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.
Heartstopper and Business Proposal both join a number of many other dramas—mostly in the South Korean entertainment space—that 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 Business Proposal. Or perhaps the most recent offerings in the K-drama space might be of notable mention; think Ahn Bo-hyun and Shin Hye-sun’s team-up in Netflix’s just-completed See You in My 19th Life or the superhero venture of Disney+’s Moving starring Han Hyo-joo, Ryoo Seung-ryong and Jo In-sung.
And it doesn’t end there. In the works, a number of upcoming South Korean drama releases based on webtoons have already been timed for release—the next in line being that of Doona! which sees fan favourite Bae Suzy take up the mantle alongside Yang Se-jong. Whilst 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 / 6
Doona!
With South Korean A-listers Bae Suzy and Yang Se-jong helming this particular drama adaptation, it almost seems impossible to fail. Whilst the latter takes up the role of Joon, a college student moving into his new apartment, the former has landed the role of Doona herself, an ex-celebrity who is The Girl Downstairs, the name of the original webtoon. It’s a clear romance plot waiting to happen as the duo find themselves constantly entangled, and the mysterious life of Doona unravels along the way.
Doona! will be available on Netflix come 20 October 2023. Read The Girl Downstairs here.
2 / 6
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 year with his popular roles for Alchemy of Souls and My Lovely Liar.
Read Study Group here.
3 / 6
A Good Day to be a Dog
The fantastical quality gleaned from the recent See You in My 19th Life no doubt comes through its source narrative written by Lee Hey; the premise being that the protagonist, Ban Ji-eum is someone who remembers all her past lives. Perhaps it makes sense then, that Lee’s other popular webtoon titled A Good Day to be a Dog, has also earned itself a remake. With over 10 million views on the Webtoon application, the romance-fantasy revolves around a high school teacher Hana, born with a family curse of turning into a dog at night the moment she’s had her first kiss. What perhaps makes this particular adaptation to look forward to is the star power of its leading cast: heartthrob actor-idol Cha Eun-woo and Park Gyu-young of Celebrity and Sweet Home.
Read A Good Day to be a Dog here.
4 / 6
Daily Dose of Sunshine
One of South Korea’s leading actresses, Park Bo-young of Strong Girl Do Bong-soon and Doom at Your Service sweeps up the role of psychiatric nurse Jung Da-eun in Daily Dose of Sunshine. A heartwarming, educational drama about life in a psychiatric ward and its patients, it is adapted from the original webtoon titled Morning Comes to Psychiatric Wards Too by Lee Ra-ha. Helmed by Lee Jae-gyu, popularly known as the director of All of Us Are Dead, it is still uncertain if the drama will take on the eccentric concept of the webtoon—which sees the other characters transform into anthropomorphic animals.
Daily Dose of Sunshine will be available on Netflix in November 2023.
5 / 6
Secret Playlist
If you enjoyed the double life that Hannah Montana used to lead back in the day, perhaps Secret Playlist might capture your attention. The main protagonist Song Han-joo (played by Kim Hyang-gi) is seemingly your ordinary college student but her online alter-ego is a music Youtuber named PLII. She gets involved with Lee Do-gook (Shin Hye-seung), a popular idol group member who looks up to her and wants to collaborate with her, not knowing that she’s actually his classmate in school.
Read Secret Playlist here.
6 / 6
Cashero
It’s shaping up to be quite a year for Poong, the Joseon Psychiatrist’s Kim Hyang-gi as she is in talks to star alongside current hot star Lee Jun-ho, who’s most recently wrapped up King The Land on Netflix. 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.
