10 Manhwa Series With Unique Underworlds

Highlights

• Dive into unique underworlds with detailed settings and intriguing characters in these manhwa titles.
• Explore epic battles, treacherous power struggles, and pursuit of forbidden knowledge in these underworld-themed stories.
• Uncover life lessons, mysteries, and new perspectives on supernatural beings through the creative concepts presented in these manhwa.

The Underworld is a fantastic concept often overlooked among the various tropes most manhwa titles explore. Whether searching the depths of literal underworlds involving hell or other realms beyond the mortal world, these titles offer a unique approach to storytelling. They have detailed world settings, interesting characters, and existing or entirely new mythology that reflects the history of supernatural beings.

The following manhwa titles explore everything from epic battles between otherworldly beings to an intricate chess game between those outside of time. Readers can also experience unique concepts and worlds where danger lurks in every shadow. Plus, they can expect to read about treacherous power struggles, deception, and the pursuit of forbidden knowledge.

10 Hellper

Unique Concept Of Hell That Teaches Some Important Life Lessons

Captain Kwang-nam Jang finds himself in hell after a mysterious car accident. He explores the afterlife to find 100 tickets to be resurrected or to have a chance at going to heaven. Scouring the underworld, he learns essential life lessons about his friends and enemies and their histories.

Favorited by many early readers of manhwa (when it was being transitioned from black and white to full color), Hellper has one of the most unique underworlds. It still gets buried deep within the recommendations because it is an old title with a tacky art style. The concept of the afterlife is exciting and will make readers laugh, cry, and root for the characters. They can also learn great insights from past experiences, friends, families, and enemies. It is truly a treasured read.

9 Soul Cartel

Another Great Concept Of Hell With Exorcists, Demons, And Archangels

Hailing from an exorcist family, Shihoon was just a child when his parents vanished while fighting spirits from the underworld. Years later, he gets a contract to judge the fight between the devil Mephisto and a human, Faust. He grabs the opportunity and tries to find clues about his parents and his exorcist older sister in the underworld.

Soul Cartel is another title that belongs to one of the earliest manhwas in full color. Its story and premise are on par with Tower of God, Flow, Noblesse, and God of High School. As a result, it gets buried under other prominent titles, and most readers don’t know about it. The plot is phenomenal, with great pacing and character development. Plus, readers can take a break and follow Shihoon’s journey of becoming overpowered along the way. It offers a fresh take to see a weak character going through the challenges to become strong instead of already being overpowered from the get-go.

8 Player Who Returned 10,000 Years Later

MC Falls Into Hell And Comes Back To Earth As Its Ruler

Oh Kang Woo suddenly finds himself in hell among the dangerous creatures and bosses of the realm. Luckily, he gets a system that helps him gain the power he needs to climb up the ranks. After almost an eternity, Woo defeats the demons and gains enough power to return to Earth. However, his homeworld differs from the one he lived in before his disappearance.

Primarily focused on comedy, Player Who Returned 10,000 Years Later touches on interesting plot points involving the interconnection of hell, dungeons, otherworldly beings, and other realms. The protagonist is a distinct character with a fun personality who tries to dip his feet back into civilization. Although he loses most of his original powers, he slowly gains them back as he conquers the dungeon. He also works on unveiling the secrets behind dungeons and the system that makes it a fun read.

7 The Constellation That Returned From Hell

Aspiring Apostle Gets Lost In The Abyss To Forge His Unique Destiny

Yeonseung Choi is a hardcore gym enthusiast who loves his time training. In a world of dungeons and monsters, constellations (gods) and their apostles are fighting for the human race. Choi was chosen to be the apostle of one such constellation. However, she makes a mistake in his spawn location, and he gets whisked away by a mana storm. Thinking it was part of his training, he endured it and got lost in the abyss. In his quest to become stronger, he becomes a constellation himself before returning to Earth.

The Constellation That Returned From Hell offers a unique concept involving gods. As the series progresses, the plot reveals crucial points in the ‘why monsters exist’ trope. Even Choi is a fun-loving, wonderful character who isn’t afraid to face anything. He solely believes in his goal and eventually becomes smart enough to match his power. The side characters are well-written and become his comrades in his journey to save humanity.

6 Overpowered Healer

MC Starts Hearing Gods And Realizes He’s A Pawn In Their Game

Sido is whisked away from Earth by a goddess to help defeat monsters in another world. These monsters drop loot and points like a game. At first, his goal is to earn enough points to return to Earth. However, fate has other plans for him when he comes across a treasure that lets him hear the gods. As he learns about their objectives, his goddess leaves him behind to survive alone. Eventually, he develops a new goal when he realizes he can no longer return to Earth.

Readers who love Dungeons & Dragons will find Overpowered Healer fascinating. Sido realizes that he and the other players are just proxies the gods use to play — as one would in a D&D game. There is a dedicated game master, and they use dice to initiate the outcome of a player’s actions. As Sido tries to navigate this new world, he meets a lesser-known god and learns the truth about the player’s situation, god’s actions, and the world.

5 The Main Characters Only I Know

Discover How Greater Cosmic Beings Keep Themselves Entertained

Yoohyun dreams of being a hero in a world where dungeons and monsters have taken over society. He is filled with regret when he faces imminent death, but he reincarnates into a non-human race called “Teller.” Plus, he has also regressed to 10 years before his death. As a Teller, he chooses a character to “invest” and help them grow. He also has to “stream” their journey to gods, devils, and the like for their entertainment. Armed with previous life knowledge, he makes sure to get the most out of this new opportunity!

A few manhwa titles deal with gods and celestial beings playing humans as chess pieces in an apocalyptic world. Despite that, The Main Characters Only I Know takes a creative approach to this premise. The protagonist is a non-human mystical character who still uses his past-life knowledge to help his invested character grow tremendously. He also comes in contact with prominent figures in the underworld and the celestial plane to win great things. He may not be powerful, but he uses information as one of his most prominent weapons.

4 The Player Who Can’t Level Up

MC Starts Unraveling Mythical Secrets As He Climbs The Tower

Kim Kigyu finally becomes a player after years of struggling and wanting to become one. Although he has a unique ability, he finds that he can’t level up! Eventually, he ends up becoming a guide on the lower floors. As fate would have it, he discovers that his unique ability is to link with “Egos” — a weapon with a conscience. As the story progresses, he finds the truth behind them and the Tower itself.

Although The Player Who Can’t Level Up follows the usual Tower and leveling trope, it offers a unique approach through the concept of Egos. Although the Ego itself is nothing new, it’s how the author portrays them as remnants of mythical figures. As it turns out, his two primary weapons are remnants of a devil and an angel. Readers eventually learn about his weapons’ past, mythology, and the truth behind the Tower. Later in the story, the player has a brush with the underworld and the beings inhabiting it.

3 I Became a Part-Time Employee For The Gods

Working With The Gods, MC Realizes The Secrets Surrounding Dungeons

Desperate for a job, Damduk Yu gets a sketchy job post on his smartphone. Having given up on getting the job, he applies for it anyway — before being whisked away in front of a god. Luckily, the job didn’t require any experience, and Yu could finish his task of designing a dungeon. Later, he finds himself defeating the same dungeon with other players. Figuring out the connection, Yu keeps taking on tasks and getting close to the gods. Eventually, he slowly unravels the secrets concerning the events occurring in his world.

With a unique premise, I Became a Part-Time Employee For The Gods offers a great perspective on the dungeons and monsters trope. As the protagonist keeps on doing jobs, he turns into a god himself. As a result, he has to build up his divinity by making himself known and helping humanity out of danger. The manhwa is a fun read with an original concept and impressive art.

2 Underworld Restaurant

Exploring How And Why Ghosts Exist In Our World

Struggling to make a living, Lee Kangjin suddenly gets a visit from a lawyer who says he has inherited an entire building. However, he has to fulfill the condition of running a restaurant from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. Although hesitant, he accepts — but he soon discovers that his guests are far from ordinary. As time goes on, he realizes that these customers are ghosts!

Dancing between a focus on cooking, the supernatural, and being a slice of life story, Underworld Restaurant is an excellent manhwa with some beautiful moments. It explores the origin of ghosts and spirits and how Kangjin tries to make sense of it all. Many memorable characters with well-written backstories make them relatable. Readers can turn their brains off and enjoy a wholesome story.

1 The Boy Of Death

MC ‘Borrows’ Powers From Famous Dead Souls

Kyeong-Ho lives a pretty tragic life, and his stubbornness to cross over to the other side catches the interest of a grim reaper, Sierra. She offers him a chance with a special ticket to borrow the talents and experiences of famous dead people. However, it only lasts an hour and takes off one year from his lifespan. After that, she informs him that his mother’s soul is still wandering the city and not in the underworld. It entices him, and he willingly accepts the idea of looking for his mother’s soul and helping her ascend.

Like the Underworld Restaurant, The Boy of Death focuses with ghosts and spirits. The story also involves the real world’s literal underworld and secret societies. Although Kyeong-Ho wants to find his mother’s soul, he ends up tangled with various characters who force him into a setback. Eventually, he finds himself trying to connect with other spirits and getting help from Sierra. The plot has excellent pacing, decent action scenes, and well-rounded characters.