On this page I will share the webnovels that I have read, whether fully or partially and give them a rating. Feel free to comment if you wish to know more or discuss any of them. I will list how far I have read and give a rating for each.
The one thing I've always been able to stick to during my Korean learning journey is reading books. Early on I found webnovels which I believe are a great way to get into the Korean language as the level of most are generally not that hard although some are harder than others, often they will use slang and they provide much more descriptive language than webtoons.
You can check out my article 'I read 61 Korean books in 2020' which I'll follow up a 2021 version soon, for some more background info on what I have read. You can also check out my 소설넷 list to see what I think are must reads. I will post the webnovels in the order that I have read them. Please enjoy.
나 혼자만 레벨업
Rating: 5/5
Difficulty: Easy
Has webtoon: Yes
Thoughts: Very good entry level webnovel for lower level learners. When I read this there was aaround 30 or so chapters of the webtoon available and I read them side by side which I think is a great option for checking your understanding. I read the webnovel then later in the day read the webtoon up to the same point each day. I quickly overtook the webtoon but I think it definitely helps with visualising the characters.
바바리안 퀘스트
Rating: 5/5
Difficulty: Easy
Has webtoon: No
Thoughts: I've noticed that the better webnovels tend to stick with me so much more. I can still rememember most of the events pretty vividly even a year later. The first book has kind of a slow middle but it's such a great series, I thought that there would have been magic elements added in later but there isn't. 바바리안 퀘스트 covers so many different themes of morality, justice, honour, duty, origin and it creates a stunning world with tonnes of character.
요리의 신
Rating: 3/5
Difficulty: Easy
Has webtoon: Yes
Thoughts: I've only read the first book out of 32, I'm unsure where this one could actually go if I'm honest. It seems like it could be a fun light hearted adventure, the first book covers the main character applying for and competing in a cooking competition in New York. I'm not sure I'll ever read it in it's entirety just because of how long it is.
학사신공
Rating: 1/5
Difficulty: Hard
Has webtoon: No
Thoughts: This one was originally a work in Chinese and I think it really tells. From what I remember a lot of my problems while reading this were the lack of concepts and abilities that stem asian fantasy. I would probably have a much easier time, if I read it now. I remember the majority of the book being training, which it seems most 무협 are. I would suggest reading the 나노마신 webtoon instead.
킬 더 드래곤
Rating: 5/5
Difficulty: Easy
Has webtoon:No
Thoughts: I honestly think this is the best webnovel I've read. It's such a fantastic story that brings out all kinds of emotions. I would love to see a live action movie adaptation. The story revolves around a training facility for children with differing powers. The characters all have a different special ability whilst also having varying strengths of psychokinetic and physical abiltiies. So much betrayal and reveals. I don't want to say too much but I think this is a must read. Just another absolute banger from 백수귀족.
멸망한 세계의 사냥꾼
Rating: 5/5
Difficulty: Easy
Has webtoon: No
Thoughts: This was one I always knew I was going to read fully, I recently purchased the full set in a 50% off sale. So I will likely get to it at some point in 2022. Sometimes it's nice to read something isn't trying to add game elements or a character that gets revived.
내가 키운 S급들
Rating: 1/5
Difficulty: Easy
Has webtoon: Yes
Thoughts: I can't even remember what happened but I just remember it being extremely boring. Maybe I was distracted but it seemed like the entirety of book 1 was just introducing new characters and never actually doing anything.
나는 아직 살아있다
Difficulty: Easy
Has webtoon: No
Thoughts: Starts off really well with a guy trying to survive a sudden zombie apocalypse but suddenly becomes very stale about 3-4 books in. One of the biggest issues is that none of the characters ever feel like they're in danger.
망겜의 성기사
Rating: 4/5
Difficulty: Hard
Has webtoon: No
Thoughts: I don't know if it's just me but 검미성's works are all kind of confusing. This one is the only one that was coherent enough for me to enjoy. It's one of the harder books I've read, the author tends to use rarer words and grammar which I think makes them a bit harder. Still, I plan on reading the full series later.
모든 것이 아름다울 뿐
Rating: 3/5
Difficulty: Easy
Has webtoon: No
Thoughts: The only romance book I've read so far, it was pretty interesting, to see the characters interact, it sort of reminded me of a typical romance drama. Might be worth having a read if you want to read some romance webnovels although I'm sure there are better ones out there.
드래곤 라자
Rating: 5/5
Difficulty: Medium
Has webtoon: No
Thoughts: 이영도 is one of the original webnovel writers who posted his works originally on a new defunct site. They were quickly picked up by a publishing company and he is now considered one the most famous fantasy writers in Korea. The story reminds me of an older western RPG in terms of the party and switching out party members in different places. The characters are all well written and the world is well described.
튜토리얼이 너무 어렵다
Rating: 4/5
Difficulty: Easy
Has webtoon: Yes
Thoughts: The content itself is relatively easy but the structure of the story is very refreshing switching between future and current points to show different points in time. I really like the way that he obtains new skills and abilities from either doing the thing or taking damage from something. Definitely one I want to read all the way through.
퓨처 워커
Rating: 3/5
Difficulty: Hard
Has webtoon:No
Thoughts: A sequel to 드래곤 라자 set in the future, some characters make cameos. Overall a fun side story set in the same world. I don't really think it adds much to the universe so I wouldn't force yourself to read it. For me the quality of the story wasn't as good as 드래곤 라자 but I did enjoy the new charactersand the references to the old characters.
재벌집 막내아들
Difficulty: Medium
Has webtoon: No
Thoughts: A worker for a 재벌 gets executed by his boss, is then reborn as a child to the same 재벌 family. I'm interested to see where it goes but there are many sections that are reiterating older Korean political events. If you're into Korean history or Korean politics you will probably like this one as they appear often as a way for the main character to take advantage of events he knows are going to occur.
그림자 자국
Rating: 3/5
Difficulty: Medium
Has webtoon: No
Thoughts: Another sequel to 드래곤 라자 that is set in the distant future, I think it's worth reading if you read the first two series in the universe but I'm not sure it would be as good if it were read as a stand alone book.
픽 미 업!
Rating: 4/5
Difficulty: Medium
Has webtoon: No
Thoughts: A guy who is extremely good at a mobile game, fails a raid that was added in a new content update and ends up getting sucked into the game and becomes a unit. Sadly he has to wait for the user to play the game before he can actually do anything, meaning he has to try find ways to force the person to use the phone and try to guide him on what to do. It's one of the better written videogame webnovels and I want to read it all to see if the quality stays as good as book 1.
권투사 칼리
Rating: 4/5
Difficulty: Easy
Has webtoon: No
Thoughts: Another 백수귀족 webnovel which I was told, is not so good but I found it very enjoyable. I'll definitely be reading it all the way through as it's only 6 books long. There's a lot of fighting and quick character building. I think I just vibe with the author but for me it was very enjoyable and an easy recommendation.
은둔형 마법사
Rating: 2/5
Difficulty: Medium
Has webtoon: No
Thoughts: I really couldn't vibe with this one, not sure if I was just not understanding what was happening but it was extremely boring. The start was actually more interesting that most of the book as it seems to just be trying to build up a character for too long without going anywhere.
광란의 트롤랑
Rating: 3/5
Difficulty: Easy
Has webtoon: No
Thoughts: Finding it hard to remember what happened but I remember thinking it was just ok. It's kind of merged in my head with 게임 속 전사가 되었다. Maybe I'll read it again later to jog my memory.
월야환담
Rating: 4/5
Difficulty: Medium
Has webtoon: No
Thoughts: Starts off quite gorey, I actually love the different genre, most of the popular webnovels tend to have similar elements such as game stats or climbing a tower. This one covers the story of a guy trying to get revenge on vampires whilst simultaneous trying to get through life. I love emotional parts so I thought the end of book 1 was great, the only downside is there are a lot of parts in between that involve too much talking about bikes. I'd say it's similar to something like Blade or The Matrix.
탐식의 재림
Rating: 4/5
Difficulty: Medium
Has webtoon: Yes
Thoughts: Interesting 이계 where the main character thrown into a sort of lobby with other people and they are to figure out how to complete tasks in order to progress to the next stage. I'm having trouble remembering what happens, so I'll likely catch up on the webtoon soon and I'll start to write these as I finish reading the books after this is posted.
아이작
Rating: 2/5
Difficulty: Easy
Has webtoon: No
Thoughts: This one is kind of dissapointing, it starts with a soldier getting injured and waking up in a medieval world. However it doesn't really switch back and forth as much as I'd like it to. It could have been a lot more interesting if the main character's main goal was to find out why this happened to him. It is brought up towards the end of the first book but I believe that it could have been much better implemented.
게임 속 전사가 되었다
Rating: 4/5
Difficulty: Easy
Has webtoon: No
Thoughts: It's another one that is based in a game world but actually doesn't necessarily need to as it never makes mention to the real world in anyway despite being very aware that it's set in a game world. The writer has been getting good reviews for this one and his new work. I will likely purchase as it's one of the shorter ones.
쥐뿔도 없는 회귀
Rating: 4/5
Difficulty: Easy
Has webtoon: No
Thoughts: I remember enjoying this one despite not actually being able to remember most of what happened. Writing this in hindsight means I've forgot all the little details that make it great. After a quick glance I can remember some occurences such as the main character being given the ability to learn martial arts skills quicker than the average person. Some of these I may need to reread the first book before I dive into the full series.
게임4판타지
Rating: 2/5
Difficulty: Hard
Has webtoon: No
Thoughts: I found it very hard to follow the overall story in this one but I really enjoyed the side stories as it added some depth to some of the characters. Overall I think the content was just lacking but maybe it was just me getting lost or not concentrating enough. The story seems to progress quickly so it's hard to not lose track of what is happening if you miss one sentence.
내 독일에 나치는 필요없다
Rating: 4/5
Difficulty: Easy
Has webtoon: No
Thoughts: Very interesting take on ww2, a Korean is transported into the body of a German soldier. From the name I believe it will end up being an alternate history novel, but as far as I've read, it seems to be recapping events. It shows the battles from different view points, the author seems to be knowledgable on the subject, I'd like to see how close it sticks to history before diverging.
나를 위해 살겠다
Rating: 5/5
Difficulty: Easy
Has webtoon: No
Thoughts: Real chad energy, another one where the character is reborn and decides to stop caring about others and do everything for his own gain. I think this one could be great and it's quite short so I will likely grab it when it's on sale.
둠 브레이커
Rating: 5/5
Difficulty: Easy
Has webtoon: No
Thoughts: A man betrayed by his guild is reborn after he pledges allegiance to a chaotic god who grants him a new body. He must regain his power whilst fighting against the will of the god who gave him his new life. Was surprisingly fun to read.
SSS급 죽어야 사는 헌터
Rating: 5/5
Difficulty: Medium
Has webtoon: Yes
Thoughts: I started with the webtoon for this first and wanted to read it so I could find out what happens. The story is pretty good so far, I'd like to know if the quality continues till the end. It's quite emotional. Highly recommend. Looking forward to seeing how the story pans out and whether it meets my expectations.
불꽃의 기사
Rating: 4/5
Difficulty: Medium
Has webtoon: No
Thoughts: Starts off a bit slow as it introduces the world and characters. Started to pick up towards the end of the first book, so perhaps it continues to hit those highs throughout the rest of the story. It doesn't seem like it will do anything new but it could be a good story. My only issue is it's quite long so I don't have a strong urge to purchase it as of yet.
세월의 돌
Rating: 3/5
Difficulty: Hard
Thoughts: I will write out more when I finish the whole series but it has a relatively slow build up, more like a classic fantasy novel than a typical webnovel.
For related posts please check out these pages:
- How to Start Reading in a Foreign Language
- Smartphone Apps For Learning Korean
- How to Use Ridibooks(Korean Ebook Store)
- Olly Richards' Short Stories in Korean for Intermediate Learners Review
- Billy Go's Korean Reading Made Simple Review
- Lingo Mastery's Korean Short Stories for Beginners Review
- I read 61 Korean books in 2020
- 7 Reading Tips to Accelerate Your Korean Learning
- 7 Fantasy Webtoons You Should Read in 2021
- Tuttle's Korean Stories for Language Learners Review
- 7 Korean Netflix Show Recommendations
No comments:
Post a Comment
Share your thoughts on this topic