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 An Introduction to Manwha
Written by
Manwha may be a word you'll hear bandied around a lot these days. Thanks to the explosion of manga onto the publishing scene, many companies are scrambling to capitalise on the phenomenon; not least the bigger publishers like TokyoPop, who was one of the first to bring it to the Western market. If this trend continues, which it will, then we're going to see an ever-increasing volume of manwha jostling with manga on the shelves. And it's just as well. As the pool of available manga from Japan dries up, you'll expect other things to step in and fill the void.
What is Manwha?
Manwha is the Korean word for "manga". Like the Japanese word, it refers mainly to manga-influenced comics created by Korean artists, with Korean names, themes and sound effects. Which can make it, to the untrained eye, very similar to manga; most people can't spot the difference without looking at the sound effects. In fact, some go so far as to say that there isn't much difference between manwha and manga, and that manwha is just an offshoot of the manga phenomenon. Which isn't entirely true. The Korean manwha market is like a microcosm of the much larger Japanese market, but it also includes manwha created in traditional Korean style before manga infiltrated the country.
The issue of Manwha VS Manga is a prickly one. Memories of Japanese World War 2 Imperialism still linger in Korea, though modern manwha is undoubtedly very influenced by manga. Manga reached Korea in 80s and 90s like they did in other Asian countries - through pirated, retouched versions of popular weekly manga. The Korean government censored all references to Japanese culture in an effort to "cleanse" the country of Japan's colonisation era, so many young readers of pirated manga had no idea they were of Japanese origin. Naturally,when the government lifted these restrictions in the early 90s, many Korean readers were shocked. That didn't change the popularity of Japanese manga though, and the younger generation continued to read it enthusiastically. They also began to imitate its style and conventions.
Manwha Art and Themes
Most people will tell you that manwha art and manga art is basically the same, and has some element of truth. You have big-eyed small-mouthed androgynous characters, speedlines and lots of toning; but for me, that is not where the differences lie. More discerning readers may point out that Soonjung manwha (Korean "shoujo" manga) have more "elongated" bodies, more realistic faces, angular lines and exceedingly feminine-looking men. Which is true, but that is something you can also find in manga. Yet others may point out that generally-speaking, manwha has more detailed art and draftsmanship. That is also true, but that may actually be due to the fact that only the cream of the manwha crop make it to the west.
For me, the biggest difference between manwha and manga lie in the themes - the themes that are expressed artistically. The best examples of this are the widely-read historical manwha, the type that feature swordsmen and magicians in an "Ancient Korea" setting. Popular manwha tend only to fall into a few categories (like manga): notably the "historical" drama sort, or the high-school angst stories. Admittedly the former aren't any more "historical" than samurai manga, but while modern Japan and modern Korea can be interchangeable, ancient Korea and Japan are not. Ancient Korea, in fact, is much closer to Ancient China - complete with its own popular culture trappings and influences. All remotely "historical" manga have some form of samurai or ninjas in them, but from manwha they are completely absent. Instead, Korean themes permeate them.
Perhaps that is why I believe people familiar with different Asian cultures will have no problem spotting the differences between manga and manwha. There are simply some things you will almost always find in popular manga that you'll never see in manwha, and vice-versa. Interestingly enough, whether manwha and manga art is similar to each other in the end depends much on your knowledge of the differences between the two cultures.
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7 May 2008
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