Information About

Manhwa





MANHWA STYLE

Manhwa has been influenced by the dramatic modern history of Korea and resulted in diversity of forms and genrehttp://capcold.net/eng/blog/?p=10, but including a mainstream style similar to manga. Distinctive manhwa can be found in editorial comic strips, artistically-oriented works, and webcomics serials.

Typical characteristics of manhwa:
  • the style of character designs - manhwa aimed at teenage girls (which make up the majority of English-translated series) have a distinctively angular style of abstraction which contrasts with the more "cute" and rounded style of their Japanese, Chinese and western equivalents. This is the most obvious difference at a glance, but does not necessarily apply to manhwa aimed at boys or adults.

  • the left->to->right direction of the book (still quite obvious, but not very reliable, as some manga and manhua are 'flipped' around to the western way)

  • the Korean Name of the author/artist - usually double-barreled and with syllables that do not exist in Japanese (usually the most reliable method, the only exceptions being when a culturally-neutral pseudonym is used, or when the artist is of Korean ethnicity but resides in another country such as the USA)

  • the untranslated sound effects (not always present) are in Hangul , not Kana or Hanzi .

  • There are now a number of publishers specializing in English translations of Korean comics, and by and large they are unafraid of calling them "manhwa".



NORTH AMERICAN AUDIENCE

Due to the Manga-boom, mostly only the works that are almost undistinguishable from mainstream Manga were published in North America. http://www.time.com/time/columnist/arnold/article/0,9565,1152700,00.html 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 Hangul is normally written and read horizontally, although it can also be written and read like Chinese and Japanese, that is, vertically from right to left, top to bottom.

Theoretically, the reading direction of manhwa should make it more accessible to Western audiences when compared to Japanese and Chinese comics, but so far the relative obscurity of Korean culture has canceled out this apparent advantage, and the word remains relatively unknown in the English-speaking world. Instead, English translations of manhwa have achieved success by targeting the Manga and Animé community, to extent than manhwa are often marketed as "manga".


ANIMATION AND LIVE-ACTION ADAPTATIONS

Unlike Japan, animations based on Korean comics are still relatively rare (though there were several major hits in the late 80's and early 90's with titles such as ''Dooly 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 accounted 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 will also be adapted into a Feature Film in late 2007. 12

'' 2006 ). "Butler to Priest" . Cinematical.com.


KOREAN MANHWA PUBLISHERS



NORTH AMERICAN MANHWA IMPRINTS



NOTES



SEE ALSO



EXTERNAL LINKS



Manhwa information



Festivals



Manhwa on mobiles



Associations



Information and studies