manhwa

The author or artist of a manhwa is called a manhwaga ({{Korean|만화가|漫畫家|labels=no}}). They take on the task of creating a comic that fits a certain format. Manhwa is read in the same direction as English books, horizontally and from left to right, because Korean is normally written and read horizontally. It can also be written and read vertically from right to left, top to bottom.{{cite web |last1=McKinney |first1=DW |title=Riding the Wave: The Steady Rise of Korean Manhwa |url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/riding-the-wave-the-steady-rise-of-korean-manhwa/ |date=24 October 2020|website=Los Angeles Review of Books |access-date=3 November 2022}} Webtoons tend to be structured differently in the way they are meant for scrolling where manga is meant to be looked at page by page. Manhwa, unlike their manga counterpart, is often in color when posted on the internet, but in black & white when in a printed format.{{cite web |last1=Peralta |first1=Ederlyn|date=24 July 2020 |title=The Differences Between Manga, Manhwa and Manhua, Explained |url=https://www.cbr.com/the-differences-between-manga-manhwa-manhua-explained/ |website=CBR.com |access-date=3 November 2022}}

Manhwa art differs from manga and manhua as well with its distinct features. The bodies of characters are often realistically proportioned, while the faces remain unrealistic. Manhwas also often have very detailed clothing on their characters as well as intricate backgrounds. Webtoons use vertical scrolling to their advantage to demonstrate movement or the passage of time. Manhwa webtoons are also recognized for having simplified dialogue compared to print.{{cite web |title=Differences between manga, manhua, and manhwa |url=https://dearotakufriend.com/differences-manga-manhua-manhwa/ |website=Dear Otaku Friend |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221017233941/https://dearotakufriend.com/differences-manga-manhua-manhwa/|archive-date=17 October 2022|url-status=usurped}}

Linguistically, manhwa ({{lang|ko|만화}}), manga ({{lang|ja|漫画}}) and {{lang|zh-Latn|manhua}} ({{lang|zh|漫画}}) all mean 'comics' in Korean, Japanese and Chinese respectively. Manga comes from the Japanese word 漫画,{{Harvnb|Rousmaniere|2001|p=54}}, {{Harvnb|Thompson|2007|p=xiii}}, {{Harvnb|Prohl|Nelson|2012|p=596}},{{Harvnb|Fukushima|2013|p=19}} (katakana: {{lang|ja|マンガ}}; hiragana: {{lang|ja|まんが}}) which is composed of two kanji 漫 (man) meaning 'whimsical or impromptu' and 画 (ga) meaning 'pictures'.{{cite web |title=Shiji no yukikai(Japanese National Diet Library) |url=http://dl.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/2534277/5?contentNo=5&itemId=info%3Andljp%2Fpid%2F2534277&__lang=en}}{{Harvnb|Webb|2006}},{{Harvnb|Thompson|2007|p=xvi}},{{Harvnb|Onoda|2009|p=10}},{{Harvnb|Petersen|2011|p=120}} The same term is the root of the Korean word for comics, 'manhwa', and the Chinese word 'manhua'.{{Harvnb|Thompson|2007|p=xiii}}, {{Harvnb|Onoda|2009|p=10}}, {{Harvnb|Prohl|Nelson|2012|p=596}}, {{Harvnb|Fukushima|2013|p=19}} The Korean manhwa, the Japanese manga and the Chinese phrase {{lang|ko-Latn|manhua}} are cognates ({{translation|"impromptu sketches"|i=yes}}){{harvnb|Petersen|2011}}.{{page needed|date=January 2023}} and their histories and influences intertwine with each other.

Originally the term manhua in Chinese vocabulary was an 18th-century term used in Chinese literati painting. The term manga ({{lang|ja|漫画}}) was used in Japan to mean "comics" in the late 19th century, when it became popular. Since then, manhua ({{lang|zh|漫画}}) and manhwa ({{Korean|hangul=만화|hanja=漫畫|labels=no}}) have also come to mean 'comics' in Chinese and Korean respectively.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

Although in a traditional sense, the terms manga/{{lang|zh-Latn|manhua}}/manhwa had a similar meaning of comical drawing broadly, in English the terms manhwa and {{lang|zh-Latn|manhua}} generally designate the manga-inspired comic strips. Manhwaga were not culturally isolated, and the influx of manga into the Korean comics market had a strong effect on the art and content of many artists' manhwa.Sugiyama, Rika. Comic Artists—Asia: Manga, Manhwa, Manhua. New York: Harper, 2004. Introduces the work of comics artists in Japan, Korea, and Hong Kong through artist profiles and interviews that provide insight into their processes.

The term manhwa came into popular use in Korea during the 1920s,{{Cite web |last=Qui |first=Shelley |title=Manhwa |url=https://professorlatinx.osu.edu/comics/manhwa/ |access-date=9 December 2019 |website=Professor LatinX |language=en-US}} when it was applied to cartoons. By the mid 1920s, most newspapers were shut down,{{Cite web |title=Cal Poly Web Login Service - Stale Request |url=https://idp.calpoly.edu/idp/profile/cas/login?execution=e1s1 |access-date=9 December 2019 |website=idp.calpoly.edu}} and political and social cartoons were abandoned, replaced by humorous illustrations and cartoons geared towards children.

Political cartoon slowly reemerged following the establishment of the Republic of Korea (commonly known as South Korea) in 1948.{{Cite web |title=South Korea - History |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/South-Korea |access-date=9 December 2019 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}} Popular artist Kim Yong-hwan started Korea's first comic magazine, Manhwa Haengjin, in 1948,{{Cite book |last=Russell |first=Mark James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gftM5SjLwV8C&q=when+was+sunjeong+manhwa+made+in+south+korea&pg=PT402 |title=Pop Goes Korea: Behind the Revolution in Movies, Music, and Internet Culture |date=20 October 2012 |publisher=Stone Bridge Press |isbn=978-1-61172-542-1 |language=en}} but it was quickly shut down because the authorities disapproved of the cover.

During the Korean war, Manhwa was used with the aim of boosting the morale of the public, however there was also doctrine and propaganda on some manhwa leaflets and books, for example was "Hong Gil Dong".{{Cite web |last=Matt |first=VanVolkenburg |date=7 May 2019 |title=Saving Children from 'Unhealthy' Comics in the 1960's and 1970's |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/globalcommunity/20190507/korea-encounters-saving-children-from-unhealthy-comics-in-the-1960s-and-1970s |access-date=7 April 2025 |website=Korea Times}} The popularity of comics rose during the 1950s and 1960s, creating diversity of styles and subject matter which led to the construction of new genres such as sunjeong (or soonjung), stories containing romance that are aimed at young women. Also around this time another more humorous genre, myeongnyang or happy comics had become popular in order to counteract gritty ones. Manhwabang (lit. comics room), comics cafés and stores that allowed readers to pay a set rate to sit and read comics were also introduced to the public, creating a positive atmosphere around the comics.{{Cite book |last=Yadao |first=Jason S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WcYex0sGmQ0C&q=when+were+manhwabangs+introduced+into+south+korea&pg=PA35 |title=The Rough Guide to Manga |date=1 October 2009 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-1-4053-8423-0 |language=en}} The 1950s also saw the influx of Japanese comics and the rise of illegal copying. A notable example was the unauthorized Korean version of the Japanese comic {{nihongo|Shonen Kenya|少年ケニヤ}}. Produced by Busan publishers, this became a model for later Korean pirated comics. These pirated works often obscured or replaced Japanese creators' names with Korean ones, leading many readers to be unaware they were reading unauthorized copies.{{Cite web |title=韓国マンガ事情～韓国漫画の歴史 {{!}} エンタメ総合 {{!}} 韓国文化と生活 |url=https://www.konest.com/contents/korean_life_detail.html?id=2882 |access-date=2025-04-29 |website=www.konest.com |language=ja}}

In response to the increasing publication of comics, as well as social and political changes within South Korea, the government began to enforce censorship laws and, by the mid-1960s, created a comics distribution monopoly that further censored manhwa.{{Cite book |last1=Kim |first1=Kyung Hyun |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SWdhAwAAQBAJ&q=park+chung+hee+and+manhwa+censorship&pg=PA41 |title=The Korean Popular Culture Reader |last2=Choe |first2=Youngmin |date=7 March 2014 |publisher=Duke University Press |isbn=978-0-8223-7756-6 |language=en}} Then the changing courses of manhwa history occurred during times of [https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/globalcommunity/20190507/korea-encounters-saving-children-from-unhealthy-comics-in-the-1960s-and-1970s Manhwa Revolution] when the authorities formed many commissions many times who oversees manhwa publications as well as community movements in order to suppress manhwa fanaticism among childrens and in order to address parents' concerns.{{Cite web |first=KTV |date=16 November 2016 |title=Daehan News 866 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO159iP8Fts&ab_channel=KTV%EB%8C%80%ED%95% 9C%EB%8A%AC%EC%9A%B0%EC%8A%A4 |access-date=7 April 2025 |website=YouTube}} Meanwhile, the severance of diplomatic ties with Japan meant pirated Japanese comics escaped censorship, flooding the market.

In the 1970s, sci-fi comics like Robot Taekwon V, influenced by Japan's Mazinger Z, gained popularity. Pirated versions of Candy Candy and The Rose of Versailles also appeared, significantly influencing later Korean romance comics.

Around this time was when Manhwa had come up in North Korea as well. Then in the early 2000s, the majority of Manhwa was transferred to online sources due to economic collapse that South Korea had experienced at the end of the millennium. The online publication of Manhwa significantly increased its popularity outside Korea. This led to the South Korean search portal to launch LINE Webtoon, a platform for distributing online Manhwa.

The term "Webtoon" ({{Korean|hangul=웹툰|labels=no}}) is a portmanteau of the Korean words 웹 meaning web and 카툰 meaning cartoon. The term was first coined on 8 August 2000, by Chollian, one of South Korea's oldest and now discontinued internet service engines.{{Cite web |date=22 May 2020 |title=What are webtoons? |url=https://mangaplanet.com/what-are-webtoons/ |access-date=18 October 2022 |website=Manga Planet Blog |language=en-US}} Webtoons are the digital form of manhwa that first came into popularity in the early 2000s due to their free access and availability on the internet.{{Cite web |last=Acuna |first=Kirsten |title=Millions in Korea are obsessed with these revolutionary comics — now they're going global |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-webtoons-2016-2 |access-date=9 December 2019 |website=Business Insider}} It was also beneficial to creators because it helped them get around strict South Korean censorship laws.{{cite web |last1=McKinney |first1=DW |title=Riding the Wave: The Steady Rise of Korean Manhwa |url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/riding-the-wave-the-steady-rise-of-korean-manhwa/ |access-date=11 April 2022 |website=Los Angeles Review of Books|date=24 October 2020 }} Webtoons encourage amateur writers to publish their own stories for others to read. Since their creation, webtoons have gained popularity around the globe and have even been adopted outside of Korea as another form of comic publication.{{cite web |title=Webtoon, Why So Popular? | date=27 March 2005 |url=http://www.dgupost.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=1247 |access-date=15 September 2014}} This is credited to their unique format and pay model.

In 2014 global website and mobile app Webtoon was launched, revolutionizing the comic world's way of reading for entertainment. Also, around this time JunKoo Kim, the person that started LINE Webtoon, had reported that Webtoon was used in 60 countries, had 55 million monthly users, and 100 billion annual views.{{Citation needed|date=February 2023}}

Manhwa has reached all over the world now.{{when|date=May 2025}} With websites such as Toptoon, a webtoon company from Korea that also has a global service in DayComcis (former ToptoonPlus), people are able to access a wide variety of comics from their phones.{{cite news|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/toptoon-global-to-begin-services-for-english-speaking-countries-in-full-swing-as-the-members-surpass-200-000-in-number-301354903.html |title=Toptoon Global to being services for English-speaking countries in full swing as the members surpass 200,000 in number |publisher=PR Newswire |date=13 August 2021}} There are also places like WEBTOON that not only allow people to read original comics, but make them as well, opening up this aspect of Korean culture for everyone to take part in.

But despite that, the relative obscurity of Korean culture in the Western world has caused the word manhwa to remain somewhat unknown in the English-speaking countries.{{citation needed|date=May 2017}} English translations of {{lang|ko-Latn|manhwa}} have achieved success by targeting the manga and anime community, to the extent that {{lang|ko-Latn|manhwa}} were marketed as manga by the American publisher Tokyopop.{{cite news |title=Publishers want you to know: Manhwa is not manga |url=https://www.cnn.com/2012/02/17/living/publishers-want-you-to-know-manhwa-is-not-manga/index.html |publisher=CNN}}

Sanho Kim was the first manhwa artist working in the States. During the 1960s and 1970s, he worked for publishers Charlton Comics, Warren Publishing, Iron Horse Publishing, Skywald Publications, DC Comics, and Marvel Comics.[http://lambiek.net/artists/k/kim_san-ho.htm Kim entry], Lambiek's Comiclopedia. Accessed 9 June 2011.

According to journalist Paul Gravett, in 1987 Eastern Comics published the first original manhwas in the United States.Paul Gravett. [http://www.paulgravett.com/articles/article/make_mine_manhwa Make Mine Manhwa!: Exporting Korean Comics]

Due to the explosion of manga's popularity in the Americas, many of the licensed titles acquired for the American market seek to emulate the popular elements of other successful series.{{cite news| url=http://www.time.com/time/columnist/arnold/article/0,9565,1152700,00.html | archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20080308230400/http://www.time.com/time/columnist/arnold/article/0,9565,1152700,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=8 March 2008 | magazine=Time | title=Life and Literature Without Robots | first=Andrew D. | last=Arnold | date=25 January 2006 | access-date=12 May 2010}} Recently, long-running webtoons serialized via Internet portal sites (e.g. by Daum Media),{{cite web|url=http://cartoon.media.daum.net|title=Daum 웹툰|website=Daum 웹툰}} like Lezhin Comics and personal homepages have become both the creative and popular destination among the younger generation in Korea.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}

With manga proving to be both popular and commercially successful in Europe and the United States, a number of publishers imported and translated manhwa titles in the hope of reaching the same audience. The readability and left-to-right orientation of manhwa contributed to its growing popularity, as did the realism of the characters and the combination of Eastern and Western styles and mythologies.

{{See also|:Category:Works based on manhwa}}

Animations based on manhwa are still relatively rare (though there were several major hits in the late 1980s and early 90s with titles such as Dooly the Little Dinosaur and Fly! Superboard). However, live-action drama series and movie adaptations of manhwa have occurred more frequently in recent years. Full House in 2004 and Goong ("Palace" or "Princess Hours") in 2006 are prominent examples. Below is a list of manhwa titles adapted into television series, web series, films, etc. Not to be confused to another adapted works of adapted from Webtoons.

The following list includes notable media franchises based on manhwa.

This short list includes a few notable publishing companies.

• Daewon C.I.
• Haksan Culture Company

• ADV Manga
• Dark Horse Manhwa
• DramaQueen
• DrMaster Publications
• Media Blasters
• Netcomics
• NBM ComicsLit
• Seven Seas Entertainment
• Yen Press's [https://yenpress.com/imprint/ize IZE PRESS]

{{Portal|Comics|Korea}}

• Culture of South Korea
• Korean Wave
• List of manhwa
• Manhwabang
• Myeongnang manhwa
• North Korean animation
• South Korean animation
• List of Korean animated series
• List of Korean animated films
• Video gaming in South Korea
• Webtoon

{{reflist}}

• Cain, Geoffrey. [http://www.feer.com/jaunt-through-asia/2009/november51/will-the-internet-kill-the-manhwa-star "Will the Internet Kill the Manhwa Star?"] The Far Eastern Economic Review, 6 November 2009
• {{cite book |last=Fukushima |first=Yoshiko |year=2013 |title=Manga Discourse in Japan Theatre |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PfeAAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT19 |page=19 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-77273-3}}
• {{cite book |script-title=ko:한국만화통사 1 (General History of Manhwa 1) |author=Son Sang-ik |isbn=89-7259-890-9 |publisher=Sigongsa |year=1999 |language=ko}}
• {{cite book |last=Hart |first=Christopher |author-link=Christopher Hart (artist) |title=Manhwa mania: how to draw Korean comics |year=2004 |publisher=Watson-Guptill Publications |location=New York |isbn=0-8230-2976-X}}
• {{cite web |author=Kim Jinsu|script-title=ko:개화기 일제의 시사만화 탄압 |trans-title=The Japanese oppression on Sisa manhwa |url=http://www.chammalo.com/sub_read.html?uid=7283§ion=section3§ion2= |publisher=Chammalo |date=2 June 2007 |language=ko}}
• {{cite web |script-title=ko:만화 |url=http://100.empas.com/dicsearch/pentry.html?i=136069#T3 |publisher=Empas/ Encyclopædia Britannica |language=ko}}
• {{cite web |title=Manhwa |url=http://100.empas.com/dicsearch/pentry.html?s=K&i=284131&v=46 |publisher=Empas/ EncyKorea |language=ko}}
• {{cite book |last=Onoda |first=Natsu |year=2009 |title=God of Comics: Osamu Tezuka and the Creation of Post-World War II Manga |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dvaR1-9HE7YC&pg=PA10 |page=10 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |isbn=978-1-60473-478-2}}
• {{cite book |last=Petersen |first=Robert S. |title=Comics, Manga, and Graphic Novels: A History of Graphic Narratives |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hr7aZh6oonoC&pg=PA120 |year=2011 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-36330-6}}
• {{cite book |last1=Prohl |first1=Inken |last2=Nelson |first2=John K |year=2012 |title=Handbook of Contemporary Japanese Religions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uiZi2mgC5a4C&pg=PA596 |page=596 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-23435-2}}
• {{cite book |last=Rousmaniere |first=Nicole |year=2001 |title=Births and Rebirths in Japanese Art : Essays Celebrating the Inauguration of the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yj3rAAAAMAAJ |publisher=Hotei Publishing |isbn=978-90-74822-44-2}}
• {{cite web |author=Sim Ji-hoon |title=Korea Manhwa Museum |work=INISteel Webzine |url=http://www.inisteel.com/news/webzine/200401/webzine_iniinfromation01.html |language=ko}}
• {{cite book |last=Sugiyama |first=Rika |title=Comic artists — Asia : manga, manhwa, manhua |year=2004 |publisher=Harper Design International |location=New York |isbn=0-06-058924-8}}
• {{cite book |last=Thompson |first=Jason |year=2007 |title=Manga: The Complete Guide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GvEFDD4rdWMC |location=New York |publisher=Ballantine Books |isbn=978-0-345-48590-8}}
• {{cite news |last=Webb |first=Martin |date=28 May 2006 |title=Manga by any other name is... |url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20060528x1.html |newspaper=The Japan Times |access-date=5 April 2008}}
• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110713140232/http://www.katavila.com/articles/jade/manhwa-p1.pdf "Korean Comics in the U.S., Part 1, Comic-Con International 2004"]}}, Jade Magazine.com, Sep. 2004
• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110713140310/http://www.katavila.com/articles/jade/manhwa-p2.pdf "Korean Comics in the U.S., Part 2, Manhwa Sampler"]}}, Jade Magazine.com, Sep. 2004
• [http://www.sequentialtart.com/archive/aug04/art_0804_6.shtml "Sang-Sun Park, Les Bijoux Comic Artist"], Sequential Tart.com, Aug. 2004
• [https://nvmanga.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/My-Body-Has-Been-Possessed-by-Someone.jpg Manhwa site for "Siya Ben"]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060409171130/http://demon.mireene.com/ Manhwa site for "Demon Diary" ({{Korean{{!}}hangul=마왕일기{{!}}labels=no}})]
• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110713140318/http://www.katavila.com/articles/anime-tourist/infinity-studios.pdf "Infinity Studios and Manhwa"]}}, Anime Tourist.com, 16 June 2004
• [http://www.koreasociety.org/dmdocuments/2008-3-25-park-taekwonv.mp3 Our Toys, Our Selves: Robot Taekwon V and South Korean Identity]

{{Animation industry in South Korea}}

{{Comics}}

Category:Comics formats