People love romance. The enduring popularity of romantic novels, romantic movies, romantic dramas, and romantic comics only confirms that reality. Given that fact, is it any surprise that readers also love romance webtoons? If you look at any webtoon platform, you will soon notice that romantic webtoons are among the most-read series. In fact, many platforms specifically highlight the genre to make it easy for fans to browse and find their next binge-read.

Another reason to check out romance webtoons is that many serve as the inspiration for Korean dramas. While many viewers are satisfied with simply marathoning a series on Netflix or Viki, others like going to the source material and comparing the similarities and differences. Some people even track upcoming series. (Can you imagine being so on top of things?) Maybe they even want to check out the original webtoon before investing time in a new Korean drama.

Whatever the reason for reading romantic webtoons, we cannot deny the vast number of options. It can be overwhelming for a newcomer to the genre and format. So, to start things off, here are four series to put on your list.

True Beauty by Yaongyi

Avid Korean drama watchers probably recognize this title. What they may not know is that this series began its life as a webtoon. A classic ugly duckling story, True Beauty follows a shy nerd who gives herself a makeover after watching makeup tutorials online. Come on, fess up! Who hasn’t watched a makeup tutorial or two in hopes of replicating that trendy new look? Not everyone has the same luck as our heroine, though. She becomes the most popular girl in school! But her newfound social status raises some issues. Can she keep her true self a secret?

SubZero by Junepurrr

For readers who like some fantasy in their romance, SubZero combines some of our favorite tropes. We have dragon shape-shifters. We have a sweet princess and a cruel prince. We have an arranged marriage required to restore peace to the land. Add in some gorgeous art, and what’s not to love?

The Abandoned Empress by Yuna and iNA

Based on a webnovel, The Abandoned Empress features romance, fantasy, and second chances. It tells the story of a young noblewoman who expected to become the next empress. But things go awry when a mysterious new girl appears, and not only does our heroine not become the empress, she dies. Despite the abrupt ending, she gets a second chance and returns to life—seven years before her untimely death. Now the question is whether she can change her fate.

Secret Playlist by 2F

A recently launched webtoon, Secret Playlist has some great tropes and elements: secret identities, social media, and idols. It follows a university student who is secretly a rising cover artist on a YouTube clone. How popular is her secret persona, you ask? Popular enough that a boy band idol notices her talent and wants to collaborate. This should be something to celebrate, right? Too bad our heroine is also classmates with said idol and they are not exactly on the best of terms. Can our heroine continue to keep her secret while reaching for her dreams?

As you can see, romance webtoons span the gamut of stories and genres. There are contemporary stories and there are fantasy stories. There are timeless stories about ugly ducklings who blossom into beautiful flowers and there are modern stories that feature today’s biggest trends like pervasive social media and popular K-pop idols. No matter what kind of story you like, there is bound to be a romantic webtoon for you. Hopefully, one of these series will serve as a good place to start.