“Manhwa” (만화, 漫畵) is the Korean word for comic or print cartoon, much like the Japanese “manga” and the Chinese “manhua”. And while these three popular media share some historical origins in the early 20th century when Japan occupied much of East Asia, they are today different for more than just the nationality of their artists.
Part of what defines the Korean manhwa, apart from being read left-to-right like in English and the frequent use of vibrant colors, is the emphasis on online publications. Manhwa’s boom in the 2010s came hand in hand with the rise of free online comic-sharing sites like LINE Webtoon and Lezhin. Today, there are over 15 million daily readers on the LINE app alone, and “webtoon” has become a catch-all term for online comics produced both by well-known artists and users themselves. Manhwas are now almost exclusively published and read in this format, continously exploring new creative horizons.
With that in mind, we’re here to offer you a guide to this expanding world! From high politics to LGBTQ+ stories, all presented with astonishing artistry, here are the 30 best manhwas sorted by genre (though many of these defy simple categorization).
Best Korean Webtoons
If you're feeling overwhelmed by the number of great manga out there, you can also take our 10-second quiz below to narrow it down quickly and get a personalized manga recommendation 😉
We’ll start this list with a long-running and extremely successful high-school romance that perfectly encapsulates some prominent themes in manhwa — bullying, loneliness, and self-discovery. With over 6.3 million readers worldwide and a 2020 live-action drama to boot, True Beauty is a staple that’s quickly becoming a cult favorite.
It follows Lim Jugyeong, an awkward teen who’s picked on by the popular girls at school for her looks and unconventional love for horror manga and heavy metal. After one particularly humiliating experience, Jugyeong begins to binge watch beauty bloggers at the advice of well-meaning netizens. By the time high school starts, she has transformed herself into a goddess of beauty who instantly becomes popular. She’s ready to go to great lengths to maintain her perfect facade, all of which comes under threat when the most handsome boy at school sees her bare-faced at a local manga shop. Combining lighthearted comedy with a much more serious discussion of contemporary beauty standards,
Best Murim Manga 2022
Insightfully captures both the painful lows and the euphoric highs of our high school days, and what it means to truly love oneself.
With over 5.1 million subscribers watching keen-eyed for updates every Sunday, Lore Olympus is one of the most popular webtoons on the LINE platform. Rachel Smythe, an artist from New Zealand and an Eisner Award nominee, got her start on the user-generated end of Webtoon, though the dreamy art style and enticing story rooted in Greek mythology soon allowed her to graduate to become a professional Webtoon Originals.
Based on the classic myth ‘The Abduction of Persephone’, but transposed to a modern fantasy setting complete with modern technologies, Lore Olympus kicks off with Hades attending a party at Zeus’s place. At the party, he notices Persephone’s beauty and makes some fateful comments that set off a chain of events fuelled by gossip, lies, jealousy, and forbidden love. Through stylish and immersive visuals, Smythe’s delicate and nuanced retelling deals with heavy themes such as sexual assault, harrassment, abuse, and trauma without ever romanticizing it, nor condemning her characters to eternal victimhood.
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If we’re ranking manhwas by popularity, Let’s Play by Mongie is another one to beat — and for good reason! With its light touch, humor, and tantalizing romance, this modern-day
Sam is young, single, and on the verge of fulfilling her lifelong dream of becoming a game developer. There’s just one obstacle standing in her way: when she launches her first game, a popular gaming personality gives it a scathing review. And of course that isn’t the end of it — the reviewer turns out to be her new neighbor as well! Capturing gaming, meme-culture, and social anxiety with warmth and accuracy,
TGIF takes on a whole new meaning if you subscribe to I Love Yoo — this rags-to-riches love triangle drama comes knocking at your door with exciting new updates every Friday. More than 4.3 millions readers are currently on the edge of their seats, waiting to see what this upbeat manhwa will do next. And to really keep readers on their toes, Quimchee throws in a good amount of reflective moments to balance the humor, too.
Best Manhwa & Popular Korean Webtoons Right Now (2023)
Is all about learning to trust again. Shin-ae wants nothing to do with other people and certainly not with romance, but fate has other plans. Her plan to live life as a near-recluse is spoiled when she accidentally bumps into a stranger and ruins his clothes. As a result, she’s drawn into a love-triangle involving him and
. The story that follows is delightfully addictive, and it’s only more so given the atmospheric soundtrack that comes with each chapter!
For readers looking for action packed historical fiction with a strong leaning towards romance and a fierce protagonist who defies stereotypical female representation,
Top 15 Manhwa/webtoon Like The Return Of The Legend » Anime India
The leading lady Yeon Lok Heun has managed to hide the fact that she is in fact a lady since early childhood. She was thus able to learn both martial and spiritual arts growing up — two sets of skills she will put to use as she heads towards the imperial palace to clear her father’s name. At the palace, she meets the young emperor Garyun who promises to save her father in exchange for her lifelong servitude. Continuing to conceal her gender, she travels the empire solving problems of an otherworldly nature. But one question hangs in the air: how long can she keep up the charade?
The 2010 romantic drama Cheese In the Trap is among the OG legends of webtoons, and it’s continuing to touch the hearts of millions of readers year after year. And if you won’t take it from us, then know that this evergreen story has seen both a movie adaptation
Follows Hong Seol, a hardworking and humble student who is returning to her studies after a long break as the recipient of a prestigious university scholarship. There, she gets involved with a senior — Yoo Jung — who would have received the scholarship if it weren’t for her, and her already difficult life seems to take a turn for the worse. To everyone else, Jung is known as Mr. Perfect, and he has no qualms about manipulating his admirers to get what he wants. By giving Seol his attention, he unwittingly makes her the target of envy and malice, threatening to disrupt her precarious balance and throwing her right into a love triangle that will tear at the reader’s heart strings.
Best Isekai Romance Manhwa For Fans Of Manga
Though romance readers do love a bit of escapism, some manhwas really manage to hit the nail on the head with realistic characters and believable narrative arcs. And that’s exactly what
Do-Hee Woo and Hae-Gyeong Kim didn’t expect to bump into each other when they decided to try dining alone at a restaurant. And they certainly didn’t think they’d form an instant connection. Making a deal to meet up and eat together on a weekly basis, their friendship quickly becomes deeper as they help one another heal from past heartbreaks. The scaled-down plot leaves plenty of room for Park See-In to really explore the strengths and insecurities of these two characters, as well as the conflicts that arise between them. Bringing it back to the basics and stripping away all the special effects, this is a refreshingly honest look at human relationships.
Bridging the romance and fantasy genres, artist and author SAM delivers thrilling intrigue and high stakes every Saturday with Your Throne, whose popularity in Korea has quickly led to an official English translation.
The 15 Best Action Manhwa You Should Read In 2023
Starring Medea Solon and Psyche Callista, two main characters who are both vying for the position of Crown Princess of the Vasilions Empire,
Is replete with political struggles which only get more complicated when they accidentally switch bodies! Having lost her place next to the Crown Prince Eros, Medea is determined to do whatever it takes to reclaim what is rightfully hers. Fairytale visuals meet fantastical worldbuilding as SAM keeps her subscribers on tenterhooks in this deservedly popular ‘toon.
When the world teeters on the edge of an apocalypse brought in the form of giant, oxygen-doped killer bees who are seeking to reverse the food-chain, mid-level manager Lee is forced to abandon everything in order to save his family, as well as humanity. Loosely based on the science of prehistoric creatures and climate change,
The 10 Best Manga/manhwa Of 2022
Pitches modern, technology-dependent humans against nature in a high-stake battle for survival. As it’s dedicated readership will testify, it’s a wild ride from start to finish that will make your skin crawl. And if you can’t get enough of the buzz of this bug-invasion, make sure to check out the two prequels
No manhwa list is complete without some zombie horror with a bit of gore. Dead Days by DEY doesn’t mince its words as it proceeds to deliver high octane action
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