stranger saves her. Underneath her desk she finds a note taped to it from someone named Hoyeon Jung with a seating chart for the class, map of the school, and promise of more letters. That is, if Sori is willing to open herself up and go look for them. 

And so, we get this wonderful story of discovery. Sori is gradually learning more about the school and people around her as she goes on this scavenger hunt for letters. Because she’s so focused on finding which one is next and learning more about the person who sent them, she’s not caught up in her own head and worrying. She’s connecting and making friends. The developments are often so positive and moving, that I just couldn’t get over each one. I’d get choked up.

This is especially so once we get to Dongsoon’s part of the tale. He was in a similar situation as Jimin was. Once Sori meets him while searching for letters, she learns that Hoyeon was to him what she was to Jimin. We get a glimpse at his past and how this person who cared enough to create this elaborate scavenger hunt also helped him so much as well. In so doing, we get another person who takes part in the journey, as one of the letters in the chain is for him as well. (It’s another tearjerker moment!) And so, we see two people come together and connect, form a relationship, and recover from their pasts.

What got to me and left me ugly crying, and perhaps might do so for others, is seeing how much Sori both has and hasn’t changed. She’s still that person who won’t stand down. She’ll step up for others. She’ll be there for them. She wants to connect and assist others. Even if the consequences could be dire. Even if things will turn out poorly. Your Letter gives us a chance to see her recovery throughout the manhwa, then watch as that growth and development allows her to still be the good person she is for people she cares about later in the comic. 

Of course, it’s the ending of the Your Letter manhwa that really got me, as you’d expect from such a dramatic comic. As we get into the final fourth, there’s so much growth and so much development. I was honestly concerned the final secret and twist would have left me heartbroken. However, like during much of the adventure before it, only happy tears were shed.

The Your Letter manhwa is available Yen Press as of July 23, 2024, via the Ize Press label.