Comics and webtoons have always been a source of inspiration on the screen, and the best K-dramas based on webtoons are no different. In South Korea, WEBTOONS is a publishing portal launched by the popular search engine, Naver. But webtoons as a medium come up on many different platforms. As webtoons gained popularity in South Korea, it sparked the idea to adapt some for the small screen. There are many highly talked about K-dramas on streaming platforms that were first a webtoon — many of which have reached acclaim with those who have no knowledge or interest in the south material as well as die-hard fans.
Some of the best K-dramas based on webtoons stick closely to their source material. However, this isn’t always the case, as sometimes deviations are necessary for narrative reasons, and some K-dramas outlast the storyline of their webtoon predecessors. K-dramas have taken over streaming platforms like Netflix due to their binge-worthy storylines of drama, comedy, romance, action, and even a dash of horror for good measure, and some of the best started life as webtoons. Here are the best K-dramas based on webtoons, ranked from worst to best.
15 Memorist (2020)
- Available to stream on Rakuten Viki
Based on a webtoon of the same name by Jae Hoo, Memorist became a top drama that aired in 2020 on tvN and is one of the best K-dramas based on webtoons. The crime/mystery drama tells the story of the main character with the ability to read people’s memories. With this ability, Dong Baek (Yoo Seung-Ho) solves crimes as a police detective.
In a K-drama with a serial killer storyline, a string of gruesome murders occurs and Dong Baek teams up with a criminal profiler to find the culprit. As they investigate, their troubled pasts surface, and the murders are much more complex than they imagined. Memorist is unique with its thriller elements and intriguing storylines. The series maintained steady viewership numbers over its 16-episode run, and interestingly saw actors Yoo Seung-ho and Lee Se-young reunite after appearing in Missing You.
14 Mystic Pop-Up Bar (2020)
- Available to stream on Netflix
One of the best K-dramas based on webtoons, Mystic Pop-Up Bar has generated some buzz, as it’s available to stream on Netflix for worldwide audiences. The webtoon is titled “Ssanggabpocha” by Bae Hye-Soo and was first published in 2016. The webtoon was then developed into a series and released in 2020. Mystic Pop-Up Bar features some fascinating supernatural elements, and while it’s only 12 episodes long, the series garnered high ratings among audiences and critics alike.
The show follows three main characters whose lives are intertwined in the most mystical way possible. A rooftop bar that opens only at night is run by a mysterious food cart owner, and she has a story to tell. Forced to live out a sentence for her past deeds, she must listen and help customers overcome their internal struggles. Alongside her are a young man with the ability to get people to confess and the manager of the shop who was once her past love.
13 True Beauty (2020)
- Available to stream on Rakuten Viki
True Beauty was a smash hit on streaming platforms when it debuted in 2020 and is, therefore, one of the best K-dramas based on webtoons. The romantic K-drama revolved around a young teenage girl who was always ridiculed for her appearance. When she gets the opportunity to switch schools, she decided to get a makeover.
Now bubbling with confidence, she becomes a popular beauty at school. The drama enthralled fans as it had a riveting love triangle between two former best friends who have feelings for the main character. The drama is based on a webtoon by Yaongyi. The creator expressed it was a dream come true to see her work be turned into a drama. Additionally, True Beauty was nominated for an Indonesian Hallyu Fans Choice Award and won for K-Drama of the Year.
12 Love Alarm (2019)
- Available to stream on Netflix
The highly acclaimed and talked about K-drama, Love Alarm, first got its start online and is definitively one of the best K-dramas based on webtoons. Chun Gye-Young has created several other popular webtoons with Love Alarm being the first Netflix original. Audiences got hooked on the young love story and the riveting love triangle. Overall, Love Alarm has been nominated for four awards at the Seoul International Drama Awards.
The series also had a hidden message regarding society’s reliance on social media and apps. The show follows a young school student who starts to use a popular love app that notifies her when someone who likes you is within a 10-meter radius. The show focuses on the relationship between the two main characters, but there’s someone else harboring feelings, as well. The drama’s popularity led to a second-season installment.
11 Lucky Romance (2016)
- Currently not available for streaming
Lucky Romance is for any viewer looking for a cute and comical romance where the leading lady falls in love with her boss, but it’s not the conventional love story. The original webtoon was made in 2014, and the show is just as bright and colorful as the source material, but the on-screen version is a bit more dynamic.
The leading female character is obsessed with superstitions and fortune-telling. One day, a shaman tells her that to save her sister, she must sleep with a man born in the year of the Tiger. In blind faith, she goes on the hunt and meets a game developer who doesn’t believe a word she says. It’s an overall sweet and compelling drama about falling in love with the boss, definitely one of the best K-dramas based on webtoons, and won Ryu Jun-yeol a Best New Actor award at the 36th MBC Drama Awards.
10 Hell Is Other People (2019)
- Currently not available for streaming
If one isn’t looking for a romantic K-drama and instead wants a thriller full of jumps and scares, then Hell is Other People is a great watch. One of the best K-dramas based on webtoons, the webtoon can also be found under the title, “Strangers from Hell.” It was first illustrated and written by Kim Yong-Ki. The insulated drama is critically acclaimed among audiences and critics alike, even securing itself the Grand Prize at the Cable TV Broadcasting Awards.
The psychological thriller centers around a young man in his 20s who moves to Seoul after getting a new job. In the thrilling K-drama, he stays in a low-end apartment where he shares the bathroom and kitchen with other residents. As he stays there, odd occurrences begin making him suspicious and fearful of his neighbors.
9 The Uncanny Counter (2020)
- Available to stream on Netflix
Netflix’s The Uncanny Counter had fans watching every episode for its action sequences, heartfelt story, and heartbreaking scenes. The webtoon the show is based on is titled under a different name, Amazing Rumor by Jang Yi, and is one of the best K-dramas based on webtoons. The stellar cast has received due recognition, with Yeom Hye-ran gaining a Best Supporting Actress award at the 57th Baeksang Arts Awards.
The show centers around a disabled teen who is given the opportunity to join the Counters. The Counters are a group of individuals with supernatural abilities who fight evil spirits that escape the afterlife. Like many K-dramas tropes, their stories are interweaved in ways they never expected and help each other find peace with their troubled pasts.
8 Backstreet Rookie (2020)
- Available to stream on Netflix, Rakuten Viki, and Amazon Prime
Backstreet Rookie is a rom-com that debuted in 2020 and is one of the best K-dramas based on webtoons. The drama is based on a webtoon from 2016 and 2017 titled Convenience Store Saet-byul and written by Hwalhwasan. The series sees interesting twists and turns, making it highly binge-able. Its engaging storyline and lovable characters didn’t go unnoticed by critics, with the series garnering eight nominations and two wins at the SBS Drama Awards and 7th APAN Star Awards.
The show starts with a prologue. Choi Dae-Hyun (Ji Chang-Wook) walks through an alley and encounters three teenage girls. One girl becomes incredibly smitten with him and even kisses him. The K-drama then time jumps three years forward. As Dae-Hyun manages his family’s convenience store, they need a part-time worker. In a twist of fate, the teenage girl from three years ago applies for the job.
7 All Of Us Are Dead (2022)
- Available to stream on Netflix
Many know about the K-drama/horror Netflix series All of Us are Dead, but what’s not common knowledge is that it’s based on an eponymous NAVER webtoon by Joo Dong-geun. All of Us are Dead features plenty of jump scares and heart stopping action sequences, but the series never forgoes the storyline at its center for the sake of shock value. Renewed for a second season and one of the best K-dramas based on webtoons, All of Us are Dead is so highly acclaimed that the show was nominated for nine awards, winning two, at the 8th APAN Star Awards, 58th Baeksang Arts Awards, and 1st Blue Dragon Series Awards.
All of Us are Dead follows students from class 2-5 at Hyosan High School after a failed science experiment results in a zombie outbreak. Teachers and students alike are all affected, and the once-normal high school becomes a dangerous hunting ground for bloodthirsty zombies. All of Us are Dead is different from other zombie shows as it actually explores the zombie virus origins at length in a twist that must be seen to be believed.
6 Cheese In The Trap (2016)
- Available to stream on Rakuten Viki, Tubi, Plex, The Roku Channel, AsianCrush, and FreeVee
Cheese in the Trap first premiered in 2016 but is often pegged as a popular K-drama for anyone looking for a good love triangle. The original webtoon it was adapted from was written by the user Soonkki. The love triangle K-drama webtoon amassed popularity and was developed into a K-drama. As one of the best K-dramas based on webtoons, Cheese in the Trap has been nominated for a staggering 13 awards, winning four at the Korean Cable TV Awards, 52nd Baeksang Arts Awards, and 1st Asia Artist Awards.
The webtoon was published between 2010 and 2016. At the time of filming, the K-drama’s ending isn’t described in the webtoon, seeing as it wasn’t complete yet. The show followed a university student whose life is turned upside down by the college’s rich and popular guy. His kind demeanor makes her question his intentions. The focus on interpersonal relationships between Yoo Jung and Hong Seol is what makes Cheese in the Trap such an engaging watch, as Jung’s manipulative tendencies in their relationship are both maddening and enthralling.
5 Hellbound (2021)
- Available to stream on Netflix
Yeon Sang-ho is both the director of Hellbound and the creator of its original webtoon, which bears the same name. A K-drama with supernatural elements, Hellbound is definitely one of the best K-dramas based on a webtoon as when it launched on Netflix the series became the world’s most-watched Netflix series the next day, even surpassing Squid Game. Hellbound will at some point be getting a second season, but in the meantime, the high-octane K-drama’s first season alone was nominated for 14 awards, winning four for actress Kim Shin-rok.
Hellbound is set in 2022 and sees a mysterious angel descend on South Korea, and start spewing prophecies. These prophecies condemn certain people to hell at an unspecified future time that ranges between seconds and years. Three supernatural beings are responsible for savaging and incinerating the hell-bound individual’s body. In the middle of this chaos are two groups, the New Truth Society and the Arrowhead group, who flex their own power by exploiting people’s fears.
4 Sweet Home (2020)
- Available to stream on Netflix
Sweet Home became a must-watch K-drama on Netflix in 2020 and is one of the best K-dramas based on webtoons. It had everything fans were looking for in a riveting thriller of the world possibly ending. The drama also had a chilling storyline of monsters and survival. The apocalyptic horror series was first a Naver webtoon created by Kim Kan-Bi and Hwang Young-Chan. Full of thrilling fights and stunning cinematography, Sweet Home ran for three seasons and has been nominated for 18 awards, winning six.
In Sweet Home, the building tenants find themselves trapped inside one morning. They are unaware of what’s going on outside but soon realize that humans are turning into grotesque and ravenous monsters. Similar to Squid Game, the tenants fight for survival not only from the outside but from themselves. A tenant can turn into a monster at any moment. The show centers around one title character along with the supporting stories of the other tenants.
3 My ID Is Gangnam Beauty (2018)
- Available to stream on Netflix and Rakuten Viki
My ID is Gangnam Beauty is a K-drama that has everything from romance, battling insecurities, revenge, and drama, and is one of the best K-dramas based on webtoons. Written and illustrated by Gi Meng-Gi, the webtoon centers around a college student who makes a life-changing decision. For those unaware of Korean culture, “Gangnam beauty” is a derogatory term used for women who have altered their looks through plastic surgery. Gangnam is an area in Seoul famous for its surgery clinics.
Featuring K-pop idol Cha Eun-woo, the show follows a college student who has plastic surgery after being ridiculed in her youth for her looks. But she finds herself at the other end of hurtful comments when tagged as a “Gangnam beauty.” It’s a story of rediscovering oneself, self-esteem, and romance, as she re-meets a childhood classmate. Along with putting beauty standards under scrutiny, My ID is Gangnam Beauty is critically acclaimed and has won six awards across several award shows.
2 What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim? (2018)
- Available to stream on Rakuten Viki and Hulu
What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim? is is one of the best K-dramas based on webtoons to watch for steamy romances between attractive lead characters with impeccable comedic talent. The K-drama’s steamy kissing scenes aside, the show is highly talked about, and so is the webtoon it’s based off. Created by Kim Myeong-Mi, the webtoon, and K-drama follow a similar story. The romantic K-drama won six awards for its 16-episode run, receiving acclaim from the Korean Drama Awards, the APAN Star Awards, and the Annual Soompi Awards.
What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim follows a stoic, arrogant, and yet handsome VP of a major corporation who is set to lose his trusted and dedicated secretary of nine years. Once hearing of her resignation, he comes to realize how much he needs her in his life. He goes into a spiral of attraction, feelings, and intense jealousy when it comes to her. Along the way, they fall in love but realize they knew each other all along.
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Available to stream on Rakuten Viki and Kocowa
Extraordinary You is a teen-love K-drama that was released in 2019 that is titled differently from its original webtoon. The webtoon is titled July Found by Chance and was published in 2018, but both have an interesting twist in their teen drama storylines. One of the best K-dramas based on webtoons, Extraordinary You is one of the most highly rated K-dramas based on webtoons, winning seven awards thanks to its unique storyline and relatable characters, including the Outstanding Korean Drama award at the Seoul Drama Awards.
Eun Dan-oh discovers that her life and the world they live in is a fantasy world in a comic. The comic writer gives her a mediocre fate of getting engaged to someone who hates her, and she’s expected to die soon. In a turn of events in the female-led K-drama, she writes her own story to find her true love, but it comes at a cost. Audiences will even be excited to see it’s the first major drama for a popular K-pop idol.