March 17, 2025
The Greatest Estate Developer
Have you ever wanted to enter the world of your favorite novel? To live in the fantasy realms we read of today in search of a modicum of escape from our daily responsibilities? That is exactly the idea presented by The Greatest Estate Developer.Suho Kim is a civil-engineering student who fell asleep while reading Knight of Blood and Iron, a fantasy novel. To his surprise (and disappointment), he wakes up lying on a country road as a character in his book: Lloyd Frontera — noble and resident delinquent. Naturally, his reputation with the local townsfolk, his family, and even the knight who monitors him is overwhelmingly negative. This is a problem he looks to solve the only way he knows how: civil engineering.
This web novel is currently available on Webtoon, but this is not where it first originated. First published on the Korean web novel site NAVER by author BK_Moon, The Greatest Estate Developeris being adapted on Webtoon by Lee Hyun Min, acting as writer and translator, and Kim Hyunsoo, the artist for this series. A great deal of this novel’s popularity is due to this adaptation, as it opened the story up to the English-speaking audience. Another factor in this web novel’s popularity are the faces made by Lloyd Fronterra, a special touch from Kim Hyunsoo. The Greatest Estate Developer is in the isekai genre, wherein a character is transported to a new world. In this case, Suho Kim is transported to the world of Knight of Blood and Iron.
The most endearing part of this Webtoon has to be that Lloyd is not the main character of this story. Javier, the knight who accompanies Lloyd, is the true main character, but Lloyd (Suho Kim) knows exactly what is going to happen and when it’ll occur. This future sight is due to Suho Kim having read the book Knight of Blood and Ironin full. A large part of this novel’s narrative is Lloyd’s fight against time, trying to overcome the nigh-insurmountable obstacles in his way before disaster strikes his family. In addition to this, the Webtoon makes good use of the isekai genre, 
constantly referencing Suho Kim’s previous life, where he lived in South Korea and worked as a construction worker. This is where a lot of isekai anime and manga fall short, as the usual trope is for the main character to be a nobody in their previous life and make a better life for themselves in this new world. For Suho Kim, this is not the case, as he had a job and a place to live, far from the NEET protagonists of the usual isekai, NEET being an acronym for “Not in Education, Employment, or Training”. This subversion is a welcome spin on the genre, as it’s the exact opposite situation.
The Greatest Estate Developer is a masterpiece. The transitions from serious action to comedy, then to engineering and social manipulation feel good to read. They’re weaved together so they feel natural, while being just the right amount of silly. Above all, this is a fun read, serving as a good break from more serious titles and simply being a nice way to spend some free time.
—Shane Ewig