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Hallyu and Korean Culture in the BPCL

Korean Wave popular culture materials in the Browne Popular Culture Library

Overview: Webtoons and Manhwa

A webtoon (웹툰) is a specific type of Korean digital comic format designed for vertical scrolling on smartphones and computers. Webtoons are typically published in serialized episodes on platforms like Naver WEBTOON and KakaoPage. They are often full color artwork, serialized titles with "episodes" released on a regular schedule (e.g., weekly), have interactive features like comments and ratings, and are usually available for free/ad-supported or through paid subscriptions. The term "webtoon" is different than webcomics, which usually refer digital comics, digitized comics, or other web based sequential art, regardless of geographic region or cultural origination.

Webtoons have been incredibly influential in global popular culture. They have been adapted into dramas, films, and anime/animation, in Korea and beyond. In 2014, Naver's WEBTOON platform went international and has a number of huge popular titles that aren't even created or written by Korean authors and artists, as it has fully been adopted by a global audience, such as Lore Olympus by American artist Rachael Smythe. WEBTOON also has a section called CANVAS, which allows independent and self-publishing artists and authors create webtoons that then get a global audience.

Some webtoons have been published into print copies, which requires a great number of editing for the adaptation. One of the most prominent publishers of these print books is WEBTOON Unscrolled. Once in print, these become manhwa (만화), or Korean comics and graphic novels. Even when translated into English, many pages still maintain some of the Hangul / Korean language as part of the artwork, especially for onomatopoeias. Unlike Japanese manga, which is primarily black and white and read from right-to-left, Korean printed manhwa is often fully colored and they read similar to American comic books, left-to-right. Last, manhwa are usually serialized in very long runs and are more romance-heavy than other genres. Other popular genres of manhwa are fantasy, historical, action/martial arts, BL/GL (boys' love and girls' love), and thriller/horror. 

Accessing Manhwa and Webtoons

There are a ton of places on the internet where you can get access to copies of webtoons and digital comics from Korea, Japan, the US, and more. Some operate on free/ad-supported models, while others offer premium or paid subscriptions.

Note that not all internet sites with manhwa and webtoons are legal and operate ethically under copyright laws. Using illegal sites harms creators and the industry by denying them fair compensation for their work. Many official platforms offer substantial free content, so there's no need to resort to piracy sites to enjoy webtoons. Additionally, some internet sites can be unsafe to access for privacy and security purposes for both school-owned and your personally owned devices.

This is not an exhaustive list, nor is it an endorsed list of platforms to use to access webtoons, but it is a reputable place to start! Supporting legal platforms helps ensure creators can continue making the content you love. Reddit often has suggestions for platforms and stays more up to date as well.