Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint (2024)

Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint (also called Omniscient Reader and often abbreviated to ORV) is an apocalyptic fantasy fiction webnovel, written by a Korean author duo writing under the pen name Sing Shong. It was originally written in Korean, and has been translated to unofficially English by Webnovel translators RainbowTurtle and A_Passing_Wanderer.

An offical English translation was announced by Ize Press.^[1]

Plot[]

A novel called Three Ways to Survive in a Ruined World (written by the anonymous author tls123) has been written and published over the course of a decade, and Kim Dokja is the sole reader who has followed it to its ending. When the real world is plunged into the premise of Ways of Survival, Kim Dokja's unique knowledge of the novel becomes vital to his survival. Kim Dokja allies with Yoo Joonghyuk, the protagonist of Ways of Survival, in order to change the novel's original plot and more quickly approach the end of the story. As Kim Dokja and his party members progress through the scenarios, they face increasingly difficult threats and life-or-death challenges, struggling to stay alive and work together as they aim to destroy the <Star Stream> that demands their suffering.

Novel[]

Main article: Volumes and Episodes

Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint was originally published as a webnovel. The novel is divided into 5 volumes, each containing a number of episodes, along with a 5-part epilogue. Each episode is further divided into around 4–8 chapters.

The novel was exceedingly popular in the Korean webnovel reader community, having exceeded 26 million views on Munpia by September 2019.^[2]

Other Versions[]

In January 2021, an ebook and physical book release were both announced.^[3] The first eight ebook volumes were released in March 2021 on Munpia and later Naver. Four more were released in September 2021. The last volumes appeared in January 2023.

Sing Shong have confirmed that they revised some parts of the novel for the ebook, but those changes will not be reflected in the contents of the original webnovel.^[4] According to the "author's review" featured in the e-book, both versions are equally "correct" and likened to conflicting memories of the same events.

The ebook has been receiving various physical releases. Since 2022, Korean softcover and hardcover editions are being published. Official translations in simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, and Thai, are distributed as well.

Side Stories[]

The side stories are bonus chapters, detailing previously untold events in ORV (e.g. expanding on Yoo Joonghyuk's backstory). As of May 2023, five side stories have been released: two in the ebook, one in the physical hardcover release and one freely available on Munpia/Naver^[5]. The last side story began on February 15th 2023 and has been ongoing ever since with roughly four new chapters a week. It appears to be a direct continuation of ORV and is centered around webnovel author Lee Hakhyun. Furthermore, ORV characters have made an appearance in the side story of World After The Fall, one of Sing Shong's other webnovels. None of this content has been officially translated in English yet.

Movies[]

Munpia announced in September 2019 that they had signed a film production contract with Realize Pictures. Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint is to be converted into five feature films; the release dates are yet to be announced.^[2] Actors Lee Minho and Ahn Hyoseop were confirmed to be in talks for the roles of Yoo Joonghyuk and Kim Dokja respectively.^[6]

Webtoon[]

In February 2020, a day after the end of the webnovel, an ORV webtoon was announced.^[7] It is currently being produced by Redice Studio and published by Naver Webtoon. An English translation was released August 19th by LINE Webtoon. It is following the events of the ebook, not the original webnovel.

The webtoon has attained a high level of popularity in Korea as well as abroad; by May 2021, it had accumulated 360 million global views and consistently ranks at the top of the Wednesday webtoon list in Korea.^[8]

Trailers and Preview[]

== References ==