Learning new language is valuable for your career. If you’re planning to learn Korean online, there are various methods you can choose. One of unconventional but effective methods is via Webtoon. What is Webtoon? Where did Webtoon come from? Are there any hot webtoons? Read on.

If Japan has long been famous for Manga and dominated the Asian comic industry, Korea will surprise its readers with webtoon. This is not a trend, Webtoon Manhwa is influential and has a completely new expression, is it different from manga? Or is there anything more interesting than manhua and what effect does it have on the global comic community?

In addition to popular dramas or movies, Korea also has a very valuable “weapon” that is webtoon manhwa. This is an online manga genre that is a hybrid of comic books and cartoons. The history of webtoon manhwa dates back to 2003, when popular Korean search site Daum began publishing manga works by Manycomic Entertainment’s two authors online.

Two years later, search site Naver also joined the service Naver webtoons. Naver’s entry has motivated Manhwa to revive, from which many other amateur artists created webtoon manhwa. Some light novel also started investing with very good content quality. Even games that Koreans have produced are also released such as ben 10 games, spiderman games, batman games, avengers games … and cinematic super products are transformed into movies. But it was not until 2013, when the movie My Stepmom was released, that this kind of story really exploded. At that time, the series Manhwa Webtoon attracted more than 36.95 million viewers, becoming the most popular Korean adaptation.

Here are the Top 10 Great Webtoon you should read and check out the best webtoon websites of all time.

1. Tales of the Unusual

Tales of the Unusual is classified as a thriller webtoon. It consists of standalone, self-contained short stories which are around 5 chapters in length. What makes Tales of the Unusual exciting are supernatural and horror elements. Though some plots are disturbing with unusual and unexpected twist; readers still can find heartwarming elements too.

2. Dr. Frost

Dr. Frost is a South Korean comic featuring a stoically genius psychologist. Together with Seong Ahyoon – an aspiring psychology student, they diagnose patients and find the way to treat patients’ metal health issues.
For its simplistic and beautiful art and interesting plot, Dr. Frost was adapted as a TV series with 10 episodes airing from November 23, 2014, to February 1, 2015.

3. My Dear Cold-Blooded King

This webtoon features rags-to-riches story of Kihara Mei, who lived a simple life as a merchant in the capitol. Her life changed completely on the day she faced with a deadly challenge against dangerous royal assassins. With Blood King eyes upon her, secrecy, deceit, and desire become everyday struggles for her.

4. Lookism

Lookism means bias due to someone’s physical appearance and the title is self-explanatory of the theme. The story is about a high school student who can switch between two bodies; one is fat and ugly while the other is fit and handsome. It is exciting to see how the change affects his life and the importance critique in modern society.

5. Noblesse

Noblesse is about Rai, a powerful noble who has been asleep for 820 years. After he wakes up, he goes to school and starts to fit in the modern world. Rai, together with his friends, lives through dangerous adventures against an underground organization while uncovering his past.

Reading webtoons online may benefit you more than you expect. You can not only learn everyday Korean expressions but also have a great insight into Korean speech. Because comics are created for youngsters, you may discover more slangs and current trends. Obviously, webtoons help you learn to speak like a local.

But how to use webtoons to learn Korean online?

There are a few steps that you can follow to be more effective and successful.

For Beginners:

1. Learn Hangul. Korean webtoons are written in Hangul so it is important to master it.
2. Read every sentence and speech bubble on one slide.
3. Pick out the unfamiliar words and look up their meaning.
4. Make sure you write them down to review later.
5. Re-read the slide.
6. Never translate the whole sentence. It will ruin the exercise.

For Intermediate/Advanced Korean Speakers:

1. Read every sentence and speech bubble on the slide, out loud.
2. If you understand the context, guess the meaning of unfamiliar words.
3. If you cannot, look them up.
4. Re-read the slide.
5. Never translate the whole sentence.

A tip for learning Korean, or languages in general, is to avoid translating the language to English. You should learn to think and speak as a native speaker to save time and to avoid ruining your reading experience. But you can look up for unfamiliar words to enrich your vocabulary.

Bonus: Read Top 10+ Best webtoon manhwa websites with amazing Webtoon Manhwa for free 2021.

1. Webtoon Line
2. Netcomics Comics
3. Manytoon Comics
4. Lightnovel.mobi
5. Manycomic.com
6. Toomics comics
7. Lezhin Comics
8. Manhwa.info
9. Freemanga.me
10. Mangahentai.me
11. Manhwahentai.me
12. Yaoi.mobi