Webtoon-Based K-Dramas Surge as True Education and Manager Kim Set New Records

Korean television’s current ratings conversation is being driven by a familiar source: webtoons. Two recent dramas, Netflix’s True Education and SBS’s Manager Kim, have turned illustrated action concepts into mainstream screen hits, giving broadcasters and streaming platforms another reminder that popular digital comics can still provide a powerful launchpad for Korean entertainment.

According to a July 12 report by Segye, citing News1, True Education has spent four consecutive weeks at No. 1 on Netflix’s non-English TV chart. In its fifth week, the drama reportedly reached 51.3 million views, a figure calculated by dividing total viewing hours by runtime. That performance places it above The Glory, which recorded 39.7 million views, on Netflix’s ranking of Korean original dramas, and puts it within reach of the 55.5 million-view mark associated with All of Us Are Dead.

The appeal is not difficult to trace. True Education adapts a webtoon built around a fictional authority that intervenes in troubled schools. Its central figure, inspector Na Hwa Jin, played by Kim Mu Yeol, operates in a heightened world where educational conflicts are answered with blunt, cathartic force. The setup is openly larger than life, but it connects with anxieties around classroom violence, discipline, and institutional failure.

That same formula has also produced debate. The drama’s vigilante-style satisfaction, sometimes described in Korea as sida entertainment for its stress-relieving punch, has been praised by viewers who want clear moral payback. At the same time, critics have questioned the ethics of private punishment and the plausibility of its solutions. Rather than slowing the show, the argument appears to have strengthened public awareness around it.

Manager Kim Turns Webtoon Energy Into Ratings

SBS’s Manager Kim is following a similar path on broadcast television. The series centers on an ordinary-looking father whose past as an operative gives him the ability to move between domestic life and high-stakes action. The premise is intentionally comic-book bold: a family man with exceptional skills, simple motivations, and a fast-moving story designed around action, humor, and payback.

The numbers have made the industry pay attention. The Segye report said Manager Kim began with a 9.5 percent nationwide rating, according to Nielsen Korea, then climbed to 21.6 percent by its fourth episode. That made it the first drama in about two years to pass the 20 percent mark since tvN’s Queen of Tears, and the highest-rated drama of the year across channels as of the report.

The series is also performing beyond Korean broadcast ratings. Netflix’s official Top 10 data, as cited in the report, showed Manager Kim recording 10.5 million views and reaching No. 1 among non-English TV shows. It also topped viewing lists in 11 countries, including Singapore, Thailand, and Peru, showing how the local broadcast hit can travel when paired with a global streaming window.

Why Webtoon Adaptations Keep Working

The success of these titles points to a durable advantage for webtoon-based dramas. A known source gives producers an existing fan base and a tested premise before filming begins. Webtoons also tend to arrive with vivid character hooks, episodic cliffhangers, and visual concepts that can translate into action-heavy television. For platforms competing for attention, that combination is valuable.

There is a risk attached to that advantage. Source material can bring old controversies with it, and adaptation does not erase the public record around a title or creator. The report noted that True Education‘s original work faced criticism over discriminatory elements in some scenes, while discussion around Manager Kim has included renewed attention to past allegations involving webtoon creator Park Tae Joon, who previously denied intentional wrongdoing.

Those concerns matter because webtoon adaptations are no longer niche experiments. They are now central to Korean drama planning, from streaming originals to weekend broadcast schedules. When a series reaches tens of millions of Netflix views or crosses 20 percent on national television, it affects what studios develop next and what broadcasters consider commercially viable.

The pipeline is already filling. Segye reported that MBC is preparing Married Woman Killer, another webtoon-based drama, with Gong Hyo Jin playing a working mother who was once a killer. TVING is also preparing a second season of Study Group, the school action series about a student whose talent lies in fighting rather than academics.

For now, True Education and Manager Kim show that the Korean drama market still has room for direct, heightened storytelling when it is packaged with strong characters and clear stakes. The next question is whether the industry can keep the momentum while handling the ethical and cultural baggage that sometimes travels with popular source material.