Short answers, pulled from the story.
Manhwa is the Korean word for comics, sharing the same root characters as manga (Japanese) and manhua (Chinese), all meaning "whimsical pictures." Unlike manga, manhwa is read left to right and is often in color when published online. Characters in manhwa typically have realistically proportioned bodies, detailed clothing, and intricate backgrounds.
The term "webtoon" was first coined on the 8th of August 2000 by Chollian, one of South Korea's oldest internet service providers, now discontinued. Webtoons gained popularity in the early 2000s after South Korea's economic collapse pushed manhwa creators to online platforms.
JunKoo Kim, who started LINE Webtoon, reported that the platform was active in 60 countries with 55 million monthly users and 100 billion annual views. WEBTOON's global website and mobile app launched in 2014.
Sanho Kim was the first manhwa artist working in the United States. During the 1960s and 1970s he worked for publishers including Charlton Comics, Warren Publishing, DC Comics, and Marvel Comics.
One of the earliest films adapted from manhwa premiered in 1926. Notable television adaptations include Full House, which premiered on the 14th of July 2004, and Goong (also called Princess Hours), which premiered on the 11th of January 2006. The animated series Dooly the Little Dinosaur first aired on the 7th of October 1987.
By the mid-1960s, the South Korean government had created a comics distribution monopoly that enforced censorship of manhwa. Authorities formed multiple commissions to oversee publications and suppress what they called manhwa fanaticism among children. The very first Korean comic magazine, Manhwa Haengjin, was shut down in 1948 because authorities disapproved of its cover.