Manhwa K-Drama Adaptations 2026: What to Read First

Manhwa K-drama adaptations 2026 represent the biggest production year for the genre since webtoon adaptations started becoming a standard part of Korean television. The Remarried Empress is the headline, but there are four confirmed titles moving through production this year -- and two of them are already out.

This guide covers what's confirmed, what to read before watching, and which adaptations are continuations versus first-time productions.

TL;DR: Manhwa K-drama adaptations 2026: The Remarried Empress (Disney+, H2 2026), Positively Yours (Channel A, January 17 -- already aired), Portraits of Delusion (2026, Bae Suzy/Kim Seon-ho), All of Us Are Dead Season 2 (Netflix 2026). The original manhwa is worth reading before most of these.

Manhwa K-drama adaptations 2026: what's confirmed

Four titles have confirmed production or premieres as of June 2026. The distinction between new adaptations and continuing series matters if you're deciding what to read first.

New adaptations (first-time productions):

• The Remarried Empress (Disney+, second half 2026)
• Positively Yours (Channel A, premiered January 17, 2026)
• Portraits of Delusion (2026, platform TBD)

Continuing series from previous adaptations:

• All of Us Are Dead Season 2 (Netflix, 2026)
• Bloodhounds Season 2 (Netflix, Q2 2026)

For readers who only have time to read one original manhwa before watching, The Remarried Empress is the obvious choice. The others either have less reading-time investment required or are already available to watch now.

For a look at one recent K-drama already based on a webtoon, see our Teach You a Lesson K-drama review.

The Remarried Empress (Disney+, second half 2026)

The highest-profile adaptation of the year. The Remarried Empress is based on the Naver Webtoon series by Alphatart (story) and Sumpul (art), which has 2.7 billion cumulative views globally. The English version is on WEBTOON.

The cast: Shin Min-ah as Empress Navier, Lee Jong-suk as Prince Heinrey, Ju Ji-hoon as Emperor Sovieshu, Lee Se-young as Rashta. That casting level signals this is not a low-budget experiment. Disney+ is treating it as a flagship production.

The manhwa covers Empress Navier -- a woman who has ruled beside the emperor with competence and grace -- navigating the political fallout when her husband introduces a concubine and begins pushing her toward divorce. The story is fundamentally about power, dignity, and what it means to choose your own terms in a political system that wasn't designed to give you any.

If you're only reading one original before any 2026 adaptation airs, this is it. The manhwa has the most complex version of the court politics and faction structure. Any drama adaptation will compress this. Readers who know the factions going in track the drama's choices rather than struggling to absorb setup while the plot moves.

The Remarried Empress by Alphatart and Sumpul -- on WEBTOON in English.

Positively Yours (Channel A, January 17, 2026)

Positively Yours premiered on January 17, 2026, making it the first of the 2026 manhwa adaptations to actually air. Cast: Choi Jin-hyuk, Oh Yeon-seo, Hong Jong-hyun.

The drama adapts a romantic comedy webtoon about an unexpected pregnancy changing two people's trajectories. Channel A productions tend to be more grounded in contemporary realism than Disney+ fantasy, and the subject matter makes it one of the more unusual entries in 2026's slate.

Unlike The Remarried Empress, Positively Yours has already aired, which means readers can go to the original manhwa now for the version the drama didn't have time to include.

The drama is complete. Reading the manhwa now gives you the extended version of character dynamics the drama streamlined. Particularly useful if the drama ending felt rushed.

For romantic manhwa with comparable emotional registers, the best romance manhwa guide covers series in a similar space.

Portraits of Delusion (2026)

Portraits of Delusion stars Bae Suzy and Kim Seon-ho, with Choi Hyun-wook also in the cast. As of June 2026, a premiere date and streaming platform hadn't been officially confirmed, though the project was in development for the year.

The original is a webtoon by the same name. The cast pairing of Bae Suzy and Kim Seon-ho was enough to generate significant anticipation even without a premiere date -- both leads have established track records in the space.

The webtoon source for Portraits of Delusion hadn't received wide English-language coverage as of June 2026. For most international viewers, the drama will be the first contact with this story.

All of Us Are Dead Season 2 (Netflix, 2026)

The original manhwa -- "지금 우리 학교는" (Now at Our School) by Joo Dong-geun -- was adapted into Season 1, which launched on Netflix in January 2022 and became one of the platform's most-watched Korean productions. Season 2 has been confirmed with the original cast returning. Filming was underway as of mid-2025; a premiere date had not been confirmed as of June 2026.

This is a continuation series, not a new adaptation. Readers who haven't seen Season 1 should start there rather than the manhwa, since the drama diverged meaningfully from the source after the first act.

For manhwa in the same survival-thriller space:

Best Action Manhwa 2026

The original manhwa is a completed school-zombie thriller that Season 1 adapted closely in the first arc before diverging. Reading it is most useful for understanding original character fates and story resolution, which differ from where the drama went.

All of Us Are Dead -- the completed manhwa ("Now at Our School") by Joo Dong-geun; Season 1 launched Netflix January 2022.

Why 2026 is different

The 2026 slate is different from previous years, and it's worth saying why.

Disney+ committing to The Remarried Empress is the clearest signal. The platform is investing at a scale that puts this in the same conversation as major original dramas, not just platform experiments. That raises the visibility ceiling for manhwa adaptations broadly.

The variety in tone is also notable. The 2026 slate covers political fantasy (The Remarried Empress), romantic comedy (Positively Yours), psychological thriller (Portraits of Delusion), and zombie survival (All of Us Are Dead Season 2). That range reflects how much ground manhwa covers -- and how mainstream that range has become for Korean streaming.

For more series in the fantasy-romance space:

Best Romance Manhwa

How to read before watching

One principle that holds across all adaptations: read the manhwa before the drama airs, not after. Dramas make choices -- cast, pacing, tonal changes -- that are harder to bracket once you've seen them. Reading first lets you engage with both versions on their own terms.

For The Remarried Empress specifically: the WEBTOON English version is available now. The series is long, but even reading the first 50 chapters gives you the core political setup and character dynamics before the drama's premiere.

For series that have already aired (Positively Yours): reading the manhwa after the drama gives you the extended material the drama compressed, but you've already absorbed the drama's version of events.

For Portraits of Delusion: the English version of the original manhwa wasn't widely available as of June 2026, which makes the drama the likely first-contact point for most viewers.

Related Reading

• Teach You a Lesson K-drama review -- another recent webtoon adaptation, for comparison
• Best Romance Manhwa -- for readers who came for The Remarried Empress and want more in that genre
• Semantic Error Manhwa Reading Guide -- the Watcha BL drama that showed what a well-adapted manhwa looks like

Frequently Asked Questions

Which manhwa are getting K-drama adaptations in 2026?

Confirmed: The Remarried Empress (Disney+), Positively Yours (Channel A, already aired January 17), Portraits of Delusion (2026, no platform confirmed). Continuations: All of Us Are Dead Season 2 (Netflix) and Bloodhounds Season 2 (Netflix Q2 2026).

Is The Remarried Empress manhwa on WEBTOON?

Yes, available in English on WEBTOON. By Alphatart (story) and Sumpul (art), 2.7 billion cumulative views.

When does The Remarried Empress drama premiere?

Second half of 2026 on Disney+. Cast: Shin Min-ah, Lee Jong-suk, Ju Ji-hoon, Lee Se-young.

When does All of Us Are Dead Season 2 premiere?

Netflix 2026. A specific premiere date had not been announced as of June 2026. Filming was confirmed as underway.

Should I read the manhwa before watching?

Yes, for The Remarried Empress specifically -- the source has the most complex version of the political factions. For series that have already aired (Positively Yours), the manhwa gives extended material the drama compressed.

What is Portraits of Delusion?

An upcoming 2026 drama starring Bae Suzy and Kim Seon-ho, based on a webtoon. Platform and premiere date TBD as of June 2026.

Why are there so many manhwa adaptations in 2026?

Disney+ and Netflix both increased investment in Korean original productions in 2024-2025, and manhwa provide pre-proven IP with existing international audiences. The Remarried Empress has 2.7 billion views. All of Us Are Dead Season 1 broke Netflix records. The calculus for adaptation is straightforward.

References

1. The Remarried Empress on WEBTOON -- original English-language source; free to read
2. Studio N Breaks Down Bloodhounds 2 and The Remarried Empress -- Deadline, March 2026: production confirmation and cast details