How to Translate Manhwa to English Online (Complete Guide)

Ever waited weeks for the next chapter of your favorite manhwa? That delay is often because bringing a chapter to English isn't a one-person job. Fan translation, or scanlation, is a team sport with specialized roles, much like an assembly line.

The Scanlation Team Roles

Translator: Converts the Korean dialogue to English.
Cleaner/Redrawer (RD): Erases the original text and reconstructs the art behind it.
Typesetter (TS): Places the English text into the bubbles.
Proofreader: Ensures the final dialogue flows naturally.

Surprisingly, many of these roles don't require any Korean language skills. This guide breaks down the workflow from start to finish.

Step 1: How to Find 'Raws'

Every manhwa translation begins with “raws”—the original, untouched Korean chapter pages. High-quality raws are essential; blurry images are difficult to clean and result in a poor final product.

Where to find them: Official Korean webtoon portals (like Naver or Kakao), fan communities, or specific raw provider sites.

Step 2: From Korean to English – Your Toolkit

To translate text locked inside an image, you can use this two-step digital process:

OCR (Optical Character Recognition): Use an OCR tool to scan the image and convert the Korean characters into copyable text.
Machine Translation: Paste the text into a translator.
- Recommendation: Papago is often superior to others for manhwa because it is developed by Naver and understands Korean webtoon slang and nuances better.

Note: Machine translations are only "rough drafts." A human proofreader is essential to fix tone and grammar.

Step 3: How to Clean and Redraw Panels

Before adding English, you must create a blank slate. This involves:

Cleaning: Digitally erasing the original Korean text from speech bubbles.
Redrawing (RD): When text covers the artwork, erasing it leaves a "hole." You must manually redraw the hidden background.

Tools: While professionals use Photoshop, Photopea is a powerful, free, web-based alternative perfect for beginners.

Step 4: The Art of Typesetting

Typesetting (TS) is the craft of placing the script into empty bubbles. It’s more than just pasting; it’s about choosing the right fonts and spacing to convey emotion.

Tone Matters: A monster's roar needs a jagged, aggressive font, while a love confession should be soft and clean.
Resources: You can find thousands of free comic-style fonts on sites like DaFont.

The Big Question: Is It Legal?

The short answer is no. Because comics are protected by copyright, translating and distributing them without permission is technically infringement.

The "Legal Gray Area"

However, the community generally follows a "gentleman's agreement" to stay in the good graces of publishers:

Non-profit: Projects should not be sold.
The "Licensed" Rule: The moment an official English version is announced (on platforms like Webtoon or Tappytoon), reputable teams cease their work and encourage readers to support the creator officially.

Your Next Step: From Reader to Creator

What once seemed like magic is now a clear roadmap. You don’t have to master every role at once—most people start by specializing in just one.

Ready to try? * Pick a single speech bubble.

Try cleaning it in Photopea.
Look for "Recruiting" pages at the end of your favorite manhwa chapters to join a group and learn from the pros.