Manga Manhua Manhwa for the Noobies

I preferred to write about my favourite hobby which is reading Manga, Manhua and
Manhwa.

Young Generations, such as I, love to read not traditional books, as the older generation did, but
love to read manga, manhwa and manhua. Our generation have been reading more than previous
generations, are changing the definition of classics to be more inclusive, and are the most likely
generation to use libraries.

Manga/Manhwa/Manhua is good for your brain. In fact, reading (Manga/Manhwa/Manhua) may

give you an advantage over those, who grew up reading only traditional books. It benefits those
with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) too. The medium requires a different set of skills than
reading traditional books. It’s just that manga challenges the brain in different ways. The media
has several layers of reading: images, words, onomatopoeia, and its own visual language. This
combination means “…even proficient readers of English—who are not experienced with this
level of multi-modality and have been socialized into more traditional, nonhypertext, storylines
—may find manga, as we do, to be a challenging read (Schwartz, 2006).”

Beyond the learning benefits, manga/manhwa/manhua provides a shared interest that allows
people to socialize easier.

For Noobs (a person who is inexperienced in a particular sphere or activity, especially computing
or the use of the internet) who does not have any idea what these three words means, my essay
will serves as a (your) guide.

The Differences Between Manga, Manhwa & Manhua.

Manga, manhwa and manhua are the same, right? Nope. Here's a comparison between the three
types of East Asian comics.

Manga, manhwa and manhua sound the same, and generally speaking, are similar in artwork and
layout, which can result in accidentally categorizing these comics as Japanese in origin. But,
there are some subtle — but important — differences between the three that make all the
difference.

The History Of Manga, Manhwa & Manhua

The terms "manga" and "manhwa" actually come from the Chinese term "manhua," which
means “impromptu drawings.” Originally, these terms were used within Japan, Korea and China,
respectively, as general terms for all comics and graphic novels, regardless of the country of
origin. Now, international readers use these terms to address comics that are published from a
specific country: manga are Japanese comics, manhwa are Korean comics and manhua are
Chinese comics. The creators of these East Asian comics also have specific titles: a person who
makes manga is a "mangaka," a person who creates manhwa is a "manhwaga" and a person that
makes manhua is a "manhuajia." Along with etymology, each country has also historically
influenced one another's comics.

In late 19th century Japan, the popularity of manga skyrocketed with the Godfather of Manga,
Tezuka Osamu, the creator of Astro Boy. There was a great demand for manga due to an
increase of readership in the 1950s to 1960s and soon after, manga became a global phenomenon
with overseas readership starting in the late 1980s to now.

Manhwa has its own history of development. During the Japanese Occupation (1910-1945) of
Korea, Japanese soldiers brought their culture and language into Korean society, including the
importation of manga. In the 1930s to 1950s, manhwa was used as propaganda for war efforts
and to impose a political ideology on civilians. Manhwa became popular during the 1950s to
1960s but declined due to the strict censorship laws in the mid-1960s. However, manhwa became
popular again when South Korea launched websites that publish digital manhwa known as
webtoons, such as Daum Webtoon in 2003 and Naver Webtoon in 2004. Then in 2014, Naver
Webtoon launched globally as LINE Webtoon.

Manhua are comics from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Manhua is said to have started in the
mid-19th century with the introduction of the lithographic printing process. Some manhua were
politically-driven with stories about the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Japanese Occupation
of Hong Kong. Yet, after the Chinese Revolution in 1949, there were strict censorship laws,
resulting in manhua having a difficult time being legally published overseas. However,
manhuajia began self-publishing their work on social media and webcomic platforms like QQ
Comic and Vcomic.

East Asian comics have specified content aimed to attract different demographics, usually based
on age and gender. In Japan, boys’ shonen manga is filled with high-action and adventure stories
like My Hero Academia and Naruto. Girls’ shoujo manga is mainly features magical girl
stories like Cardcaptor Sakura and complex romances like Fruits Basket.

Inspired by the art of Walt Disney, Tezuka Osamu drew his characters with big eyes, small
mouths and exaggerated facial expressions to emphasize certain emotions. Tezuka's art style
influenced the artwork of other artists in Japan and elsewhere. However, manhwa and manhua
characters are drawn to focus on more realistic human proportions and appearances. Manga and
manhwa also have realistic and detailed background settings, almost photo-realistic, in contrast
to digital manhwa which has simpler backgrounds — though it should be noted that print
manhwa is more similar to manga in this regard.

Manga also uses a unique set of onomatopoeia in their narratives to describe not only the sounds
of animals and inanimate objects but also the sounds of psychological states and emotions. These
onomatopoeia are written in the surrounding panels and gutters of a page, much like American
comics. Likewise, manhwa and manhua have their own set of onomatopoeia used to describe
emotions and movements. Also, digital manhwa often use music and soundbites to enhance the
reading experience, something novel to their electronic presentation.

With the internet, we have easy access to many East Asian comics. Whether you are reading
manga, manhwa or manhua, each comic has its merits, which only enhance the reading
experience for anyone anywhere.

As easy as counting 1,2,3, Manga, Manhua and Manhwa can be found easily on the
internet. When I googled, bing or use yahoo search bar, I found what I needed for the said
essay.
What I learned from this is; it gave me additional knowledge of where my favourite
Manga, Manhwa and Manhua came from. Its history and what it takes to bring each story
to life.