Korean entertainment is known to create dramas based on popular webtoons. Some of the recent best webtoon-based K-dramas include Vigilante, A Good Day To Be a Dog and Perfect Marriage Revenge.
While Nam Joo-Hyuk’s Vigilante recently ended, the remaining two are ongoing series. Webcomics/manga or webtoons/manhwa have been the source of inspiration in multiple South Korean dramas. Let’s take a look at some of the best webtoon-based K-dramas here:
Vigilante
Vigilante is one of the best webtoon-based K-dramas that ended on Wednesday, November 29, 2023. The Disney Plus series is about Kim Ji-Yong (Nam Joo-Hyuk) who has two personalities. During the day, he is a star student at a police university while at night, he is the vigilante. His dark version punishes criminals who got away with big crimes and minimal sentences.
Aside from Ji-Yong, the main characters include his fan Jo Gang-Ok (Yoo Ji-Tae), police investigation team leader Jo Heon (Yoo Ji-Tae), and reporter Choi Mi-Ryeo (Kim So-Jin). Its Naver webtoon writer is CRG illustrator is Kim Kyu-Sam
A Good Day To Be a Dog
A Good Day To Be a Dog is based on the Naver webtoon of the same name by Lee Hey. The K-drama is the story of Han Hae-Na (Park Gyu-Young) with a family curse. She turns into a dog every midnight after mistakenly kissing Jin Seo-Won (Cha Eun-Woo). To break the curse, she must kiss him back in her canine form.
The twist in the tale is that Seo-Won is afraid of dogs. One of the best webtoon-based K-dramas also stars Lee Bo-Gyeom (Lee Hyun-Woo). The mysterious character appears to be living for decades and has powers. The series is currently airing on MBC and Viki.
Perfect Marriage Revenge
Perfect Marriage Revenge is another series among the best webtoon-based K-dramas. Titled “Wanbyeokhan Gyeolhonui Jungseok,” the webcomic is written by Young and Lee Beom-Bae and illustrated by Jerryball.
It tells the story of Han Yi-Joo (Jung Yoo-Min) who becomes a pushover in order to keep her adopted family happy. When she realizes the true colors of her stepmother and step-sister, an accident takes her back several years. She decides to seek revenge on her family and thus convinces Seo Do-Guk (Sung Hoon), who was her step-sister’s fiancé at the present time, to marry her. The series is currently airing on MBN and Viki.
True Beauty
Based on the Naver webtoon “Yeoshingangrim” by Yaongyi, True Beauty is a 2020 Korean drama, starring Mun Ka-Young, Cha Eun-Woo, and Hwang In-Yeop.
Im Ju-Kyung returns to her old neighborhood and enrolls in a new school. She used to be bullied in her previous school because of her looks. Thus, she relies on make-up in the new high school to achieve a certain standard of beauty. While she hides her real face from her schoolmates, her long-lost childhood friend Lee Soo-Ho knows the truth. He is head over heels in love with her. Also, the high school’s bad boy Han Seo-Joon falls for Ju-Kyung.
The romance comedy series is one of the best webtoon-based K-dramas, currently available on Netflix and Viki.
Extraordinary You
Another popular webtoon-based K-drama is Extraordinary You. It is based on the webtoon “Eojjeoda Balgyeonhan 7wol” by Moo Ryoo. The series is available on Netflix.
The high-school romance drama revolves around Eun Dan-O (Kim Hte-Yoon), who suffers from a heart condition. She believes she is the real deal in her school but soon realizes that they live in a comic world and she’s a side character. Dan-O wants to live and thus is determined to make herself the main character of the story. She seeks the help of another side character and names him Ha-Roo (Rowoon).
Aside from the aforementioned shows, webtoon-based K-dramas also include Yumi’s Cells, Reborn Rich, So I Married the Anti-Fan, My ID is Gangnam Beauty, Itaewon Class, Love Alarm, My Roommate Is a Gumiho, and many more.
