Manhwa
Encyclopedia
Manhwa is the general Korean
term for comics and print cartoon
s (common usage also includes animated cartoons). Outside of Korea, the term usually refers specifically to South Korea
n comics. The term, along with manga
, is a cognate
of the Chinese manhua
. Manhwa were inspired by classic Asian arts, especially Chinese
Manhwa has been influenced by the dramatic modern history of Korea, resulting in a diversity of forms and genres, including a mainstream style same as manga. Distinctive manhwa can be found in editorial comic strips, artistically-oriented works, and webcomics serials.
Typical characteristics of manhwa:
is normally written and read horizontally, although it can also be written and read vertically from right to left, top to bottom.
the Little Dinosaur and Fly! Superboard). However, live-action drama series and movie adaptations of manhwa have occurred more frequently in recent years. Full House in 2004 and Goong
("Palace" or "Princess Hours") in 2006, are prominent examples as both have been counted as the best dramas of their respective years.
In 2007, The Great Catsby
, an award-winning Korean webcomic, was adapted into a live-action drama, after a run as an on-stage musical in 2006. The title was also planned to be adapted into a feature film
in late 2007.
In 2006, SamBakZa
produced There she is!!
which is about the developing relationship of a rabbit and a cat.
Priest
, a manhwa that has been translated to English, was adapted into the 2011 American horror film of the same name by Screen Gems
. Released in 2011, it was produced by Michael DeLuca
, directed by Scott Stewart, and stars Paul Bettany
as the title character.
War of Money
is another dramatized manhwa that has become immensely popular in South Korea, garnering much attention for its soundtrack and actors.
In 2004, Blade of the Phantom Master, a popular manhwa, was adapted into an animated film by a joint Korean-Japanese animation team.
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
term for comics and print cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
s (common usage also includes animated cartoons). Outside of Korea, the term usually refers specifically to South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n comics. The term, along with manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
, is a cognate
Cognate
In linguistics, cognates are words that have a common etymological origin. This learned term derives from the Latin cognatus . Cognates within the same language are called doublets. Strictly speaking, loanwords from another language are usually not meant by the term, e.g...
of the Chinese manhua
Manhua
Manhua are Chinese comics originally produced in China. Possibly due to their greater degree of artistic freedom of expression and closer international ties with Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan have been the places of publication of most manhua thus far, often including Chinese translations of...
. Manhwa were inspired by classic Asian arts, especially Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
Typical characteristics of manhwa:
- The face and eyes are often exaggerated in a cartoon style while the figure is more realistic in proportion.
- There is (usually) a more frequent use of gradient screentoneScreentoneScreentone is a technique for applying textures and shades to drawings, used as an alternative to hatching. In the conventional process, patterns are transferred to paper from preprinted sheets, but the technique is also simulated in computer graphics...
. - The left-to-right reading direction of the book.
- The Korean nameKorean nameA Korean name consists of a family name followed by a given name, as used by the Korean people in both North Korea and South Korea. In the Korean language, 'ireum' or 'seong-myeong' usually refers to the family name and given name together...
of the author/artist. - The Korean nameKorean nameA Korean name consists of a family name followed by a given name, as used by the Korean people in both North Korea and South Korea. In the Korean language, 'ireum' or 'seong-myeong' usually refers to the family name and given name together...
s of the characters in the manhwa. - The untranslated sound effects (not always present) are in hangulHangulHangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
.
Manhwa in the United States
Due to the explosion of manga's popularity in the Americas, many of the licensed titles acquired for the American market seek to emulate the popular elements of other successful series. Recently, long-running webcomics serialized via Internet portal sites (e.g., Media Daum) and personal homepages have become both the creative and popular basecamp among the younger generation in Korea.Direction of text
Manhwa is read in the same direction as English books, horizontally and from left to right, because hangulHangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
is normally written and read horizontally, although it can also be written and read vertically from right to left, top to bottom.
History of the term
Linguistically, 漫画 (manga), 漫畫 (manhua), and 만화 (漫畫 manhwa)all mean comics in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean respectively. This term is a Japanese-invented compound using kanji (Chinese character) roots. These type of words are called 和製漢語 (wasei kango). An parallel example is the term 電話 (denwa "telephone") which was created in Japan from the kanji roots 電 (electric) and 話 (speak). This term was then adopted in Chinese and Korean, and even if written in Chinese characters or Korean Hangul, the original term is a Japanese creation. (Similar to how English coined "telephone" from the Greek roots of "tele" and "phonos" and then the word telephone spread back into Greek and other languages.) Complications arise because in these languages the terms manga/manhua/manhwa can all mean comics in general but also specifically refer to Japanese-style comics. Specifically, Korean-style manga is often called 한국 만화 (Korean Manhwa/Manga) in Korean.Adaptation of term
The relative obscurity of Korean culture in the Western world has caused the word "manhwa" to remain somewhat unknown in the English-speaking world. Instead, English translations of manhwa have achieved success by targeting the manga and anime community, to the extent that manhwa are often marketed as "manga."Animation and live-action adaptations
Animations based on Korean comics are still relatively rare (though there were several major hits in the late 1980s and early 90s with titles such as DoolyDooly
Dooly the Little Dinosaur is a 1983 Korean manhwa and animated film created by Soo Jung Kim.- History :Dooly was first created when its creator Soo Jung Kim issued the manhwa under manhwa japji named Bo-Mool Sum . It was first shown in the first week of April, 1983, finished about ten years later...
the Little Dinosaur and Fly! Superboard). However, live-action drama series and movie adaptations of manhwa have occurred more frequently in recent years. Full House in 2004 and Goong
Goong (manhwa)
Goong is a currently ongoing manhwa series by author Park So-hee. It has been adapted into a popular TV drama series of the same name.- Korean Terms :* Seja - Prince* Sejaban - Prince's wife...
("Palace" or "Princess Hours") in 2006, are prominent examples as both have been counted as the best dramas of their respective years.
In 2007, The Great Catsby
The Great Catsby
The Great Catsby is a Korean web comic written by Doha . Daum published the comic in its original Korean on the internet. Netcomics, which holds the translation publication rights, published the comic in six volumes and on the internet in English. The title is a play on the classic novel by F...
, an award-winning Korean webcomic, was adapted into a live-action drama, after a run as an on-stage musical in 2006. The title was also planned to be adapted into a feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
in late 2007.
In 2006, SamBakZa
SamBakZa
SamBakZa is the name of a group of Korean artists that run the website . SamBakZa is the Korean phrase for "three beats." The group was named so because it consists of three people, known as Amalloc , SongSongHwa , and Sogong ....
produced There she is!!
There she is!!
There She Is!! is a Flash cartoon series produced by a three-person team and hosted on the Korean website SamBakZa. The cartoons became particularly popular during the spring of 2004 when they were exposed to American and European audiences. The series is noted for its classic manhwa style...
which is about the developing relationship of a rabbit and a cat.
Priest
Priest (manhwa)
Priest was a manhwa series created by Hyung Min-woo. It fuses the Western genre with supernatural horror and dark fantasy themes and is notable for its unusual, angular art style...
, a manhwa that has been translated to English, was adapted into the 2011 American horror film of the same name by Screen Gems
Screen Gems
Screen Gems is an American movie production company and subsidiary company of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group that has served several different purposes for its parent companies over the decades since its incorporation....
. Released in 2011, it was produced by Michael DeLuca
Michael DeLuca
Michael De Luca is an American movie producer and screenwriter.-Life and career:De Luca was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, the son of a worker at ConEdison. De Luca was exposed to motion pictures by his father, who would sneak the youngster into movie theaters...
, directed by Scott Stewart, and stars Paul Bettany
Paul Bettany
Paul Bettany is an English actor. He has appeared in a wide variety of films, including A Knight's Tale, A Beautiful Mind, and The Da Vinci Code...
as the title character.
War of Money
War of Money
War of Money is a 2007 Korean drama, starring Park Shin Yang. Airing on SBS, the originally 16-episode run was extended to 20, due to its popularity.-Details:*Title: 쩐의 전쟁/War of Money...
is another dramatized manhwa that has become immensely popular in South Korea, garnering much attention for its soundtrack and actors.
In 2004, Blade of the Phantom Master, a popular manhwa, was adapted into an animated film by a joint Korean-Japanese animation team.
Korean manhwa publishers
- Topaz Agency Inc.
- Daewon C.I.
- Haksan Culture CompanyHaksan Culture CompanyHaksan Culture Company , a subsidiary of Daewon Media, is a South Korean publisher, famous for its large selections of domestic and imported comics and light novels. It was established in Seoul, in 1995.-Publishing:Magazines...
- Seoul Culture Corporation
- Shinwon Agency Corporation
North American manhwa imprints
- ADV Manga
- Dark Horse ManhwaDark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
- DramaQueenDramaQueenDramaQueen is a Houston based English-language publisher of domestic, Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese comics founded in 2005. DramaQueen also publishes an original English-language yaoi anthology called Rush, which made its debut in 2006. RUSH ceased publishing when the company experienced...
- DrMaster Publications
- Media BlastersMedia BlastersMedia Blasters is an entertainment corporation founded by John Sirabella and Sam Liebowitz, based in New York City. They are in the business of licensing, translating, and releasing to the North American market manga compilations and anime and live-action movies and television series to home-video...
- Netcomics
- NBM ComicsLit
- UDON's Korean Manhwa
- Yen PressYen PressYen Press is the manga and graphic novel imprint of Hachette Book Group. In addition to their regular book releases, Yen Press produces a monthly anthology called Yen Plus. The company's varied list demonstrates an interest in publishing a wide variety of Japanese manga, Korean manhwa, and other...
See also
- Korean WaveKorean waveThe Korean Wave, also known as the Hallyu , refers to spread of South Korean culture around the world. The term was coined in China in mid-1999 by Beijing journalists surprised by the fast growing popularity of Korean entertainment and culture in China...
- Korean animationKorean animationThe art of Korean animation, or Han-guk Manhwa Aenimeisyeon , has gone from hand-held flip books in early times to studios that produce most of the work for major American and Japanese animation companies...
- List of manhwa
- Contemporary culture of South KoreaContemporary culture of South KoreaThe contemporary culture of South Korea developed from the traditional culture of Korea, and on its own path away from North Korean culture since the division of Korea in 1948. The industrialization and urbanization of South Korea, especially Seoul, have brought many changes to the way Korean...
Manhwa information
- "Understanding Manhwa": history, culture, recommendations, etc.
- "Korean Comics in the U.S., Part 1, Comic-Con International 2004," Jade Magazine.com, Sep. 2004
- "Korean Comics in the U.S., Part 2, Manhwa Sampler," Jade Magazine.com, Sep. 2004
- "Sang-Sun Park, Les Bijoux Comic Artist," Sequential Tart.com, Aug. 2004
- Manhwa site for "Demon Diary" (마왕일기)
- "Infinity Studios and Manhwa," Anime Tourist.com, 16 June 2004
- Our Toys, Our Selves: Robot Taekwon V and South Korean Identity
- Cain, Geoffrey. "Will the Internet Kill the Manhwa Star?" The Far Eastern Economic ReviewFar Eastern Economic ReviewThe Far Eastern Economic Review was an English language Asian news magazine started in 1946. It printed its final issue in December 2009. The Hong Kong-based business magazine was originally published weekly...
, November 6, 2009.
Festivals
- Bucheon Manhwa Information Center
- Bucheon International Manhwa festival
- Seoul International Comics and Animation Festival
- Dong-a/LG International festival of comics and animation
Associations
- Cartoon & Animation Society in Korea
- Seoul Cartoon
- The Korean Cartoonist Association
- Korean Women Cartoonist Association
- Amateur Comics Association
- Korea Amateur Comic Land