Trace 1.5 Communicator

Trace (Korean: 트레이스) is a South Korean webcomic series written and illustrated by manhwa artist Go Yeong-hun (고영훈) or known as his pen name, "Nasty Cat". Envy, jealousy, and selfishness, such dark sides of humans can be seen in the work. The artist said that he wants to create the world of heroes with Korean identity.

It won the first prize and Netizen's Choice Award at the 1st SICAF International Digital Cartoon Competition held in 2006. Mr. Go was awarded with ten million won. The panel stated that they easily reached to choose it as the grand prix because not only it scored the highest point in the netizens' recommended works but also it fully meets the required criteria; characteristics of web manhwa technique, and artistic features.

Since April 2007 this manhwa had been featured on Daum, one of major internet portals of South Korea that is being considered a birthplace of many hit webtoons.

Summary
The story begins after the end of Season 1 of Trace and revolves around Han Si-Hyun, a captain of the National Investigation Service. In the hopes of ending the meaningless fight against the Troubles, Han Si-Hyun made several attempts to start a research project in communicating with the mysterious being. But after getting his proposal rejected again and again, he begin to ponder on the absurd idea of starting a secret research on his own...

Main Characters
Han Si-Hyun The main protagonist of Trace 1.5 Communicator. He's very bad at cooking and often feeds his dog Punkie his horrible leftovers. He believes that Troubles can coexist peacefully with humans if they are tamed. With the help of Tae-Hyun he tries to get in touch with Kim Yun-Seong to get help in his research. His Trace is producing D&D, a narcotic chemical, from his body fluids. Drunk in alcohol and D&D, he captures a Trouble, Sarang, and tames him secretly.

Sarang He was a Trouble who was given the name Sarang by Jung Eun after being captured by Han Si-Hyun. He is very aggressive towards Han Si-Hyun, even going as far as biting his head until blood comes out. Sarang means "love" in Korean.

Side Characters
Park Jung-Eun A high school student who refers Han Si-Hyun as a Mr. Druggie or Drug Addict. While she was suspicious of Han Si-Hyun, often sneaking on him, Han Si-Hyun succeeds to persuade her to take care of Sarang. In return, she reveals her secret to Si-Hyun that she is half-Trouble(The trouble, which she named Jjung-Kil, has her body parts appearing from Jung Eun's Body.) She works together with Si-Hyun to tame Sarang.

Sun Hee-Ji The secretary of Han Si-Hyun. She keeps telling Han to call her Secretary Sun but Han always calls her Miss Hee-Ji. Although she seems to dislike Han, she is the only person in the NIS who actually care about him.

Lee Kin-Soo The main antagonist of the story. Being the son of the director of NIS and a captain, his Trace is locating the existence of Troubles. It is later revealed that he is a psychotic murderer, who randomly murders people dressed up as Kim Yun-Seung.

Kim Tae-Hyun A friend of Han Si-Hyun. Helping Si-Hyun to find Kim Yun-Seong, he attempts to hack into Hanjo and access their files.

Min Young The secretary of Lee Kin-Soo. Her Trace weapon is an electric ax. Appearing to be cold and arrogant to Hee-Ji, she keeps her loyalty to Kin-Soo for her own benefit in NIS even after finding out about his murders.