Korean Webtoons Adapted for Television: Five (5) K-Drama Series Released 2019–2023

Korean webtoons are becoming increasingly popular and many are being adapted for television.

Platforms that stream Asian content such as Viki and Netflix offer many entertaining K-drama series based on webtoons. Here are my picks of five (5) Korean dramas released from 2019 to 2023.

(1) The Heavenly Idol (2023); 12 episodes

This Korean drama series is adapted from a webtoon, titled “Sungseureowoon Idol”, written by Shin Hwa-Jin. The spirit of a loyal and pure high priest who faithfully serves the god in the Other World is switched and he ends up in the body of a Korean idol in a K-pop boy band in modern-day Seoul. Never mind how it happened. How does he get back?

Fortunately, in the modern world he still has his divine power, so he can continue to heal people and fight demons. It’s a good thing too because it seems that the devil has also switched and is in the body of a top executive in the entertainment industry. Furthermore, the devil is bringing in his minions from the Other World to serve him and to recruit new followers. The high priest meets an idol fan who thinks he is suffering from multiple personality disorder. She determines to help him get medical treatment for his mental health “illness”.

Eventually, she comes to recognize that the man she knows as a K-pop idol is not the same as the man she has befriended. He is not an alternate personality, he really is an entirely different person. She resolves to help him defeat the dark forces that have come over from the Other World, and in the process, falls in love with him. Their relationship gets sort of complicated. Not only are they from two (2) different worlds, but priests are supposed to be celibate. Will evil be defeated and true love find its own way? (Watch on Viki.)

Viki Global TV. “The Heavenly Idol | EPISODE 1 PREVIEW | Korean Drama.” YouTube, 17 Feb. 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=_z5D2iPYn2Q. Accessed 5 May 2023.

(‌2) The Forbidden Marriage (2022); 12 episodes

The script for this Korean drama series, as well as the webtoon of the same name, were both written by Chun Ji-Hye. The king is grieving the loss of his beloved consort; and until he remarries, all marriages throughout the entire kingdom are forbidden. When will this ban be lifted? Whenever the king decides to remarry. It’s already been seven (7) years. The court ladies and court officials have tried to get him interested in other women but their efforts have failed. His wife, the crown princess, was found hanging and her tragic death was recorded as a suicide. The king is haunted by this tragedy and can’t open his heart to another woman.

He eventually does meet a woman. She is in prison for being a swindler but she convinces him that she can channel his late wife’s spirit so that he can communicate with her. It’s a lie but she told it so well, he believed her. But now she has to keep pretending to be a medium who can channel his dead wife’s spirit. Eh! It’s better than being in prison. So the revised question is: Can she get the king to open his heart again and lift the ban on marriage, without ever revealing that she’s a fraud? (Watch on Viki.)

Viki Global TV. “The Forbidden Marriage — EP3 | Park Ju Hyun Offers to Change Kim Young Dae’s Clothes | Korean Drama.” YouTube, 3 Jan. 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJ22IDB06Io. Accessed 5 May 2023.

(‌3) The King’s Affection (2021); 20 episodes

This K-drama series is based on a webtoon with the same title written by Lee SoYoung. Sometimes children play an innocent game not realizing that adults can turn it into a game of death. The crown princess gave birth to twins: a boy and a girl. During the Joseon Era, the birth of twins was considered a bad omen. The mother was told to kill the girl and keep the boy. Of course, the mother kept the boy and hatched a plan to save the girl.

Years later the twin brother and sister meet accidentally. They’re both surprised that they look so much alike. The crown prince never gets to go outside of the palace. His sister who is a servant girl can freely see the outside world. So they trade places. She pretends to be the crown prince while he leaves the palace dressed like a girl and gets to see everyday places and people. The game was fun until a wicked court official realizes that the crown princess did not kill her daughter. He sends an assassin to kill the girl. But the assassin does not realize that the child he killed was the crown prince who was dressed in girl’s clothing.

The identities have been switched and the young girl play-acting as the crown prince, must now conceal her true identity, remain in the palace, and serve as the crown prince. Her path is treacherous. How will her life journey end? Will she ever be allowed to live as herself? (Watch on Netflix.)

Asia, Netflix. “The King’s Affection | Official Teaser | Netflix.” YouTube, 26 Sept. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jhpqg9lcALQ. Accessed 5 May 2023.

(4) The Uncanny Counter (2020); 16 episodes

This Korean drama series is based on the Daum webtoon “Amazing Rumor” written by Jang Yi. There are evil spirits or demons who roam the earth, hopping from body to body. There is a team of grim reapers who catch these evil spirits and send them to their Final Destination.

Each member of the grim reaper team is called a “Counter”. There is a team of grim reapers who hide in plain sight by running a noodle restaurant. To become a counter, you must first be a human who is close to death’s door; i.e. you are probably in a coma, hanging on for dear life. While in a comatose state, a heavenly spirit visits you and offers you a chance to continue living. If you accept the offer, you become a Counter, but you will not have any memory of your previous life. In addition, you will now possess special powers which will be needed to subdue the evil spirits.

The Uncanny Counter is different. He’s an 18-year-old high school student who was injured in a car accident when he was young but he was not in a comatose state when the heavenly spirit possessed his body. It was an emergency, and the heavenly did not have time to make him an offer. The spirit chose him as a counter because he had a sincere desire to save others, and a strong sense of justice. He is gifted with several special powers, joins the rest of the counters, and proves himself to be an extremely valuable member of the team. (Watch on Netflix.)

Netflix K-Content. “The Uncanny Counter | Official Trailer | Netflix [ENG SUB].” YouTube, 26 Nov. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=rI55SRM6uhs. Accessed 5 May 2023.

(5) Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency (2019); 16 episodes

This K-drama series is based on the popular webtoon of the same name by Kim Yi-rang who also wrote the script for the series. The Flower Crew consists of three (3) unmarried handsome fashionable young men who have a reputation for being the best matchmakers in Joseon. If your marriage is arranged by them it is certain that the couple will happily ever after.

A commoner, a young man who is a blacksmith, is in love and wants to marry another commoner, a girl with no name and a hidden past. The blacksmith could care less about her past. But he does not realize that he also has a past that was hidden from him. The Flower Crew agrees to serve as a matchmaker. But on the day the marriage ceremony is to take place, the blacksmith finds out the hard way that he’s a prince, the son of a king, and heir to the throne.

When he does not show up for the wedding his wife-to-be is shocked, saddened, and bewildered. Is he dead or did he desert her? Wedding or no wedding, there were expenses involved with arranging the ceremony which were paid for by The Flower Crew. There is a legitimate debt that must be repaid, so the bride who was stood up at the altar accepts employment with the marriage agency as a way to pay the debt. She also begins to earnestly search for her husband-to-be. She fears the worst but hopes for the best.

The best feature of this series was that each episode was named after a flower. The first episode is titled “A Divine Match: Plantain Lily”; and the last episode is titled “Blossom for Eternity and Never Wither: Rose of Sharon”. If you don’t know anything about flowers, you’ll learn when you watch this Korean drama. It is a Viki Original Series. (Watch on Viki -OR- Netflix.)

Viu Singapore. “The Most Touching Marriage Proposal | Flower Crew: Joseon Marriage Agency EP2 [ENG SUBS].” YouTube, 29 Sept. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9XXacCSDn4. Accessed 5 May 2023.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to suggest any K-dramas based on webtoons that you enjoyed in the comments.