The Bird That Drinks Tears is a novel series that was created and written by Yeong-do Lee, who is widely acknowledged as the pioneer of the Korean fantasy genre. As one of the best-selling fantasy authors in Korea with millions of copies sold, Mr. Lee is an exceptionally imaginative writer who builds elaborate worlds and fills them with complex characters.

As originally announced in 2021, Krafton recruited Hollywood talent and concept artist, Iain McCaig, to help bring the novel to life. Mr. McCaig is a renowned concept artist who has been involved in early character visualizations for Star Wars characters, in addition to his work on many other blockbuster film franchises, such as The Avengers, Harry Potter and Terminator. His creative work will serve as the visual direction for this project. With the launch of the game’s official website, new concept art featuring key novel characters and environments has been revealed. Fans of The Bird That Drinks Tears will recognize unique interpretations of the novel’s four distinct character races, including  Human, Rekkon, Tokebi and Nhaga.  

To deliver the best experience possible, Krafton is aggressively recruiting the world’s top development talent to help create the game. For those interested in joining the project’s development team or would like to learn more about the game and The Bird That Drinks Tears, please visit here.

UNANNOUNCED PROJECT will bring the beloved book to life; showcasing the novel's rich world, complex characters, and breathtaking locations -- all combined with the edge-of-your-seat gameplay Krafton is known for.

Krafton revealed a new visual concept trailer to illustrate what audiences can expect from future entertainment projects based on the IP.  In addition to the untitled game project, the visualization project is positioned to guide the aesthetic and tonal directions of various multimedia projects based on The Bird That Drinks Tears, including a graphic novel and motion picture.

The visual concept trailer was created using Unreal Engine 5 and highlights the mystical tone KRAFTON is aiming for with entertainment projects based on The Bird That Drinks Tears. The world and character designs seen in the trailer are based on vivid concept art created by Iain McCaig, the renowned Hollywood talent known for his work on franchises such as Star Wars and Marvel.

Since 2021, Krafton’s Team Windless has worked closely with Iain McCaig on visualizing the world and characters of the novel. The final product of that collaboration will be published as an artbook later in 2022. Additionally, a graphic novel based on The Bird That Drinks Tears will be released in 2023.

The Bird That Drinks Tears, is a best-selling fantasy novel written by renowned Korean novelist Yeongdo Lee and is a story that has been loved and celebrated for over 20 years. Released in a series in four volumes the story begins when four races – Human, Rekkon, Tokebi, and Nhaga – get entangled in some kind of an event.

The Nhaga, one of the most unique races in this universe, occupy the Southern half of the world through a massive war that happened in the past, and leads a reclusive culture without interacting with the other three races ever since. Then, all of a sudden, by a certain collaborator of Nhaga, a frightening plot Nhaga is planning gets revealed.

Now, the three races in the North, under a proverb older than dirt ‘Three handles one,’ need to create a rescue party comprised of a pathfinder, a defeater, and a magician, jump into the jungles of Nhaga, and rescue the collaborator.

In The Bird That Drinks Tears, you cannot find races you can easily find in other fantasy novels like elves or dwarves. Instead, as a Korean fantasy novel, it’s filled with unique settings and characters the author creatively came up with based on East Asian myths.

The first race of all is Rekkon, which has traits of a giant bird. They are warriors with overwhelming physical abilities. They obtain weapons only made for them in The Final Forge and then take on a challenge to fulfill their long-cherished ambition for their lifetime. Their role in the rescue party is a defeater.

Tokebi, inspired by a traditional Korean goblin, are non-aggressive and playful. They are skillful with fire, and even if they die, they can live an eternal life as an Orusin. That’s why they’re not afraid of death. Their role in the rescue party is a magician.

Although humans have the weakest abilities compared to the two races mentioned above, they live in groups and have the biggest population, so they occupy most of the Northern cities and forces. Compared to their abilities, they have a strong desire for power and domination. Therefore, numerous soldiers who wish to put a king on a throne are eager to collect forces to carry on the Arazi Empire once prosperous.

The main character that leads the overall story of the novel is Kagan of human race. He is surviving by eating raw Nhaga out of vengeance in the realm of Nhaga due to a certain incident with the Nhaga for this lifetime. His role in the rescue party is a pathfinder.

Nhaga, the last race is a cold-blooded race like reptiles. They are sensitive to environments and temperature, so they only reside in the South filled with tropical jungle, and they cannot handle the cold of the North. They also do not communicate with sound, but they have their unique communication mechanism called “Neam”, and through heart removal, they get to have a semi-immortal body