Korea and Comics: Manhwa vs Webtoons
South Korea, a country with media that has been coming in a wave. But this page isn't going to talk about dancing pretty boys or horse riders. Let alone the dramas that made their way online. It is about the pictures on canvas on two different formats, print and digital.
Printed Manhwa of Korea
Korean print comics are Manhwa. Manhwa is almost indistinguishable from its Japanese equivalent Manga including the right-to-left reading and the black and white artwork. Unlike regular shonen manga, manhwa has a much more diverse form of artwork and execution.
The creative process of manhwa is almost an inversion of manga; being more shaped by the creator than any editor. This prevents editorial mandate for new story arcs that are redundant. But also allows creators' stories to wander off. Most of which comes from the amount of drama that go into the many characters. The writer and artist duo is also brought up more unlike the writer-only creator schemes in other comics.
Notable examples of Manhwa stateside includes Bride of the Water God, which has a live-action drama adaptation. And then there's Witch Hunter a story about a gunslinger who wants to save evil witches rather than destroy them. Finally, there is the ever famous Blade of the Phantom Master. It is a story about a Jushin empire warrior who can conjure phantoms. Unfortunately, only a few manhwa gain notoriety in comparison to manga. Heck publishing company "Daewon Media"'s magazines usually publishes manga with manhwa.
Webtoons: Korea taking the Virtual World by Storm
This brings up Korean Webtoons. It doesn't mean web animation; Korea's Webtoons mean webcomics. Compared to Western Webcomics, they have a different format; a single formatted scroll with colored pictures decorating the canvas. These make the comics easy to read on mobile devices (South Korea has the best Wi-Fi). Print publishers have subjects they would like to avoid for fear of scandals. For these more subversive creatives they go online. Most of them get their funds from the dynamic system on host sites like Daum and Naver. Westerners also pick up interest in webtoons and are able to access them through apps like Line Webtoon. A Challenge League for coming artists allow them to publish their works for the public to see. This allows for a chance for features while still making money on the side.
Featured Webtoons
Notable webtoons include: Noblesse, following the dangerous misadventures of a poker-face socially awkward vampire as well as his followers. Tower of God, meanwhile is about a boy who wants to find the girl who gave him hope. But to be honest, those series remind me of dragging Shonen series like Bleach and Naruto. All the stylish action scenes and a bunch of repetitive plots with the same formula; and a whole lot of dialogue involving convoluted plans and policies.
One of my personal favorites includes God of High School. It's a story about fighters who put everything they have in the ring for a wish; all while battling organizations forcing their beliefs on the world. Second is The Gamer, the adventures of a gaming addict dealing with the new dangerous world he finds himself in. Unlike the above two, these series are more self-reflective and focus on character development.
Other Platforms
There are other webtoon services from the companies Daum, Foxtoon, and Lezhin; some of their series go to apps like Tapas, Spottoon, Lezhin, and a few others. Each possess their own content for their respective audiences. Tapas is a service where many creators publish their content, serving as a YouTube for Comics. Fortunately, it and Spottoon also feature waiting systems that release chapters after a certain amount of days. Lezhin also implements this along with their own pay-for system. Most of Lezhin's content is labeled only for adults though.
Results
Occasionally either comic format gets adapted for TV; until recently these were usually Live-Action over animation. Overseas releases are rarer for manhwa and they tend to pair up with better known manga with their publishers. Webtoons however puts up an effort that could provide something for Western web comic hosts and publishers. In fact the webtoon formula is so successful that companies in Japan, China, and France create their own platforms for smart phones.
Korea certainly has a certain creative flare that some countries don't. Opportunities to grow even further with a little push for more innovation. It is why one of the most successful webtoons Solo Leveling has made a big impact.
Thanks for coming and as always remember to look between the panels.