10 K-dramas Based on Manhwas

WHAT IS A MANHWA?

Manhwa is the general Korean term for comics and print cartoons (common usage also includes animated cartoons). Outside Korea, the term usually refers to South Korean comics.

 

Here is a list of 10 K-dramas based on manhwas :

 

Full House (2004)

• Based on the manhwa Full House by Won Soo-yeon
• Genre : Romance / Comedy / Drama
• Episodes : 16
• Main Cast : Song Hye-kyo, Rain, Han Eun-jung and Kim Sung-soo

“Full House” is a classic love story between a famous star and normal woman. The two decide to have a contract marriage while living in the same house. Although they’re technically married, they can’t stand each other. They eventually learn to coexist and start to develop feelings as they come to realize they can’t live without the other.

 

Princess Hours (2006)

• Based on Korean manhwa Goong by Park So-hee
• Genre : Romance / Comedy / Drama
• Episodes : 24
• Main Cast : Yoon Eun-hye, Ju Ji-hoon, Kim Jeong-hoon and Song Ji-hyo

Yoon Eun Hye plays a normal high school girl named Shin Chae Kyung who is forced into an arranged marriage with the wealth and handsome royalty, Lee Shin (Joo Ji Hoon). Shin is not very fond of Chae Kyung at first and makes her feel pretty self-conscious, but when he starts to realize his feelings for her, the series really gives the feels.

 

Iljimae (2008)

• It is loosely based on the comic strip Iljimae, published between 1975 and 1977, written by Ko Woo-young based on Chinese folklore from the Ming dynasty about a masked Robin Hood-esque character during the Joseon era
• Genre : Historical, Action, Romance
• Episodes : 20
• Main Cast : Lee Joon-gi, Han Hyo-joo, Lee Young-ah and Park Si-hoo

When Iljimae’s (Lee Joon Gi) father passes away he is raised by a retired thief. He eventually grows into a champion who steals from the rich and gives to the poor; all the while searching for the mysterious man who killed his father. During his escapades he encounters the daughter of one of the many government officials that are after him, named Eun Chae (Han Hyo Joo), and she develops romantic interest in him.

 

Warrior Baek Dong Soo (2011)

• Based on the 2010 comic Honorable Baek Dong-soo by Lee Jae-heon
• Genre : Historical / Action / Romance / Coming of age
• Episodes : 29
• Main Cast : Ji Chang-wook, Yoo Seung-ho, Yoon So-yi, Shin Hyun-bin, Choi Min-soo and Jun Kwang-ryul

“Warrior Baek Dong Soo” is about a hero named Baek Dong Soo who was the best swordsman during the Joseon dynasty.

 

The Bridal Mask (2012)

• Based on the popular Korean manhwa by Huh Young-man
• Genre : Romance / Action / Period drama
• Episodes : 28
• Main Cast : Joo Won, Jin Se-yeon and Shin Hyun-joon

Set in Seoul, Korea, during the 1930s Japanese colonial era, the story follows a man named Lee Kang-to, a Korean police officer commissioned by the Japanese Police to betray his own country and aid the Japanese in the annihilation of the Korean rebellion.

 

Bel Ami (2013)

• Based on the same-titled 17-volume manhwa by Chon Kye-young
• Genre : Romance / Comedy
• Episodes : 16
• Main Cast : Jang Keun-suk, IU, Lee Jang-woo and Han Chae-young

Dokgo Ma Te (Jang Geun Suk) is acknowledged as the world’s most attractive man and he tries to become famous and successful because of his perfect image. While he is pursuing his dream of becoming living perfection, he begins to get more involved with unsophisticated Kim Bo Tang (IU), his childhood friend, who has always liked him! Will this picturesque lead man get the girl, or will she be stolen away while he admires his reflection?

 

Inspiring Generation (2014)

• Based on the manhwa by Bang Hak-gi (published daily by Sports Seoul from June 1985 to June 1988)
• Genre : Period drama / Action / Drama / Romance
• Episodes : 24
• Main Cast : Kim Hyun-joong, Im Soo-hyang and Jin Se-yeon

“Inspiring Generation” is a large scale action drama set in the 1930s, depicting love, loyalty and friendship in the relationship between China, Japan and Korea.

 

The Scholar Who Walks the Night (2015)

• Based on the manhwa of the same name written by Jo Joo-hee and illustrated by Han Seung-hee
• Genre : Historical / Fantasy / Romance
• Episodes : 20
• Main Cast : Lee Joon-gi, Lee Yu-bi, Shim Chang-min, Lee Soo-hyuk, and Kim So-eun

“The Scholar Who Walks the Night” is a fantasy historical melodrama telling the story of Cho Yang Seon, a girl who cross-dresses to sell books, as she meets Kim Sung Yeol, a mysterious scholar who is later revealed to be a vampire.

 

Good-bye, Mr. Black (2016)

• Based on the manhwa of the same title, created with The Count of Monte Cristo motif, written by Hwang Mi-na [ko] and published in 1983
• Genre : Thriller / Drama / Romance
• Episodes : 20
• Main Cast : Lee Jin-wook, Moon Chae-won, Yoo In-young, Kim Kang-woo and Song Jae-rim

What could possibly go wrong with wanting righteous justice for your father’s killer? The answer to this question is much more sinister than Cha Ji Won (Lee Jin Wook) was expecting, when he decided to avenge his father’s unnecessary death. Many of the trails he follows end up in dead ends, but will he ever find out that his jealous best friend, Min Sun Jae (Kim Kang Woo), might be more involved in his late father’s undoing than he ever realized?

 

The Bride of Habaek (2017)

• Based on the 2006 sunjung manhwa Bride of the Water God by Yoon Mi-kyung
• Genre : Fantasy / Romance / Comedy
• Episodes : 16
• Main Cast : Shin Se-kyung, Nam Joo-hyuk, Lim Ju-hwan, Krystal Jung and Gong Myung

“The Bride of the Water God” is based on a Korean manhwa of the same title that tells the story of Soah, a girl who is offered up as a sacrifice to the water god after her village suffers from prolonged draught. The drama will tell the original story with a modern twist.

 

Have you watched any of these k-dramas? Do you have any recommendations of K-dramas based on manhwas? Share your ‘feels’!

Synopsis Source: (Soompi / Wikipedia)

 

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