How to Translate Korean Manhwa and Webtoons
Naver Webtoon alone has close to 10,000 titles. Only a fraction of those ever get an official English release, and fan translation groups have been shutting down throughout 2025. If you want to read a series that is ahead of the English release or was never translated at all, you need to do it yourself.
Here are all the ways to do that, from easiest to most involved.
Method 1: Browser Extensions (Fastest)
Browser extensions translate manga panels directly on the page. You click an image, it replaces the Korean text with English.
| Extension | Speed | Pricing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| KitsuTL | 1-2 sec | Pay-per-use (~$6/2500 credits) | Also does image restoration (decensoring) |
| Torii | 1-2 sec | Pay-per-use (~$6/2500 credits) | Translation only, clean interface |
| Cotrans | Varies | Free | Open source, can be slow during peak times |
Both KitsuTL and Torii let you pick your LLM (GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, etc.) and offer batch mode for full chapters. A typical webtoon chapter costs 2-5 cents to translate.
How it works: Install the extension, navigate to a manhwa reader site, click on a panel, select translate. The extension handles OCR, translation, text removal, and re-rendering automatically.
Method 2: Naver Papago (Best Free Option for Korean)
Papago is Naver's own translator, and it handles Korean better than Google Translate for most use cases. It understands slang, casual speech, and Korean sentence structures that trip up other translators.
For text you can copy: Paste Korean text into Papago's web or mobile app. This works well for web novels or any site where you can select text.
For images: Papago's mobile app has an image translation mode. Take a screenshot of a manhwa panel, open it in Papago, and it will overlay English text. The results are rougher than dedicated manga tools since it was not built for comics, but it is free and works offline.
Where Papago struggles: Stylized text, sound effects baked into artwork, and text that overlaps with complex backgrounds. It also processes one image at a time, so translating a full chapter is tedious.
Method 3: Google Lens (Quick and Dirty)
Google Lens can translate Korean text from any image in real time. Point your phone camera at your screen, or open a screenshot in Google Lens.
Best for: Quick lookups when you just need to understand one panel or a system window. Not practical for reading full chapters.
The trick: If you are reading on desktop, open Google Lens on your phone and point it at your monitor. It is janky but surprisingly usable for checking what a skill name or quest description says.
Method 4: Desktop Apps (Offline, Batch Processing)
If you have downloaded files and want to translate them locally:
- Comic-Translate is an open source desktop app that supports multiple LLMs (GPT-4, Claude, Gemini). It has a manual correction mode for fixing mistakes before exporting. Good for translators who want more control.
These tools require more setup (Python, API keys) but give you full control and work offline once configured.
What to Expect from AI Translation Quality
AI translation for Korean has gotten genuinely good for standard dialogue and narration. Modern LLMs handle Korean grammar, context, and even casual speech well. But there are consistent weak spots you should know about.
What works well:
- Regular dialogue and narration
- System windows, status screens, and quest text
- Formal speech and announcements
What still breaks:
- Pronoun confusion. Korean frequently drops pronouns entirely. The translator has to guess who is speaking and who they are talking about from context. In action scenes with multiple characters, this often goes wrong.
- Speech levels. Korean has formal (존댓말) and informal (반말) registers that encode social relationships. A character switching from formal to informal speech is a dramatic moment in Korean, but this nuance is almost always lost in translation.
- Names. Korean names get romanized inconsistently. The same character might appear as "Jinwoo," "Jin-woo," or "Jin Wu" across different panels.
- Made-up terms. Skill names, clan names, and fantasy terminology in hunter/murim manhwa can translate differently each time they appear.
The result is good enough to follow any story comfortably. Think of it as a solid fan translation, not a professional localization.
Common Korean Sound Effects (SFX)
Korean manhwa is full of onomatopoeia that AI tools sometimes miss or mistranslate. Here are the ones you will see constantly:
| Korean | Romanization | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 쾅 | kwang | Loud crash, explosion |
| 펑 | peong | Pop, burst |
| 두근두근 | du-geun du-geun | Heartbeat (nervousness/excitement) |
| 쿵 | kung | Heavy thud, impact |
| 슉 | syuk | Swoosh, quick movement |
| 휙 | hwik | Swift slash or dodge |
| 우르르 | u-reu-reu | Rumbling |
| 째려 | jjae-ryeo | Glaring intensely |
| 덜덜 | deol-deol | Trembling, shaking |
| 흡 | heup | Gasp |
| 킥킥 | kik-kik | Snickering |
| 와아아 | wa-a-a | Crowd cheering |
| 쨍 | jjaeng | Sharp metallic clang |
| 부웅 | bu-ung | Engine or energy humming |
Hunter / System Manhwa Glossary
If you read Korean hunter or regression manhwa (Solo Leveling, Omniscient Reader, etc.), these terms show up in nearly every chapter:
| Korean | English | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 헌터 (heonteo) | Hunter | Character class/profession |
| 각성 (gakseong) | Awakening | Gaining powers |
| 던전 (deonjeon) | Dungeon | Instance/raid area |
| 레이드 (reideu) | Raid | Group dungeon clear |
| 회귀 (hoegwi) | Regression/Return | Time loop back to the past |
| 스텟 (seutet) | Stats | Character attributes |
| 마나 (mana) | Mana | Magic resource |
| 길드 (gildeu) | Guild | Player organization |
| 랭크 (raengkeu) | Rank | Power tier (S, A, B, etc.) |
| 게이트 (geiteu) | Gate | Portal to dungeon |
| 스킬 (seukil) | Skill | Ability |
| 아이템 (aitem) | Item | Equipment/loot |
Knowing these helps you follow along even when the translator fumbles the context.
Where to Find Korean Raws
Official platforms:
- Naver Webtoon (Korean version) is the biggest. Some series are free, others use a coin system. Creating an account as a foreigner can require workarounds for phone verification.
- KakaoPage / Kakao Webtoon is the other major platform with a massive catalog.
- Lezhin Comics focuses on mature content and has both Korean and English versions.
Tips for finding series: Korean and English titles often differ completely. Search the Korean title (한국어 제목) to find the original. Sites like MyAnimeList or MangaUpdates list both Korean and English titles.
A note on aggregators: Many raw manhwa aggregator sites have shut down in 2025 following legal action from Kakao Entertainment. The landscape changes frequently.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I translate Korean manhwa to English?
The fastest way is a browser extension like KitsuTL or Torii. Install the extension, go to a site with Korean manhwa, click a panel, and the text is replaced with English in 1-2 seconds. For free options, use Naver Papago's image translation or Google Lens.
Can I translate manhwa on my phone?
Yes. Firefox for Android supports browser extensions. Papago and Google Lens also work on mobile. For quick lookups, Google Lens pointed at your screen works in a pinch.
How accurate is AI translation for Korean manhwa?
Good enough to follow stories without missing plot points. Standard dialogue translates well. You will notice issues with dropped pronouns, inconsistent character names, and made-up fantasy terms. Think solid fan translation quality.
Is it better to use Papago or Google Translate for Korean?
Papago is generally better for Korean. It was built by Naver (the company behind most Korean web content) and handles Korean grammar, slang, and sentence structure more naturally. Google Translate works fine for simple phrases but produces more awkward output on longer Korean text.
What is the best free manga translation tool?
For individual panels, Papago and Google Lens are free. For full pages with text replacement, Cotrans is a free open source option. For batch processing of downloaded files, Comic-Translate is free but requires setup.
Why do Korean names translate differently each time?
Korean romanization is not standardized the way Japanese romaji is. The name 김진우 could be rendered as "Kim Jinwoo," "Kim Jin-woo," or "Kim Jin Wu" depending on the romanization system. AI translators are not consistent about which system they use, so the same character's name might change between panels.
Last updated: 2026.