How to translate manhwa and webtoons to English
Translate Korean manhwa and webtoon pages with colors untouched, and what to do with very long vertical strips.
Manhwa and webtoons are usually already in color and published as long vertical strips. For those pages you want the text changed and nothing else, which is what the Translate mode does: the colors stay exactly as they are.
Use RuneManga only on pages you have the right to process. Korean text recognition is still being improved in the beta, so check the results.
Translate a webtoon episode
- Collect the episode pages as images you are allowed to use, in a folder or a ZIP.
- Open the WebApp and add them. Pages are sorted by name in natural order, so 2.png comes before 10.png.
- Choose Translate (not Colorize: the pages already have color).
- Under Original language pick Korean, and under Translate into the language you want, for example English.
- Press the button, compare Original and Result, then download the pages or a ZIP.
Very long strips
Webtoon images can be extremely tall. Each page can be up to 20 MB, and very tall strips count by their full size. If an upload is refused, split the strip at a gap between panels and send the parts in order.
Why Korean needs a little care
- Webtoon lettering often sits on the art with no bubble around it, which is harder to detect than text in a bubble.
- Stylised fonts and sound effects drawn into the art are the hardest cases.
- Choosing Korean in Original language is more reliable than Auto-detect on a page with little text.
Reading while you browse
If you read webtoons in a browser, the extension translates the image in front of you in place, near where you are reading, instead of a whole episode at once. It works in Chrome, Edge, Opera and Brave today.
Questions
Will the colors change?
No. Translate changes only the lettering: it is erased, the background under it is filled in and the translation is set. The rest of the page stays as it was.
How many images fit in one job?
Up to 50 on Free, 100 on Supporter, 200 on Pro and 500 on Ultimate, each up to 20 MB. On Free, a long episode can be sent in two jobs.
Why did a line stay in Korean?
Most often it sits on the art without a bubble, or it is a sound effect. Both are not translated yet.