Romance and Fists? Just What the Hell is Manhwa?!

Manhwa (만화)

Looking at other facets of the industry

  Manhwa, much like its Japanese or American counterparts, is a graphic novel or comic told through panels and illustrations. Where Manhwa splits off from everything else is that there is no anime to follow the series as well as its mainly released online (hints why they are also called webtoons).
  They also come in full color! This is something of a rarity when considering manga is almost always in black and white, while on the other hand they are also read left to right which also helps some American audiences since some people can't get past reading right to left.
  With that said, lets dive in and look some names to help better understand what Manhwa is all about!

"To be a strong fighter I should fight my fears..."

  A quote from Girls of the Wilds Manhwa, a interesting series to say the least, has a bit of everything for you as a reader. It has drama, romance, action, suspense just to name a few. Not even that old considering its only been out for a couple of years yet has managed to capture a lot of hearts out there in the manga and anime community.
  The story follows a teenager who enrolls into a school for the free scholarship only to discover he is the only boy in the whole school! while this may be enough to grab some men's attention, the school itself is renown for the women being brutal and skillful fighters (watch it guys!) and the main character also has no interest in women as he is currently working to support a family after they we abandoned by their parents.

The Breaker, great martial art series

  Now as the story goes on he learns to trust the people around him while also developing certain romances with the school's idol and reigning champ. Give it a read, you'll see yourself getting quickly sucked in.
  Now Manhwa usually gets confused for Chinese Manhua (漫画 or 漫畫) which, while also great, is completely different usually. Korean Manhwa usually deals with romances in their series which comes in some shape or form, while Manhua deals with subjects that feels more like shounen from my experience.
  Any who~ getting back to other series that are great Manhwa-- The Breaker is an amazing series! It's a great fighting series (look at this post to read more about fighting manga and anime) that shows a bit more fantasy than reality when it comes to fighting.
  But what sold me on it, was the weak main character becoming this huge bad ass! Joining the underworld and learning how to protect himself as well defend his master who is being hunted down by others in the underworld. 
  This series breaks off into another series called The Breaker: New Waves, and continues on the cliff hanger that the original left off. Some Anti-Hero action goes on in this series as well so check it out.

Now Lets look at Manga vs Manhwa

  How does one even begin to look at one and the other? Well lets start with looking at the beginning of this post again. 

• Manhwa comes in color, Manga is black and white
• Manhwa is read left to right, Manga is right to left
• Manhwa is released mainly online, Manga is published in magazines
• Manhwa has no anime, Manga usually comes accompanied by anime
• Manhwa will sometimes come as just one long page, Manga will be spread out over numerous pages
• Manhwa has live action dramas, Manga has movies

  While there are other differences, that will be getting into the nitpicking and I rather focus on art styles for now. Now manga can range in art styles and subjects ranging from detailed to the simplistic Four Koma (literally four panels per chapter). Manhwa can be detailed as well but usually the biggest series will focus on that detail only when it comes to pinnacle scenes (not to shit on them, just saying what I've noticed)

  Now that should give you at least a fairly good idea when you read more and more whats manga and what's not. (also check out this post for another good Manhwa series)