South Korea’s strongest cultural exports that contribute to the
Hallyu Wave are none other than K-Pop and K-Dramas. However, those that
read Japanese Manga may have noticed the ever increasing presence of its
Korean version, manhwa. Stylistically, they may not be much different.
On the surface, the only immediately noticeable differences are their
names and the fact that it’s read from left to right. Manhwa is actually
an umbrella term for any sort of visual novel (US Comic, Japanese
Manga, etc) in Korea, but to the West, manhwa is essentially Korean
manga.
First thing’s first, though:
manhwa is not a carbon copy of manga. Manhwa has a rich history that
evolved alongside Korea (and independently of manga). Telling stories
through the use of pictures is an age-old idea, and manhwa has actually
been in existence since the 1900s, often used as a form of criticism for
Japanese Colonization. This changed dramatically in the 1960s, when
Park Chung-hee essentially jailed anyone or anything with a slight tinge
of dissent.
From there on out, manhwa switched from political
satire to good-natured entertainment, and became a way to squeeze
enjoyment out of what may have been a miserable life. The Korean
Government actually backed this idea and urged artists and publishers to
create what was called “patriotic comics.” Manhwa of this time period
usually contained stories of unpatriotic Korean degenerates being
brought to justice or criticism of the North Korean government.
Popularity of manhwa only grew as illegally smuggled Japanese manga
became widespread.
As the political landscape of South Korea
evolved, so did manhwa. The authoritarian oppression of Park Chung-hee
ended, there were many political reforms in the 1990s, and eventually
there were less things to criticize. Many artists realized that for
manhwa to survive, their inherent subjects needed to change. The scope
of entertainment for manhwa began to range from science fiction, to
romance, to “shounen,” and even “yaoi.” (Google that last one) Finally
we’ve reached the modern manhwa, a smorgasbord of stories and genres
that, while on the surface, seem very much like manga, hold their own
uniquely Korean flavor.
Manhwa has even begun evolving through digital distribution. Popular portal sites
Naver and
Daum distribute
many online manhwa called “webtoons.” These webtoons are usually in
color and exist in an “endless scrolling” format, with each chapter
posted onto one long image.
Manhwa
is considered a little bit more realistic in presentation in comparison
to manga. Many stories take place in an ever so slightly edited version
of reality. This leads to manhwa being more entrenched in Korean
culture, with nuances and traditions that are more readily brought to
the forefront than in manga. That being said, manhwa only started
becoming popular internationally thanks to its Japanese counterpart.
With the manner of presentation being so similar, it was only a matter
of time until they were grouped together.
However with the
emergence of Korea as a cultural mecca, manhwa companies in South Korea
are now keen on tapping into the power of the Hallyu Wave. Recently it
was revealed that the sirens of
Girls’ Generation as well as the boys of
SHINee will be featured in an upcoming webtoon called
ENT.
ENT
most likely stands for entertainment and will revolve around an SM
trainee and a young fanfiction writer. The fanfiction writer publishes a
story based on what the trainee has told him/her with much of the
webtoon featuring the events that follow. This manhwa will initially be
published in the Japanese magazine,
Club Sunday, with the chapter being uploaded onto Naver at a later date. Manhwa publishing company
Ylab hopes to draw attention to both manhwa and K-pop with this project.
Although
Japan has its own thriving manga industry, manhwa has managed to find a
place in the market. It is only recently that manhwa has been able to
break into the west. One of the largest manhwa and webtoons distributors
in the US,
Netcomics,
currently sells more than forty different series online. Following the
format of how it is done in South Korea, each chapter is sold at $0.25
to be read online. When it comes to physical copies of manhwa, US comic
distributor
Dark Horse as well French-owned
Yen Press lead the way, with a plethora of different titles being circulated either in bookstores or available for purchase online.
To
international fans of the Hallyu, manhwa may seem obscure and of no
great consequence. This viewpoint is interesting when you take into
consideration that manhwa accounts for nearly 25% of South Korea’s
overall book sales. But why is manhwa so invisible when it comes to the
Wave?
Unlike
in Japan, Korea does not have a large animated series market. This
doesn’t mean manhwa cannot move beyond its initial printing. Many
beloved and adored K-Dramas are entirely based on manhwa.
Goong,
Full House, and
Damo
are just a few of the well known live-action adaptations of this
medium. Manhwa has even managed to make its mark on Hollywood.
Priest is a popular manhwa that circulated in Korea more than a decade ago, and was recently made into a movie, also entitled
Priest.
With most manhwa classically being adapted in a live-action format, the
association of “this was a manhwa” is easy to forget. Not only that, it
severely cuts down on the type of manhwa that can be expanded. Your
typical “battle” type series will never be picked up as a drama because
high production costs as well as lack of a strong plot-line.
When
compared to South Korea and Japan, Western audiences have certain
cultural stigmas attached to comic book readers. Around 10% of Americans
admit to reading comics. In South Korea, a single chapter of a popular
series can acquire 10% of the nation to read it. American women in
general do not read comics — it is estimated that only about 5% of women
do — whereas in Japan, 81% of teenage girls read comics. Much of the
difference between the two industries should really be chalked up to how
much more diverse manhwa and manga is. Most Western comics center
around masked super heroes endlessly fighting villains to bring about
justice. It’s extremely rare to find a comic where romance is the main
focus.
Here is where manhwa tries to really make an impression.
Western comics are a male dominated industry, but around 40% of manhwa
artists are women. Female oriented comics is something the industry
itself should invest itself in. Years ago, female video gamers were
relatively unheard of, yet through re-branding and correct marketing,
there is a relatively large amount of female gamers these days. That was
not possible without the appropriate material to back it up.
In
terms of comics, manhwa would be that appropriate material. Most manhwa
that are published in the US are “soonjung” manhwa. These are innocent
love stories, comparable to “shoujo” manga, and generally are targeted
towards young women. When it comes to comics, American or otherwise,
romance will not be the flagship seller. Soonjung manhwa have shorter
stories, meaning a built up fan-base will end just as quickly. However
shorter anthologies are easier to produce, and believe it or not,
romance has the largest market share in popular fiction. Once manhwa as a
genre can gain a real foothold in Western publishing industry, more
competitive genres can ease in.
With K-Pop beginning to storm the
West, maybe manhwa will soon follow. In five years it might not be
strange to see a manhwa on bestsellers lists.
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