Top 4 Korean Villainess Manhwa and Novels
“The more successful the villain, the more successful the picture.”
Alfred Hitchcock
All of us are more or less familiar with novels featuring righteous female protagonists who travel step by step from the depths of hell to the top of the world without letting themselves be seduced by the allure of evil. However, how many of us know of villainous female characters who refuse to be purged without accomplishing their goals? Today, I want to attract all of your attention to four of the most strong villainous female main character I have come across to date.
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These are all Korean translated novels in English. The novels in this list will have Villainess and Revenge as their main theme. They all have been adapted into manhwa. However, the main focus in this article will be the novel rather than the manhwa.
Now Let’s get started.
1. The Villainess Is A Marionette
Alternate Name: 악녀는 마리오네트
Author: Han Yi Rim
Chapters: 166 chapters + 10 extras (Completed)
Original Novel: Kakaopage
Official English: N/A
Fan Translation: Woopread
Original Manhwa: Kakaopage
Official English: N/A
Fan Translation: Mangadex
An ignorant, self-obsessed but extremely gorgeous Princess, Cayena gets murdered by her psychopath husband and reincarnates into modern-day Korea where she gets used by her superiors and ends up getting stabbed to death again.
This novel is full of schemes and conspiracies. The narrative is interesting. The supporting characters are capable of using their brains. It has all — an obsessed step-brother, a cute tsundere step-brother, a loving Male Lead, and a sly Female Lead. The MC expertly separates her emotions and actions, calculating each step with precision. Her plans are simple but powerful, allowing her to conquer her enemies.
Although initially, she plans to correct her Step-brother, Rezef, she fails as she bitterly understands that he is beyond redemption when he kills her Nanny. She decides to become the monarch and give the throne to her other step-brother, Ethel when he grows up. Duke Raphael Kedrey, the male lead, on whom she had already given up, pursues her in this life. Will she succeed to turn herself into a Princess with true power? Can she become the Empress? Will she be swayed by the cold Duke after he falls for her?
2.The Villainess Turns The Hourglass
Alternate Name: 악녀는 모래시계를 되돌린다
Author: San Sobi
Chapters: 288 Chapters (Completed)
Original Novel: Kakaopage
Official English: Webnovel
Original Manhwa: Kakaopage
Official English: Tappytoon
Aria, the daughter of a lowly prostitute, becomes the step-daughter of Count Roscente when her mother marries him. However, being an ignorant girl, she readily falls into the Count’s daughter, Mielle’s evil trap. Scorned and cursed, she is executed by the Count’s son, Cain. Returning back in time, she swears to avenge herself.
She gets hold of a magical hourglass which allows her to turn back time for 5 minutes, which comes with the price of her life. She meets a mysterious boy time and again, who gives her fresh tulips. Aria uses her knowledge of the future and her brains to invest in businesses that would soon bear her immense profits, taking up the alias of ‘Investor A’. She starts building her own connections through her etiquette teacher, Sarah. Beneath the cute and kind facade, her burning heart due to revenge somehow soothes by the people who surround her. She meets the mysterious boy whom she had encountered previously. Who is he? Will Aria succeed in her revenge?
3. The Villainess Lives Again
Alternate Name: 악녀는 두 번 산다
Author: HanMint
Chapters: 322 Chapters + 29 Extras(Completed)
Original Novel: Kakaopage
Official English: N/A
Fan Translation: Woopread
Original Manhwa: Kakaopage
Official English: Tappytoon
She schemed for him but he schemed against her. The illegitimate Emperor with a severe inferiority complex, Laurence conspires to kill his little step-sister through the murder of his son. Her tongue and limbs are severed as a means to make her unable to talk or write. Artezia, aware of her crimes, doesn’t try to victimize herself. Instead, her guilt for threatening Saintess Lisia into marrying Laurence, which ultimately leads her to her death, makes her unable to forgive herself. When she is rescued by Cedric Ebron, the one she framed, to de-throne Laurence, she begins to see the cruel reality of her severely wrong judgment. She draws the ancient magic circle and sacrifices her life in order to rewind time but is shocked to see that she has returned two years earlier, too.
She decides to make Cedric Ebron the Emperor and swears her loyalty to him. However, in order to do so, she has to inherit the Marchioness’ title which she would, only after she turns 20. But she was able to become the Marchioness if she married, so she proposes a deal with Cedric to get married. Will she succeed in punishing the tyrant Laurence? Or will she fall into his traps once again? What about their marriage? Why does her heartbeat increase at his sight?
4. I Tamed the Tyrant and Ran Away
Alternate Name: 폭군을 길들이고 도망쳐버렸다
Author: Yu Soi
Chapters: 152 Chapters (Completed)
Original Novel: Kakaopage
Official English: N/A
Fan Translation: Woopread
Original Manhwa: Kakaopage
Official English: N/A
Fan Translation: Mangadex
The abandoned and lonely daughter of Grand Duke Ronan gets sacrificed by the Emperor because of her talents to make her a sword, Kiera. After being tortured by the bloody sights her sword body has caused, Charlize returns 400 years in the past when she was just a young girl of 13.
She decides to break herself away from her family as she applies for the position of the 13th Prince, Dylan’s tutor. This Dylan was the same person who had given up the fight for the throne in her past life due to the last words of his birth mother, the seventh Concubine of the Emperor. Despite his immense talent and a sharp mind, he helps the fifth Prince ascend the throne while controlling him from behind the scenes. Charlize approaches him, and gradually blends herself into his daily life. After the death of his mother, Dylan and Charlize become dependent on each other, with Charlize asking Dylan to become a tyrant. Becoming the Crown Prince, Dylan informs Charlize that he would rebel soon. Can he truly become a tyrant for Charlize’s sake? Why does Charlize feel that they have grown more intimate than they should be? What exactly is Dylan thinking?