Perhaps you noticed the brush of graphics that floated onto the screen every now and then in Netflix’s joyous queer drama Heartstopper. And how the cells in Yumi’s Cells are faithfully animated throughout both seasons of the psychological romance. Or the strange yet magical way the K-drama romcom Business Proposal first unveiled its starry lead: a suave, sharp man slowly glides through the halls of an airport, only he’s fully animated unlike the rest of the passersby surrounding him. To the uninitiated, the instantly memorable introduction for the latter might simply read as a visual metaphor for his supposedly stunning visuals (you’re not wrong), but for those in the know, this was also a welcome and gratuitous homage to the source material: a webtoon or manhwa of the same name.
Recent years have seen webtoons or manhwas become synonymous with the world of Korean dramas. So many of these South Korean dramas—be it Business Proposal, True Beauty or Doona!—are based on said webtoons, perhaps more easily referred to as animated comics. Rather than the superhero-led scene of the comic universe in Hollywood—think Marvel or DC Comics—these manhwas are more closely paralleled to indie comics or the vast animated world of Japanese animes.
Not only do webtoons span endless genres, they are also formatted to be read like a dream; in full colour (much unlike Japanese manga in this sense), a miasmic variety of alternative art styles and attuned to the intuitive motion of scrolling from top to bottom on our mobile devices. Considering most of these webtoons first stemmed from countries such as China and South Korea, a huge chunk of them are also reflective of East Asian cultures and histories. Take for instance, My Roommate is a Gumiho—now also a popular K-drama—that melds romance and Korean folklore into its plot.
With the sheer breadth of creative material popping up in this space, it only stands to reason that an increasing number of directors and production houses are seeing the value in adapting these presently available narratives for the TV screen. Unbeknownst to many, some of the hottest Korean dramas in the past few years alone have actually been based on ongoing or completed webtoons. We’ll flip through the catalogue for you: simply recall the likes of thriller-horrors Sweet Home, All Of Us Are Dead, Hellbound and romance favourites My ID is Gangnam Beauty, True Beauty and See You in My 19th Life. The influence of webtoons extends beyond dramas too, with one of the most famed fantasy-action webtoons, Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint by Sing Shong, has also kicked off filming for a whirlwind box office production starring the likes of Ahn Hyoseop, Lee Minho, Nana and Jisoo. As of today, the cosmic superhero venture of Disney+’s Moving starring Han Hyojoo, Ryu Seungryong and Jo Insung has been confirmed for Season 2, bringing the original webtoon by South Korean author Kangfull to new and greater heights.
As for what’s next in line? It’s none other than Disney+’s Light Shop, an atmospheric series which sees unknown individuals crossing paths in a strange shop that toes the line between life and death. Unsurprisingly enough, it’s based on yet another of Kangfull’s works, Shop of the Lamp. Whilst a slew of others have been confirmed for production, and stand to benefit from some extremely smart casting decisions in the K-drama space. Below, spy a shortlist of the most exciting Korean webtoon-based drama adaptations to look out for no matter what genre enthusiast you are, with source material that boast stunning panels of visuals; captivating storylines and intriguing main characters to get acquainted with.
1 / 8
Moving Season 2
Continuing its legacy, the second season of Moving has just been confirmed. Based on the smash hit webtoon of the same name by Kangfull, the events and characters of Moving are part of a bigger, shared universe in the writer’s oeuvre—in which they all have superpowers. So the main question surrounding the show’s second season is doubtlessly whether it will be a continuation of the storyline of the cast from the first season, including the likes of Han Hyojoo, Ryu Seungryong, Zo Insung, Go Younjung and Lee Jungha.
Read Movinghere.
2 / 8
Low Life
Growing up, Oh Hee-dong (Yang Se-jong) was brought up by his uncle, Oh Gwan-seok (Ryu Seungryong). But his uncle is one who doesn’t shy away from a crime or two, as long as it helps them get by. Based on Yoon Taeho’s webtoon titled Pain, Low Life follows the pair as they get dragged into a treasure hunt for ancient porcelain deep in the ocean. But trouble isn’t far away as the country’s most notorious characters and criminals soon begin to hear the rumours of the treasures. With their arrival in town, it complicates things for the uncle-nephew duo, who end up getting embroiled in the mess of it all.
Read Pain here.
3 / 8
Light Shop
Remember Kangfull of Moving? The renowned South Korean author is behind yet another soon-to-be hit, Light Shop, which original title was Shop of the Lamp. At the end of a dark alley, lies a light shop. Owned by Ju Jihoon’s character, Wonyoung, the shop welcomes all kinds of strange folk—who are connected by something in common. They all have a burden to share, and as they struggle with the weight of such traumatic loss, they are brought to the place where life and death meet. This drama also stars Park Boyoung, Kim Minha and Bae Sungwoo.
Read Shop of the Lamp here.
4 / 8
Mercy for None
A gritty tale of Seoul’s toughest gangs arrives in the form of Mercy for None, based on original webtoon titled Plaza Wars. A bloody tale of family and revenge, Gijun, played by So Jisub, was once at the top of the pyramid, but left the world of crime to avoid fighting his own brother, Giseok, who was in another enemy gang. 15 years later, Giseok is murdered and Gijun sets off on a hunt to find out what happened to his brother.
Read Plaza Wars here.
5 / 8
Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born
Based on the eponymous South Korean webtoon, Jeongnyeon: The Star is Born, follows its titular character, a young countryside girl with big dreams of becoming a musical theatre actress and joining a women’s traditional theatre’s company. Kim Tae-ri stars as Jeongnyeon, and Shin Ye-eun of The Glory fame, plays her main rival, Youngseo.
Read Jeongnyeon here.
6 / 8
Cashero
Just confirmed by Netflix, Cashero will see A Shop for Killers’s Kim Hye-jun star alongside the ever-famous Lee Jun-ho, who made waves last year with King The Land opposite Yoona. This particular adaptation is from the namesake webtoon Cashero: a superhero-leaning alternative that sees an ordinary superhero Kang Sang-woong attempt to protect the people around him. The catch? His powers are in direct proportion to the amount of cash he has.
Read Cashero here.
7 / 8
Study Group
Based on the eponymous webtoon by Shin Hyung-wook and Ryu Seung-yeon, Study Group sees Yoon Ga-min take it upon himself to form his own study group in Yusung Technical High School—nicknamed the ‘school for future criminals’—in order to fulfil his aspirations of going to college. Contrary to his rather timid appearance, he proves himself to be a great fighter and uses it to protect his friends. The role of Ga-min has been claimed by yet another rising actor-idol Hwang Min-hyun, who has been steadily earning himself acting credits in the past few years with his popular roles for Alchemy of Souls and My Lovely Liar.
Read Study Group here.
8 / 8
The Witch
Put simply, it’s the story of how a man fell in love with The Witch. Written by popular author Kang Full, the webtoon with the same name, sees the fiercely loyal Dong-jin attempt to uncover the mystery of Mi-jeong, an ex-classmate who is used to leading an isolated and quiet life away from people despite her strong aura, because she is certain she is the bearer of bad news after multiple strange happenings to the people around her. Whilst GOT7’s Jinyoung takes on the role of Dong-jin, Roh Jeong-eui plays the unfortunate ‘witch’, Mi-jeong.
Read The Witch here.
