History of “Lout of Count’s Family”
This compilation lists all real-life events related to the Korean novel, 백작가의 망나니가 되었다 (Lout of Count’s Family), in chronological order, but limited to the Korean and English-reading audiences.
The novel was first released as a free-to-read series on Munpia, a Korean web novel platform, under the title, 백작가의 망나니가 되었다 (I Became the Trash of the Count’s Family) by the author, Yoo Ryeo Han, under the Korean publisher, Chungeoram. It had a Mon-Sat release schedule of 6 chapters per week.
The novel became a pay-to-read series, owing to its popularity, as announced by the author on May 25. Its first cover illustration featured Cale and Raon.
Image 1. The first cover illustration of the novel.
The novel won both the Grand Prize and the Popularity Award at the 4th Korean Web Novel Contest co-hosted by Munpia and the Korean Popular Literature Writers Association. The author received a total of 105 million KRW (~$76,000), a plaque, and other special benefits.
Image 2. Yoo Ryeo Han (right) posing for the Grand Prize winner photo. The old woman in the left is either the author's relative or a contest holder representative.
“When I first started writing, it was a very difficult time for me, both physically and mentally, so when I heard about this contest, I decided to participate,” said Yoo Ryeo Han, the author of “I Became the Trash of the Count’s Family”, the grand prize-winning story, ”I won a great prize through this contest and it was a turning point in my life. I am grateful to Munpia for providing such a great opportunity.”
Source:
Munpia. (2018, July 31). Munpia Holds the 4th South Korean Web Novel Contest Award Ceremony. NewsWire.co.kr.https://www.newswire.co.kr/newsRead.php?no=873212
The novel was serialized on Naver Series, a Korean web novel platform.
WuxiaWorld, an English web novel translation publisher, began an English fan translation of the novel under the title “Trash of the Count’s Family” with MiracleRifle as the translator.
The novel was serialized on RIDI, a Korean web novel and ebook publisher.
The novel was serialized on KakaoPage, a Korean web novel platform.
The author announced a temporary hiatus because her mother had an accident, so she had to take care of her mother who would be undergoing surgery.
The novel was serialized on Joara, a Korean web novel platform.
The author announced a temporary change of the release schedule from 6 chapters per week (Mon-Sat) to 5 chapters per week (Mon-Fri) for 3 weeks. This was because she wanted to devote more time to taking care of her mother whose surgery went well. She also thanked her readers who left well wishes for her and her mother.
The author announced a 1-day hiatus because she had to take care of her mother’s hospital paperwork and stuff.
The author announced a 1-day hiatus because she caught a cold. She also wished her fans a Happy New Year.
The author announced a temporary change of the release schedule from 6 chapters per week (Mon-Sat) to 5 chapters per week (Mon-Fri) for the next 2-3 months. She stated it was because of a temporary change in her work environment.
The author posted a brief character profile on Munpia.
Link: https://novel.munpia.com/113612/page/1/neSrl/2290020
The author announced that she would maintain the 5 chapters per week release schedule. She said that her mother’s full recovery and rehabilitation kept getting delayed, and there were also some personal matters, so she needed 2 days off a week.
The author announced a 1-day hiatus because of health reasons.
The author announced a 5-day hiatus because of headache and fever. She went to the hospital to get herself checked, and was diagnosed with meningitis.
The release schedule was permanently changed from 6 chapters per week (Mon-Sat) to 5 chapters per week (Mon-Fri). The author said that she wanted to improve her health as the previous release schedule tired her out.
The author announced a 1-day hiatus because of health reasons.
The author announced a 4-day hiatus because of health reasons.
The author announced a 3-day hiatus because of personal reasons and body aches.
The 2nd cover illustration of the novel was released, featuring Cale, Choi Han, Raon, Ohn, and Hong.
Image 3. The second cover illustration of the novel.
The author greeted her readers a happy new year, and also joked about her wrong estimation of the novel ending soon in 500 chapters.
The author posted a note in celebration of the novel’s 500th chapter. She answered a few fan questions, and insisted that her dream was not to be a slacker.
The author announced a 1-day hiatus because of a stomach ache. She also greeted her readers who recently celebrated the Lunar New Year holiday.
The author announced a 1-day hiatus because of health reasons.
The author announced a 1-day hiatus because of difficulty in writing. She said that she was suffering from pain in her lower back, wrist, and fingers, making it hard for her to type on her right hand.
The author announced a 5-day hiatus because of health reasons.
The author announced a month-long hiatus because of family circumstances, which left her in not a good mood for writing.
The author announced a 1-month hiatus because of family circumstances. She stated that one of her family members was sick, and this was a very long-term battle, so she wanted to stay by their side until they had fully recovered.
The release schedule was permanently changed from 5 chapters per week (Mon-Fri) to 3 chapters per week (MWF). This was in relation to her sick family member’s situation last June 29.
Copin Comics, a Korean webtoon publisher and studio, first announced its webtoon adaptation of the novel.
Season 1 of the webtoon adaptation of the novel was released on KakaoPage and Copin Comics’s own website, with PAN4 as the artist.
The official English title, “Lout of Count’s Family”, made its first appearance in the event prizes given by RIDI. These prizes were stickers and cell phone ring holders featuring Raon, Ohn, and Hong. One needed to purchase 30,000 KRW worth of chapters to qualify for the event.
Image 4. The stickers and cell phone ring holders given in the event.
WuxiaWorld announced that it would cease its fan translations of the novel because the author herself turned down their offer to officially translate the novel in English, despite the fact that WuxiaWorld and Chungeoram were in the middle of negotiations.
Eat Apple Pies, a fan translation site, continued the English fan translation of the novel, with permission from MiracleRifle to host in their site the already-translated chapters that were in WuxiaWorld.
Adar Terra, a personal blog, began posting English chapter summaries of the novel starting from Part 1 Chapter 630.
Copin Comics released the official English translation of the webtoon adaptation under the title, “Lout of Count’s Family” on its English website.
The author announced a 1-day hiatus because of personal reasons.
The novel won 2nd place in the 2020 Best Awards of Munpia.
Link: https://www.munpia.com/page/bestawards2020f
The author announced a month-long hiatus because of family, health, and personal reasons.
TappyToon, an English webtoon publisher, also released the official English translation of the webtoon adaptation on their website.
The author announced a 1-day hiatus because of personal reasons.
The author announced a 1-day hiatus because of personal reasons.
The 3rd cover illustration was released for the novel, featuring Cale and Kim Rok Soo.
Image 5. The third cover illustration of the novel.
Season 1 of the webtoon adaptation of the novel ended.
The author posted a note in celebration of the novel’s 700th chapter. She also hinted that she was working on a paperback version of the novel.
COWON started a crowdfunding event on Tumblbug, a Korean crowdfunding platform, for a Korean mobile game adaptation of the novel, with the game title of “Plop”. Various official merchandise could also be obtained, depending on which item set the sponsor would purchase. Merchandise included in-game coupons and items, stickers, postcards, and acrylic stands.
Image 6. Preview of the mobile game adaptation.
Image 7. Acrylic stands of Alberu, Cale, and Choi Han given to sponsors who sponsored more than 65,000 KRW ($47.10).
Link: https://tumblbug.com/plop_story
The author announced a 3-day hiatus because of health reasons.
The crowdfunding event ended with 376 sponsors, raising 33,763,000 KRW (~$25,500) and surpassing its funding goal of 20,000,000 KRW.
Season 2 of the webtoon adaptation of the novel began.
The author announced a 4-day hiatus because she lost her laptop while outside and spent her time looking for it. Fortunately, she recovered her laptop back.
The Korean mobile game “Plop” was released by COWON. It followed a Visual Novel (VN) approach with dating simulation elements. Players could select different stories to play with, and these stories were mobile game adaptations of popular Korean novels. Lout of Count’s Family was one of the stories a player could select. Plop could only be downloaded on QooApp, and was Korean-only.
Part 1 of the novel ended at Chapter 776. It was also announced that 7 side stories would be released at the end of every month, and Part 2 of the novel would begin on July 1, 2022.
The 1st of 7 side stories of the novel was released.
The novel won the Grand Prize in the Fantasy Web Novel category at the 2021 RIDI Web Novel Awards.
Link: https://ridibooks.com/event/37133
An English version of the mobile game “Plop” was released under the title, “IFyou:episodes-love stories”, by PIER Corporation. The English mobile game adaptation of the novel could be played if one selected the “Lout of Count’s Family” story.
Image 8. Promotional image of the game showing the multiple stories one could play with.
Pocket Comics, an English webtoon publisher, released the official English translation of the webtoon adaptation on their website.
Bilibili Comics, an English webtoon publisher, released the official English translation of the webtoon adaptation on their website.
A special side story was released to celebrate the 4th anniversary of the novel’s serialization.
Chungeoram announced a crowdfunding event for the Korean hardcover books of the novel, beginning on June 13 and covering Part 1 Chapters 1-200 in 5 volumes.
Link: https://blog.naver.com/chungeoram_book/222726296248
The crowdfunding event began on Tumblbug. Various official merchandise could also be obtained, depending on which item set the sponsor would purchase. Merchandise included posters, postcards, washi tapes, etc.
Image 9. Preview of the hardcover versions of the novel, and two posters featuring Cale and Choi Han.
Link: https://tumblbug.com/henituse
Part 2 of the novel began.
The crowdfunding event ended with 4,785 sponsors, raising 788,666,000 KRW (~$596,000) and surpassing its funding goal of 15,000,000 KRW.
Copin Comics renamed itself as Terapin Studios. Their English branch continued to be called Copin Comics.
Season 2 of the webtoon adaptation of the novel ended.
Sponsors of the crowdfunding event began to receive their hardcover books and official merchandise.
Copin Comics, the English branch of Terapin Studios, announced that it would be shut down by November 30. The official English translation of the webtoon adaptation would be continued by TappyToons.
Copin Comics officially shut down. Terapin Studios continued its service as the Korean webtoon publisher and studio for the webtoon adaptation of the novel.
The author announced a week-long hiatus because of health reasons.
Plop, the Korean mobile game adaptation of the novel, was terminated.
LaLatoon, an English webtoon publisher, released the official English translation of the webtoon adaptation on their website.
The author announced an almost 2-weeks long hiatus because of personal reasons.
IFyou:episodes-love stories, the English mobile game adaptation of the novel, was terminated. PIER Corporation stated that it was because they could no longer afford to pay server maintenance and labor costs.
Adar Terra announced that it would discontinue posting summaries for the novel after receiving a DMCA notice from RIDI who asserted that writing summaries itself was illegal.
The author announced a week-long hiatus because of personal reasons.
Season 3 of the webtoon adaptation of the novel began.
RIDI announced that it would release a Korean ebook adaptation of the novel on August 21. They also held a RIDI-exclusive event on July 31 to August 2 where fans could ask the author their questions.
Link: https://ridibooks.com/event/57453
RIDI released Volumes 1-5 of the Korean ebook adaptation, covering chapters 1-117 of Part 1. They also had a limited-time event where those who purchased Volumes 1-5 as a set would get discounts plus an Author Q&A as exclusive content. The Author Q&A had 26 questions answered by the author, and was based on the fan questions they gathered in their past event on July 31.
Image 10. Cover of the Author Q&A released as a RIDI-only exclusive content.
The author announced a 1-day hiatus because she caught COVID-19.
Tapas, an English webtoon publisher, released their official English translation of the webtoon adaptation on their website.
RIDI released Volumes 6-9 of the Korean ebook adaptation, covering chapters 118-200 of Part 1. They also had a limited-time event where those who purchased Volumes 6-9 as a set would get discounts.
The author posted a note in celebration of the novel’s 1000th chapter. She thanked her readers and also joked about the novel reaching 2000 chapters.
The Korean ebook adaptation of the novel won the Grand Prize in the Fantasy ebook category at the 2023 RIDI Awards.
Bilibili Comics announced that it would be shut down by February 29.
Bilibili Comics officially shut down. The official English translation of the webtoon adaptation remained on the other webtoon publishers.
DAYcomics, an English webtoon publisher, released the official English translation of the webtoon adaptation on their website.
Lezhin, an English webtoon publisher, released the official English translation of the webtoon adaptation on their website.
RIDI released Volumes 10-18 of the Korean ebook adaptation, covering chapters 201-398 of Part 1. They also had a limited-time event where those who purchased Volumes 10-18 as a set would get discounts plus an LCF Modern AU Character Checklist as exclusive content. The checklist had 39 situations that described which character would likely be fit or do something in that situation, but in a modern alternate universe (AU) setting. Two new cover illustrations for the ebook adaptation were also included.
Images 11 and 12. On the left is the new cover illustration for ebook volumes 1-9, featuring Cale alone. On the right is the cover illustration for ebook volumes 10-18, featuring Cale and Raon.
Seven Seas Entertainment, an English novel publisher, announced that it had acquired the license to officially translate the novel in English, under the title, “Lout of Count’s Family”. It would be released in September of 2024 in paperback and ebook versions.
Season 3 of the webtoon adaptation of the novel ended.
Seven Seas Entertainment announced that it would release an English audiobook version of the official English translation of the novel. No release date had been given.
Seven Seas Entertainment released volume 1 of the novel's official English translation in paperback and ebook versions. It was also revealed that Seven Seas bought MiracleRifle’s fan translation to use in their official translation, and credited MiracleRifle in their print details.
Image 13. Cover illustration for volume 1 of the English adaptation of the novel.
Seven Seas Entertainment will release the official English audiobook of the novel's volume 1 on this date. It will be narrated by Nick Martineau and produced by John Marshall Media.
Volume 2 of the official English novel translation will be released on this date.
Volume 3 of the official English novel translation would be released on this date.
Creating this list was quite a huge task for me. It also made me appreciate the author's hard work, given that she had to write the novel while having family and health problems.
This list was limited to the Korean and English-speaking audiences because finding information about official translations of the novel or webtoon adaptation in other languages was difficult, especially researching the exact dates.
Some personal bias was also involved in the creation of this list. Adar Terra should actually not be included here because it was a fandom thing and not an official one. Unless you count me getting the DMCA notice from the official publisher as an "official" thing. 😂
And that's it. This list will continue to be updated as more official events happen. If you know of other official events related to the novel that I missed, please share it in the comments! Thank you! 🥰
