Top 20 Korean Manhwa You Should Be Reading

While there are weirdly many manga purists that never give a second glance at anything clearly manga-inspired that doesn’t come from Japan, the manga medium has had a huge artistic effect on global comic markets.

Today, South Korea has a booming comic industry, producing webtoons and “manhwa,” the Korean term for manga, that many enjoy. In fact, there are those who do prefer Korean manhwa over Japanese manga because the stories are often produced in full color.

While long-time manhwa enjoyers will probably find little in the way of new reads here, those who are casual manhwa enthusiasts or manhwa-curious beginners should definitely check out these 20 great Korean manhwa series.

I avoided Korean manhwa that have anime adaptations, since people will likely be introduced to those series through the anime and grow curious about what else lies beneath the depths of ‘manhwa.’

Best Korean Manhwa

Bastard

Seon Jin is quiet and ruthlessly bullied, but he also has a darker secret. His father, despite having a pristine exterior image, is a serial killer and he uses his son to lure in his victims.

However, when his father takes an interest in a girl at his school that saved him from bullies, Seon jin is conflicted in his role for the first time and aims to protect her.

The Breaker

Shioon’s daily life consists of getting badly beaten at school. Furthermore, when his new substitute English teacher witnesses it, he yells at him for not fighting back.

Deciding to get stronger, Shioon heads to an academy to learn martial arts, but on his way, he witnesses his teacher viciously defending himself. Videoing the scene, Shioon blackmails him into teaching him martial arts.

From there, he enters the shady world of underground martial arts known as Murim.

After School War Activities

Strange orbs descend from the sky and result in massive loss of life and world destruction. Without a sufficient military to fight these things, Korea recruits high school and college-aged children to the military.

This is the document of their struggle and what one has to do to survive.

Who Made Me a Princess

In the novel “The Lovely Princess,” the secondary character Athanasia is a pitiful girl whose mother died and her father, the emperor Claude, never loved her. She would die yearning for love when she was framed for a crime and executed by her own father.

After a woman in Korea falls asleep, she wakes up later in the body of an infant Athanasia. Knowing her eventual fate, she resolves to avoid her father and avoid his wrath. However, after that play goes awry, she shifts to try to make her father adore her so much that he could never hurt her.

However, The Lovely Princess is a book of intrigue and everyone is out for their own ends.

Distant Sky

A boy wakes up in complete darkness. He is trapped in a building full of corpses, and outside is no different. The district of Gangnam is in complete darkness.

There is no electricity, no cars, and there aren’t even stars in the blackness. What happened? How can he escape?

Twelve Nights

The royal palace is engulfed in flames after a murder motivated by greed. Two young survivors from the palace flee seeking a courtesan that will help them reclaim what has been lost.

However, with mysteries from the past resurface, every encounter is met by cruel fate.

Shaman Warrior

Manshin-musas, or Shaman Warriors, possess the ability to harness spirits for power and to enter a berserk state. Yaronf is one of those Shaman Warriors who accepts a position in the government for his valor in war.

However, when a political whirlwind engulfs the nation, he is forced to flee and sends his companion on a mission to protect his son.

At Each Other’s Throats

This is the story of twins, Bok and Baek, and their daily lives. From standard sibling rage to their skill at comedic double acts, they drive those around them insane.

Something About Us

Although complete opposites in terms of personality, Woojin and Gayoung became good friends in high school. However, they were separated until Woojin returns from his military service and enrolls in the same university as Gayoung.

Now older and in a different environment, their friendship shifts, but there is just something about them that draws them together.

Shall We Have Dinner Tonight?

Both young, single, and with a history of broken hearts, Do-hee and Hae-Gyung are brought together at random as they both dine alone at the same restaurant.

After the initial connection, they become friends and dine together every week.

Each time they do, their relationship grows stronger, until they must finally face the broken hearts of their past.

Knight Run

Humanity has entered the era of space exploration, and with it, found themselves in a war with creatures of unknown origin.

As the future looks grim, a new order of Knights are sent to fight against these creatures.

The Bride of the Water God

Devastated by drought brought on by and angry water god, Soah’s suffering village decides to marry her off to the god by sacrificing her.

However, she is rescued by the water god who takes her to his kingdom where her new life and new marriage begin.

Immortal Regis

On a night where the moon shone like never before, Jae Hyuk meets Serin, a denizen of Chaos. They kill him, and he is resurrected as a zombie.

Now immortal, he can’t return back to humanity and must enter the world of Chaos. Desperate to get back to his brother, he must now earn the right to open the door to the human world.

Sweet Home

After his parents died tragically in a car accident, reclusive Cha is now forced to live on his own with a narrow budget. In his despair, he sets a date in which he will commit suicide.

However, before he reaches this date, horrific monsters overwhelm his town. Now stuck in his apartment complex with a few others, Cha finds that he is now desperately trying to survive.

Blooming Sequence

Seowoo is standing outside just out of the rain taking a break from a noisy club when a girl suddenly approaches her, singing and dancing in the rain.

As a student of film, Seowoo knows romance can bloom from chance encounters, so when she sees this girl in her film club later, she swears her heart skips a beat.

Volcanic Age

Joo Seo-Cheon is a veteran of war. However, he only survived through sheer luck.

Now the elder of the Hwasan faction, he lives full of regret. While on his death bed, suddenly he finds himself thrust back into his past.

Winter Woods

1,000 years ago, an alchemist, devastated by the loss of his son, aimed to build a human to fill his void of loneliness. After many attempts, he was successful in creating Winter.

While he could talk and has the senses of a human, he lacked emotion. After the alchemist died, far into the future, Winter finds himself living with a struggling writer named Jane where his emotions start to awaken.

So I Married an Anti-Fan

Lee struggles as a modern woman working as a reporter for a magazine. Joon Hoo, on the other hand, is the perfect male model in every regard.

So when Lee snaps of picture of him brutally turning down a woman, Joon scrambles to salvage his image and ends up getting Lee fired.

Now, she is motivated solely to ruin his life.

The Greatest Wolf of My Life

Eunbyul is struggling to make it in life. A convenience store job, no romance, and a small apartment is all she has.

However, after a few bad run-ins, including bad interaction with her neighbor, a popstar in hiding, and a car accident, her life is about to change.

UnbalanceX2

After finding a wallet and returning it (after taking a reward), a young student is surprised to find the wallet belongs to what will be his future homeroom teacher.

After this event and with a twisted sense of right and wrong between them, he is going to get a harsh lesson on morals.

There are thousands of manhwa out there to enjoy these days. What are your favorite Korean manhwa that you would recommend?