Most Influential Manhwa

Manhwa has undoubtedly grown from a regional treasure to a global phenomenon, shaping the comic landscape far beyond its original shores. However, this rapid and expansive growth is a result of the various successes and impacts of some manhwa works. These manhwas not only introduced readers to diversely engaging stories, but also left a lasting impact on the comic scene of Korea and beyond.

From redefining genre conventions to inspiring adaptations in film and television, these manhwas are taking their place in a game-changing medium. So this piece not only highlights these transformative works, but also celebrates their various impacts across mediums. As such, the most iconic works of the Manhwa franchise are here.

10 Vane

Anime-Planet rating: 4.4 / 5

• Creative: Yeah Yongseuk
• Genre: Drama, Sports, Comedy, Romance
• Number of chapters: 522 (in progress)

One of the first truly exciting sports manhwa series Boxer, Vane the series is rightfully one of the most influential manhwa manhwas, specifically for the sports genre of the medium, for a number of reasons. One of many is its subtle but impressive artistic evolution since its dodgy beginnings in 2013, when other manhwa adopted this method of visual upgrades.

With over 500 chapters published over nearly eleven years, its immaculate blend of themes, tropes, and genres is still reliable in other manhwas. Now that the story is coming to an end, slowly but surely. It's doubtful that the intensity the series consistently puts out will drop anytime soon, if other sports manhwas are anything to go by.

9 Cheese In The Trap

Anime-Planet Rating: 4.2 / 5

• Creative: Soonkki
• Genre: Comedy, Romance, Mystery
• Number of chapters: 298

One of Manhwa's forerunners in the modern romance and drama genres, Cheese In The Trap set a fairly high standard for comedy/romance/drama series that have undoubtedly shaped the genres ever since. Following the central character Seol Hang, whose college life is initially as perfect as it can be, things start to go awry once she meets Jung Yu, a senior and campus sweetheart.

Jung Yu is determined to make Seol's life miserable until she is gone for a year and returns. Now Seol is back at school, but her Jung Yu problem won't go away. This time, Jung Yu is acting strangely friendly towards her in a way that hints at more, but whatever it is, Seol will find out in time.

8 Bastard

Anime-Planet rating: 4.4 / 5

• Creative: Kim Carnby, Hwang Young-chan
• Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Romance
• Number of chapters: 94

In some parts of the manhwa community, horror manhwa is mentioned without mentioning the Bastard series would be considered blasphemous, and rightly so. In a good way, the series brought the horror genre of manhwa to light for readers as enjoyable and enticing even in its darkest forms.

The story's protagonist, Seol Jin, finds himself the son of a serial killer, in love with his father's latest prey, yet possibly a worse serial killer than his psychotic father. To the outside world, the couple is as ordinary as they come, but inside, the beautiful son duo are the perfect partners in crime. However, with a pair on opposing sides of the innocent, Yoon Kyun, Jin finds himself the defiant bastard of a psychotic father.

7 High School God

Anime-Planet rating: 4.1 / 5

• Creative: Yong-Je Park
• Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
• Number of chapters: 569

The largest of the trio of manhwa series that will lead to an anime adaptation in 2020, High School GodManhwa's role in the recent surge in anime adaptations cannot go unmentioned in this piece.

Centered around the central character, Jin Mori, the series begins with what is supposed to be a regular high school martial arts competition where there can only be one winner and one wish to be granted. A simple competition with lots of dramatic effects, however, snowballs into a universal struggle for the fate of the Earth between the supreme forces of good and evil.

6 Tower of God

Anime-Planet Rating: 4.3 / 5

• Creative: SIU
• Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Psychological, Supernatural
• Number of chapters: 648 (in progress)

Another part of the 2020 Manhwa-anime adaptation trilogy, Tower of Godwhile it's still running, it's more or less Manhwa's gold standard for action/adventure series. A prime example of ideal world building in any Manhwa series, Tower of God's influence on other Manhwa extends to intangibles such as characterization, power system, and storytelling.

The series focuses on the central character, the twenty-fifth Baam, and follows him as he travels through a mysterious tower, initially searching for abandoned friendships after spending most of his childhood alone outside the tower. However, Baam soon realizes that just as you travel through the Tower, the Tower travels through you.

5 A true beauty

Anime-Planet rating: 3.7 / 5

• Creative: Kim Na-Young
• Genre: Drama, Romance, Comedy
• Number of chapters: 257

A series that has become something of a cultural phenomenon in Korea due to its exploration of self-esteem issues and societal standards of beauty. A true beauty the series may have laid the groundwork for the relatable romance and high school interactions in the recent manhwa.

In addition, his strong stance on self-respect and beauty standards also paved the way for even more diversity in the romance genre. The story, which was eventually adapted into a Korean drama series, follows the main character, high school girl Lim Jugyeong, who despises herself for her unattractive appearance. But after a good makeover makeover, Lim discovers that the world is pretty privileged, or so she thinks.

4 Boxer

Anime-Planet rating: 4.4 / 5

• Creative: Jihoon Jeong
• Genre: Action, Drama, Sports
• Number of chapters: 135

Another of the tempsetters of the sports manhwa genre next door Vane series, Boxerin just over a hundred chapters, he provided a masterclass in infusing the dark trope in sports, cementing himself as sports manhwa royalty. However, its influence even extends beyond the sports genre, finding its way into the suspense and thriller categories thanks to its immaculate storytelling and strangely engrossing art style.

The series details protagonist Yu's dark and numb rise to the top of boxing through the aggressively manipulative Coach K. It combines very dark elements to explore the dark side of professional athletes' lives. Yu's only goal is to find the light of feeling in a life that can hardly be called his own.

3 Noblesse

Anime-Planet Rating: 4.3 / 5

• Creative: Jae-Ho's son, Lee Gwang-Su
• Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Supernatural
• Number of chapters: 544

The final installment of the 2020 manhwa-anime adaptation trilogy, Noblesse series, popularized the supernatural high school genre. Also part of the elite class of manhwa that helped cement Webtoon comics as a major platform for digital comics, the Noblesse series popularized the overpowered MC trope as one of the first to use it, and use it well.

The story begins with the titular protagonist, Noblesse Cadis Etrama Di Raizel, as she awakens from an 800-year-old slumber into modern society and is released into a new life alongside her loyal underling, Frankenstein. Unfortunately for Raizel, the events of his old life threaten to tear apart a part of his new one.

2 Who made me a princess?

Anime-Planet rating: 4.4 / 5

• Creative: Pluto
• Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
• Number of chapters: 125

Pioneer of the villain reincarnation trope, Who made me a princessnot only inspired a wave of similar works with the exact trope, but also essentially set up the popularization of the trope among fans and readers of mainstream manhwa. The series details the terrifying reconstruction of a terrifying story in the life of a young woman who wishes nothing more than to experience it, and follows a young man as he is reincarnated as the beautiful Princess Athanasia, the recipient of the story's terrible fate.

Left with no choice but to find a way to survive her fate, the princess hatches numerous plans that all collapse at the sight of her father and oppressor, Emperor Claude De Alger Obelius. However, there is one last option: To warm your way into your father's favor.

1 Solo leveling

Anime-Planet rating: 4.7 / 5

• Creative: Sung-Rak Jang
• Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
• Number of chapters: 200

The company's most famous and biggest Manhwa export of the last decade and probably more, Solo leveling the series is undoubtedly the most influential manhwa. From its art style, power system, and even storyline, the series spawned waves of similar works, popularizing the trope leveling system and the overpowered MC trope among many others. Also a large part of the elite class that brought Webtoon Comics to mainstream prominence, Solo Leveling almost single-handedly redefined the fantasy manhwa genre.

A large factor in the manhwa's recent global appeal, the series has also led the charge in a new wave of anime-manhwa adaptations, making it one of the few, if not the only, manhwa to achieve mainstay status in four different media. From a web novel to a webtoon to a game and finally an anime adaptation, sealing its status as manhwa's most influential export.