The production of movies and TV series as adapted from popular books or comics is a common practice in the entertainment world. It’s all the same even in South Korea which is well known globally for its thriving drama industry wherein the only difference, of course, is the source material. In case you didn’t know, SK often a develops a number of their TV series each year by taking from famous webcomics often published on websites made for the medium such as Naver Webtoon and Daum Webtoon.
Curious as to how the live-action series differs from its original comic? Below we list down some of the popular webtoons adapted to TV in recent years. And yes, they're all available for streaming online too!
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1. What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim (2018)
Watch on:Neflix,Viu
Misunderstandings ensue and new relationships take root when the loyal secretary of a company's narcissictic Vice Chairman unexpectedly decides to quit her job. What's Wrong With Secretary Kim originated from a novel of the same name by Jung Kyung Yoon before it was adapted into web comic in 2015. Three years later, South Korean broadcast company tvN picked up the story for a full-fledged TV series.
Starring: Park Seo Joon, Park Min Young, Lee Tae Hwan
Check out the original webtoon here.
2. Itaewon Class (2020)
Watch on: Netflix
Ex-con Park Saeroyi and his misfit group of employees work to turn their modest bar into the number one pub in Itaewon. Reaching their goal turns out to be an uphill battle as they deal with the ruthless CEO of Jangga Co., a.k.a. the man responsible for setting off a chain of events that landed Saeroyi in jail in the first place.
Starring: Park Seo Joon, Kim Da Mi, Kwon Nara, Ahn Bo Hyun
Check out the original webtoon here.
3. Rugal (2020)
Watch on: Netflix
The sci-fi action series follows Kang Gi-beom, a promising police detective whose wife is murdered by a terrorist group named ARGOS. When approached by a special organization dedicated to eradicating ARGOS, he agrees to a risky operation that soon turns him into a deadly human weapon. The original series was written and drawn up by an author credited online as Rel.mae.
Starring: Choi Jin Hyuk, Park Sung Woong, Jo Dong Hyuk, Han Ji Wan
4. Backstreet Rookie (2020)
Watch on: iQIYI
Backstreet Rookie originated from the webtoon titled Convenience Store Saet-byul which was first published online in 2016. It tells the story of a 29-year-old convenience store manager named Choi Dae-hyun and his part-time worker Jung Saet-byul. The pair first met three years ago when Saet-byul was still a trouble-making highschooler. They cross paths once again and find themselves working together at Dae-hyun's family-owned convenience store.
Starring: Ji Chang Wook, Kim Yoo Jung, Kim Min Kyu, Ahn Sol Bin
Check out the original webtoon here.
5. Strangers from Hell (2019)
Watch on: Netflix, Viu
Also known as Hell is Other People, this webtoon-based Korean Drama trails an aspiring crime fiction writer whose move to a new apartment building is plagued by odd events and eerie neighbors. The aforementioned webtoon of the same name was originally published on Naver Webtoon as authored by Kim Yong Ki.
Starring: Lee Dong Wook, Im Si Wan
Check out the original webtoon here.
6. Cheese in the Trap (2016)
Watch on: Netflix, Viu
Determined over-achiever Hong Seol resumes her college studies after a year-long break brought on by her poor financial background. Her return proves to be anything but peaceful when she gets involved with her deceptively kind senior Yoo Jung, an intelligent and wealthy company heir with deep-seated trust issues. Cheese in the Trap was also serialized on Naver Webtoon in 2010. Its popularity earned the webcomic a live-action adaptation while the series was still ongoing, hence the webtoon and the K-drama feature different endings.
Starring: Kim Go Eun, Park Hae Jin, Seo Kang Joon
Check out the original webtoon here.
7. Extraordinary You (2019)
Watch on: Netflix, Viu
The series starts with Eun Dan Oh, a wealthy 17-year-old student with a debilitating heart disease. After catching wind of the odd gaps in her memory she's soon told that she's actually a supporting character in a webtoon. Now aware of her circumstances and her inevitable secondary role in life, Dan Oh sets out to find true love all while scheming to bypass the author's plans for her. Funnily enough, the show's peculiar plot originated from a web comic titled July Found by Chance as first published on Daum Webtoon.
Starring: Kim Hye Yoon, Ro Woon, Lee Jae Wook
Check out the original webtoon here.
8. The Tale of Nokdu (2019)
Watch on: Netflix, Viu
Jeon Nok Du, a brilliant swordsman, lives a peaceful life with his father and older brother on an island during the Joseon dynasty. The plot starts when their status quo is disturbed by a group of female assassins targeting his family for unknown reasons. In an attempt to uncover the group's motive, Nok Du chases after one of their assailants into a widowed village where he diguises himself as a woman. This historical drama is based on the 2014 webtoon by Hye Jin Yang.
Starring: Jang Dong Yoon, Kim So Hyun, Kang Tae Oh
Check out the original webtoon here.
9. Love Alarm (2019)
Watch on: Netflix
Three high school students try to navigate their relationships as they come of age in a world run by a phone app that tells you if someone in your vicinity harbors romantic feelings for you. The original webtoon of the same name by popular manhwa author Cheon Kye Young was first published on Daum webtoon in 2014.
Starring: Kim So Hyun, Song Kang, Jung Ga Ram
Check out the original webtoon here.
10. Mystic Pop-Up Bar
Watch on: Netflix
Featuring a fantastical premise based on a webtoon titled Twin Tops Bar, this JTBC drama follows the proprietors of a mysterious pojangmacha or an outdoor drinking establishment, that only opens at night. Together, a part-timer and his boss enter the dreams of customers that happen by their bar as they set out to solve their problems.
Starring: Hwang Jung Eum, Yook Sung Jae
Check out the original webtoon here.
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