Best K-Comics to Read on Tappytoon

Webtoons have exploded in popularity over the past few years, which means there are many sites and apps to choose from when you're looking for your next read. So, we thought it might be helpful to give you a place to start, especially since most of them have vast libraries that can be overwhelming at first glance. We've looked at WEBTOON, Tapas, and Manta, so for our next outing, let's see what Tappytoon offers.

Tappytoon started in 2013, and by 2022, it had amassed over seven million users, which isn't surprising considering that it has titles available in multiple languages, including English, German, and French. Like Manta and Tapas, Tappytoon has both novels and comics, sometimes both versions of the same story, and occasionally publishes books on digital and physical platforms. Tappytoon, at first glance, appears to pull more titles from other platforms, although they do have their own dedicated line of webtoons. Despite the heavy front-page emphasis on Solo Leveling and its ilk, its founders have been vocal about wanting to curate an experience that female readers, specifically, will find fun and attractive, citing the fact that American comics more traditionally focus on male readers.

Like other sites, Tappytoon operates on a freemium model. It separates its offerings slightly differently: at the top of the homepage is an option to browse offerings in “all ages” or “mature” modes, and depending on which you select depends on what series you'll see.

Below is a small sample of what's available – five series in different genres to help you get started in your exploration.

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BL

I'm sure there's a country song to be made out of the title of HmmYongYong and AngryMonster's series Love Tractor that's at least as amusing as “She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy.” (Although the unrelated band of the same name is alt-rock.) But if you can get past the title, this BL series is more adorable than anything. Sun Yool, a reluctant law student in Seoul, temporarily moves out to the countryside to tend to his grandfather's farm and dog while the old man is hospitalized. Not having the first clue about agriculture to the point where he thinks he needs to use a rusty hand scythe to weed the garden, Sun Yool is conflicted about his decision to spend his break in rural environs. But he's even more confused by Yechan, the neighbor's son. Yechan is a giant man with the heart of a golden retriever. He's always ready to lend a hand (in fact, the two meet for the first time when Sun Yool's car gets stuck in the mud and Yechan helps him out) and cares deeply about people, to the point where when he and Sun Yool first cross paths in daylight, he accuses Sun Yool of being a dog trader stealing bull terrier Dongsik to sell for meat. He goes into everything with care and consideration, and Sun Yool, more used to the unfriendly qualities of city folk, can't quite figure him out.

The story builds on this dynamic to create a story that's not so much opposites attract as seeming opposites finding that they're not so different after all. Sun Yool's more closed-off personality is a cipher to Yechan, but with the extra information we can garner from the first eight chapters, it looks a lot like Sun Yool's desperately trying to find a way to make himself happy. Law school seems to be his father's idea, and while he's working hard at it, there's also a sense that he's just doing it because he doesn't know what else to do. His time in the military doesn't seem to have affected him much; we only know he has (or had) a sister from one old photo, and his mother is occupied with his grandpa, so Sun Yool is very much unmoored. The slow build towards the idea that Yechan could be his mooring place is the story's draw, alongside some very nice, soft art. Slow and gentle, Love Tractor is more than just its silly title – it's a sweet story about two people finding what they're looking for in each other.

Steamy Office Drama

If cozy farming stories are too tame for you, though, Despite the Risk by Studio JHS and Seo Soon Bae may be a better fit. Based on the novel by Yoonssom, this is one of Tappytoon's mature titles. Their “mature” is much less explicit than Lezhin's or Manta's – no nipples for any gender and sex scenes that are tastefully concealed behind a well-placed hip or thigh. But the plot's inciting incident makes up for that: Min Seolha has been in love with her boss, high-powered young CEO Cha Jeongmu, since she started working for him at Venus department stores, and when she hears he's engaged, she decides she can't take it anymore. She brings him her letter of resignation, at which point Jeongmu panics. He asks her if there's anything he can do to prevent her from quitting, to which she boldly responds, “Sleep with me.” He's taken aback, but wouldn't you know it, he's been carrying a torch for her, too, and he agrees – with the additional stipulation that they not put a limit on the times they'll have sex.

With that out of the way, you could be forgiven for wondering how this story is more than three chapters with a discernible plot. But it turns out that Seolha and Jeongmu getting together is merely the window dressing on this drama because Seolha's father is in jail for a hit-and-run that killed someone…and that someone, chapter eight reveals, may have been Jeongmu's sister, or at least a young woman important to him. Then there's the arrogant young ass who's involved with a company Jeongmu angered, Jeongmu's estranged mother, and the fact that Seolha grew up in a group home after her father's incarceration (which is given equal weight with those other plot points). The course of their love seems unlikely to run smoothly. Their romance feels like the least essential element of this burgeoning drama. Both Seolha and Jeongmu have a lot to work through in their lives, and that's taking center stage more and more as the series progresses. Despite art that occasionally looks uncanny when it comes to faces, this is the sort of addictive series that, once it's grabbed you, is unlikely to let go.

Fantasy

Government endorsement isn't always a good thing. I have to think that the Korean Manhwa Contents Agency and the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism knew what they were doing by slapping their seal of approval on NOK's Corridors of Mirs. A mythology-influenced urban fantasy, the first eight chapters introduce us to Nabi Baek, a high school girl who suddenly becomes able to see smokey red monsters called Reapers after being rescued from an assignation with Truck-kun (Truck-gun? I think that's the Korean equivalent…).

Or is it sudden? Because her childhood acquaintance Mu-hyun can see them too, he tells her that she used to be able to before abruptly stopping. This seems to be somehow tied to Nabi's grandfather, who raised her until she was five and then vanished, leaving her in the care of her aunt and uncle. While his profession isn't stated, from the art we can guess that he was a shaman or priest, and it may be that Nabi lost her ability to see Reapers was sealed by him as a means of protection. But the mysterious, beautiful young man who saved Nabi from the truck, a man no one else could see, seems to have been the catalyst for breaking that seal because immediately after her encounter with him, Nabi's eyes are (re)opened. Although she's not terribly concerned about what's going on, especially since her ability to see Reapers allowed her to prevent schoolmate Yu-Hwa from committing suicide, readers are given hints that there's a lot more going on here. Is it tied to a folktale Nabi's grandfather used to tell her about Mir, a god who watched over the earth? Is Mir the young man who saved her? There's so much that's still beneath the surface.

If you read just one series based on this article, it should be Corridors of Mir, because there's a lot going on and the story makes it imperative to find the truth.

World Mythology

Of all the many mythologies in the world, the two best-known are likely Greco-Roman lore and the Norse myths. But there's so much more out there, and creator Hongkki is ready to bring readers more awareness of Mesopotamian mythology with their series Hongkki's Mesopotamian Mythology. Sure, the title's a bit on the nose, but the intent and storytelling more than make up for that. Hongkki points out that today's love of soap operas (basically a stand-in for K-dramas in this context) comes from the oldest stories on Earth, pointing to ancient Korean myths as proof before reminding us that Greek myths were very similar. This serves as an introduction to some of the oldest written mythology in the world: Mesopotamian. Hongkki's unstated purpose is to familiarize readers with this oft-overlooked set of stories and make it clear that people are people no matter where or when they live. The focus is not just on retelling, but on emphasizing the humanity of the stories.

The series starts at the very beginning, with the origin of the world. Nammu, Goddess of the Ocean, is the first god, and in her loneliness, she creates (or summons, depending on your interpretation) two more deities, the God of the Sky and the Goddess of the Earth. Between the three of them, they birth more gods, but An, the sky god, marries Ki, the earth goddess, rather than Nammu. That's important, because when An decides to go back to the sky to rule over the heavens, his son with Ki, Enlil, is left in charge of the land as the legitimate child. Thus starts a rivalry between Enlil and Enki, one taken up by the other gods, most of whom favor Enki, the God of Fresh Water and Wisdom.

Hongkki's writing makes it easy to spot familiar snippets and themes from other mythologies. There's something distinctly Greco-Roman in Enlil's and Sud's banishment to the underworld and something very Cain and Abel about Enki and Enlil's relationship. It's also easy to see the patriarchy in its early forms with the fact that An gets two women and that despite being the first deity, Nammu doesn't get to become the queen of all gods, a role reserved for her erstwhile lover An. It's a fascinating series, and if it takes some liberties with the retellings (and it does), that's just further proof of how folklore works: stories change over time as different people write or tell them. Hongkki's Mesopotamian Mythology is a worthy addition to that tradition.

Not Quite Solo Leveling

We've all seen the idea of chuunibiyou, or second-year middle school syndrome, applied in various ways across media, but Vinukki and Gaechaban's The Player Hides His Past has to be the most fun I have had with it. Based on the novel by Badass, the story is a basic Solo Leveling-style story: one day, dungeons opened up in the world and people awakened to special powers. The difference here is that everything is based on a single VR game, Chronicles of Arcana, and those who awaken as players are literal players of the game: they become their characters. (So it's sort of Solo Leveling by way of Log Horizon.) That's great unless you're Hoyeol Lee. Hoyeol last played the game twelve years ago when he was fourteen and deep into his edge lord phase, so when he awakens as a player, he's transformed into his cringefest character, Granfel Claudi Arpheus Romeo, forced to sort of tag along in Granfel's body as he acts out what a fourteen-year-old thought was super edgy and cool. To call it embarrassing is to understate the matter by a lot.

But there's a twist: Hoyeol picked one of the worst classes at the time because he thought it sounded cool, demonslayer. Twelve years ago, it was a terrible class with awful stats and nothing much to do; the main quest was bringing people bread. But after an update shortly before the game went real, actual demons were implemented. Granfel is a very important class that barely anyone else bothered to play. He can use his snooty vocabulary to smarm his way to the top while Hoyeol is along for the ride in abject humiliation. It's a fun blend of tropes, creating a story that takes itself just the right amount of seriously. What's happening in the world is undeniably terrible, and there's very real danger, even if non-players can't see or enter the rifts that lead to dungeons. No one is prepared for the demons and the way they can possess people and turn them against their allies. But Granfel is such a deeply unserious character that it lightens the mood; he's incredibly powerful and useful, but he's so embarrassing every time he opens his mouth that it all balances out. There's also something relatable about the situation Hoyeol is in because I'm willing to bet a lot of us wrote or made up terrible characters in middle school – I know I certainly did, and the less I have to think about Arabella and Isabella, the better. (No, I will not elaborate beyond saying I was in seventh grade.) It's a fun take on what's become an oversaturated genre, and it should appeal to fans and detractors alike.

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There's plenty more on Tappytoon to explore beyond these five titles, so dig around, and you're sure to find something. Be sure to let us know your favorites in the forum!