Top 5 Manhwa You Need to Check Out!

Just as how the U.S is home to popular comic books, such as Marvel, Superman and Batman; Japan is home to its Manga industry, and Korea is home to Manhwa, also known as webtoons. Manga and Manhwa are both terms used for Japanese and Korean comic books. The difference between Manhwa and webtoons is that the word Manhwa is reserved for comics created by Koreans, much like how Manga are created by Japanese writers and artists. However, webtoon has become an umbrella term for all comics published online, meaning all Manhwa are webtoons but not all webtoons are Manhwa.

Manhwa has recently gained a lot more attention online and is starting to rise in competition against Manga. What gives Manhwa an exciting edge over Western comics and Japanese Manga is how accessible they are. Due to their digital nature, it is easy and convenient to read Manhwa anywhere you want and whenever you want.

To access Manhwa, there are two major online apps that are completely free, called Webtoon and Tapas. They only have some differences between them but operate similarly and offer free and consistently updated Manhwa as soon as it gets published. Tapas also features novels, while Webtoon is the more popular and exclusively Manhwa-focused website. Although, the app Webtoon also allows anyone to become a creator and upload their own comic series for readers to enjoy for free. This means that many of the creators on Webtoon are not Korean.

To help you get started and find what Manhwa is most acclaimed and trendy to read, especially if this is your first time, I made a list with a short synopsis for each one:

• The Reason why Raeliana ended up at the Duke’s Mansion

Raeliana was originally a side character of the novel called Beatrice. She was intended to die at the hands of her fiancé, Francis Brooks. But the reincarnated Raeliana is determined to survive instead. In desperation, she goes to Noah Wyknight, a powerful Duke, and offers him a contract for a fake engagement just to avoid her doom.

• Who Made Me A Princess

Athanasia de Alger Obelia, a South Korean girl, gets reincarnated into the fictional story, The Lovely Princess, as the abandoned princess of the Obelian Empire. In the story, Athanasia was mercilessly executed by her ruthless father, Emperor Claude de Alger Obelia. She was falsely accused of poisoning the princess, Jennette Margarita. To avoid that cruel fate, Athanasia decides she must build a relationship based on affection between herself and her father to survive.

• Remarried Empress

Navier Ellie Trovi was an empress perfect in every way – intelligent, courageous and socially adept. She was kind to her subjects and devoted to her husband. Navier was perfectly content to live the rest of her days as the wise empress of the Eastern Empire. That is, until her husband brought home a mistress and demanded a divorce.

• Stepmother Märchen

The iron widow, the spider widow, male hunter, the witch of Neuwanstein castle, the embarrassment of noble ladies… these were all the words used to describe the Marchioness, Suri Van Neuwanstein. Despite receiving such criticism from the world, she raised her ‘children’, who were unrelated to her by blood and were old enough to be called her siblings. And finally, on the day of the first son Jeremy’s wedding, she felt that all her hard work had tied all the loose ends together. But she had been terribly mistaken. After hearing the message requesting her to not attend the wedding, she got caught up in an accident and died while leaving the castle. But when she opened her eyes, she woke up on the day of her husband’s funeral, seven years ago.

• Death is the only Ending for the Villainess

Penelope Eckart reincarnated as the adopted daughter of Duke Eckart and the villainess of a reverse dating sim. The problem is, she entered the game at its hardest difficulty, and no matter what she does, death awaits her at every ending! Before the ‘real daughter’ of Duke Eckart appears, she must choose one of the male leads and reach a happy ending in order to survive.

All of the series mentioned on this list were created by Korean writers and artists, so they are all specifically Manhwa. If you enjoyed reading a Manhwa from this list, find more like this on the app or website you are using, then keep exploring to find what suits your taste.

You could also download the two apps, Webtoon and Tapas, and scroll through what is popular or what is new to find your own list of Manhwa that you would like to read. Either way, I hope you enjoy your time reading, because these stories are really good!