In 'Tiger, Come In,' the Kids at Home Are More Tiger Than Rabbit

Cuteness saves the world. There’s one reason I’m going on about cuteness: this series is unbelievably cute. It’s Tiger, Come In by writer Bae Se-hyuk and artist Yoo Eun.

Written by Bae Se-hyuk and illustrated by Yoo Eun, Tiger, Come In ran on Naver Webtoon from 2020 to 2024. Because it appears on the same platform and uses a tiger motif, some readers might confuse it with Elder Brother Tiger (by Lee Sang-gyu), but the genre and tone are completely different. Tiger, Come In follows what happens when, one day during the Joseon period, children with tiger ears and tails—Hoya and Ranga—turn up at a couple’s home.

The title Tiger, Come In cleverly flips the old saying "the tiger carries someone off," an expression used since the Joseon era and, depending on the region, even until before the millennium. A tiger—or a tiger-like child—appears in front of a couple who accidentally left their door open while sleeping, but instead of carrying anyone off, the couple ends up raising the child. Because they had been struggling to have children, they accept Hoya and Ranga’s unusual appearance naturally, creating a delightful blend of fantasy and everyday parenting. Although it begins like a parenting story, it isn’t that simple. Like Hoya and Ranga—neither quite human nor tiger—distinctive characters gradually appear, and the series branches into a variety of narratives.

Hoya is the older sister and resembles a white tiger, while Ranga, who looks more like a Siberian tiger, still speaks unclearly; Ranga is the one who blurts out his signature dialectal exclamation—transliterated as 'mussaenggyeosseo~'—which roughly translates as "I wasn’t faking it!"

Still, the series ran for four years on more than cuteness alone. Tiger, Come In brings in a gumiho (nine-tailed fox), a dokkaebi (Korean goblin), a marten who has been granted a spirit’s power, and other figures, forming an ensemble comedy. Each character’s backstory reduces the repetitive gags typical of simple comedy or parenting tales and draws out a wider range of emotions.

One of the series’ strengths is its boisterous, sitcom-like feel despite the absence of major conflict. The characters are generally gentle and somewhat naive, so rather than a confrontational, shock-driven comedy, the series leaves readers with the kind of soft, satisfied smile parents wear. Set in the Joseon period, it also captures the simple aesthetics of hanbok. Because the protagonists are an ordinary peasant couple living in the mountains, the hanbok shown are everyday garments rather than the lavish costumes often seen in historical dramas that center on palaces, aristocrats, or warriors.

Its lightly rendered Joseon culture, gently paced story, and the presence of nonhuman characters give the series a modern-folktale feel. It’s warm without being flashy, and its restrained yet rich humor makes it a must-read for anyone who can’t get enough cute tigers. Tiger, Come In was also adapted as an animated series and released on Laftel. Released in July 2024, the seven-episode animation covers the early part of the story and is available on Laftel and Tving. A second season is currently in production aiming for release later this year, so this is a good time to catch up on either the original webtoon or the animated adaptation.

+ If you want more cute tigers, I also recommend The Tiger Groom's Tale by Gochu Chamchi (pen name). It’s the story of Ji Beom, who for some reason was born in the form of a tiger, and Yeonhwa, who married him. Gochu Chamchi’s ink-wash painting style and the portrayal of Ji Beom—born a tiger and living self-consciously around others—deliver a "huge-and-super-cute" charm (literally, "so big, so cute").