Manhwa

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A comic book or graphic novel originally published in Korea, often featuring serialized stories drawn in a distinctive style
2. Korean comics, typically printed in black and white and read in a style similar to Japanese manga
3. A form of sequential storytelling from Korea, usually published in serial installments and presented as illustrated panels

Etymology: Korean comics are called "manhwa" in English, and the word carries a hidden Japanese layer. The Korean term 만화 (manhwa) is written with the same Chinese characters 漫畫 used in Japan, where "manga" comes from 漫 (man, "random, unrestrained") and 画 (ga, "picture"). The characters were borrowed into Korean with their meaning intact, so Korean readers see the same sense of loose, playful drawing that Japanese readers do. Manhwa and manga are therefore doublets: two words from one source that developed separately in two languages. A third doublet, manhua, comes from Chinese, where the same characters are read as "manhua" and used for comics from mainland China and Taiwan. All three words share the characters 漫畫, pronounced differently in each language.

Synonyms: comic, comic book