The hero, Kang Chul, who lives in an alternative world created by a cartoonist, supposedly won the 50 metre pistol shoot at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. The actual gold was won by a Russian, but a South Korean, Jin Jong-oh, did win the silver.
The romantic book that Kang Cheol gives to Yeon Joo after they are married is by the Korean artist Puung, and it is entitled Love Is.