The 5 Best Romance Manhwa to Fall in Love With (February 2025)
Need a bit more romance in your life? Well, there is no better way to get it than by reading a nice love story!
The publications on this list of the five best romance manhwa to read in December will put you through a full range of emotions.
So, prepare to be saddened, frustrated, infuriated, compelled, envious, and overjoyed as the main protagonists navigate their way through the minefield that is complex human relationships and matters of the heart.
- I Love Yoo
If you like your romance stories to be slow-burning with a bit of drama, then I Love Yoo should be right up your alley. It will hook you with themes of relationships, personal growth, and the unpredictability of life and destiny right from the start.
The story centers around teenager Shin-Ae Yoo, whose life is marked by misfortune and pain as she struggles to navigate life’s hardships.
A graduate of the school of hard knocks, she chooses to keep people at arm’s length and leads an unsocial existence where romance is not on her radar.
However, this changes when she inadvertently ruins the clothes of an unwitting stranger – an act that subsequently embroils her into the lives of two rich brothers who do not see eye to eye.
The more integral a role Shin-Ae plays in their lives, the more her desire to remain detached from others is challenged, which leads her to question her whole beliefs about love and deep connections.
- Love for Sale
No list of the best romance manhwa is complete without Love for Sale appearing on it.
Created by Dal Hyeon Ji, this completed series is a great one to read if you have a lot of time on your hands, as it spans no less than 86 chapters across two seasons.
While it is another slow-burning romance, its unconventional character designs and age gap trope have won the publication an army of fans.
The storyline centers on a young man called Namwoo, who is living a dour hand-to-move existence. One night, his world takes a strange turn when he wakes up to find his room full of substantial amounts of money and a vague recollection of a mysterious yet wealthy stranger called Si-eon.
While rich and seemingly very well off, Si-eon is profoundly unhappy and searching for a purpose. The two eventually form a connection that helps each other to fill the voids in their lives.
While the themes in this manhwa revolve around self-worth, self-doubt, economic hardship, loneliness, and the pursuit of genuine happiness, it ultimately tells the story of how much of a saving grace it can be to find love that’s based on an emotional connection.
- What Kind of Rice Cake Is This
The wonderfully titled What Kind of Rice Cake Is This? is an engaging campus romance that relates the story of a college student called Gong Siru, whose world becomes a maelstrom of emotions when the dashing Seol Kibaek enters her life.
Kibaek’s charming presence provides a fresh boost to Siru’s waning interest in pursuing tertiary education. However, a moment of confusion results in a drunken encounter where she kisses someone whose identity she isn’t quite certain of.
This encounter is the start of a complex and confusing web of emotions and relationships that sees Siru struggle to process her feelings for Kibaek while forming an unforeseen bond with the boy she had the dalliance with.
What makes this story so enjoyable is that as Siru stumbles along the rocky road of her romantic entanglements, readers are immersed deeper into a charming and possibly relatable tale full of heartache, laughter, and, ultimately, happiness in finding love when you least expect it.
- Our Secret Garden
Our Secret Garden is a poignant and touching BL manhwa that highlights the story of two childhood friends who hail from many different social classes.
Despite their divergent backgrounds, their bond strengthens as they encounter a world characterized by greed, intolerance, hatred, and societal expectations. Eventually, their relationship becomes a sanctuary of love and trust that blossoms into a deep multi-level connection despite the harsh realities of life.
Diving deep into themes of hardship, resilience, friendship, and romance, this fantastic manhwa portrays the emotional journey of two very different people who stand firmly against everything the world can throw at them.
Boasting a rich character development and a heartfelt narrative, this story takes the reader through a rollercoaster of emotions that will leave them breathless.
- The Runway
In The Runway, readers are introduced to the central character, Jian, who is the editor of a prestigious fashion magazine of the same name.
Trying to get over the feeling of betrayal that emanated from an affair her ex-fiancé had, she seeks escape and solace by fleeing to Paris on the spur of the moment. Emotionally vulnerable and in need of feeling attractive and wanted, she has a passionate one-night stand with a captivating, mysterious, and debonair stranger.
As enjoyable and intense as the union was, Jian returns to her daily life in Seoul, fully expecting her Parisian paramour to remain nothing but a cherished memory. Yet fate has other plans when she discovers, in the most confronting way, that her new boss at The Runway is that very man.
Grappling with the shock of the billion-to-one chance, she has to navigate her way through a complicated web of emotions that revolve around personal desire, professionalism, career ambition, and a feeling of unfinished business – all with simmering tensions and intriguing secrets lurking just around the corner in this gripping office romance.
FAQs
What is a Romance Manhwa?
A romance manhwa is a South Korean comic that focuses on romantic storylines that often explore themes such as love, relationships, heartbreak, and personal growth.
Romance manhwa spans various subgenres, including historical romance, fantasy romance, modern-day love stories, and even supernatural or sci-fi twists, and are known for their brilliant artwork, emotional depth, and engaging characters.
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