Is “Nine Puzzles” Based On A Webtoon?

Let me set the scene. I’m halfway through a late-night K-drama binge, in my comfiest PJs, chopsticks in one hand, remote in the other. I hit play on Nine Puzzles thinking it’s just another crime thriller. But about twenty minutes in, my drama senses started tingling.

Puzzle pieces. Broody detectives. Flashbacks wrapped in trauma and mystery. It screamed manhwa adaptation. My jaw dropped. “No way this isn’t based on a webtoon,” I muttered into my ramen. I paused. Rewound. Rewatched. The vibes were too good. Too visual. Too… vertical scroll-esque.

So naturally, I launched a full investigation, expecting to find the webtoon behind the masterpiece.

Spoiler alert: I found nothing. Nada. Zip.

Cue emotional spiral.

Shocking Twist: “Nine Puzzles” Isn’t Even a Webtoon?!

I know. I gasped so hard I choked on my tteokbokki.

Everyone online was shouting it was a webtoon adaptation. TikToks, reels, comments from people who haven’t been wrong since Reply 1988. And I believed them. I would’ve bet my whole skincare stash.

But here’s the truth. There’s no Nine Puzzles webtoon or manhwa. Not on Naver. Not on Kakao. Not even in some dusty archive.

But here’s the truth. There’s no Nine Puzzles webtoon or manhwa. Not on Naver. Not on Kakao. Not even in some dusty archive.

This whole twisted masterpiece was born from the brilliant, chaos-loving brain of writer Lee Eun-mi and directed by Yoon Jong-bin, the guy who makes emotional wreckage his aesthetic.

And here’s what adds to the confusion: most hit Korean dramas lately are pulled straight from webtoons. Shows like Moving, Weak Hero Class 1, and All of Us Are Dead were born as digital comics before becoming Netflix darlings.

That trend is so strong that it’s almost expected now. So when a drama like Nine Puzzles shows up with webtoon-level twists, symbolic storytelling, and serialized pacing, it throws everyone into “where’s the manhwa?” mode.

Why This Drama Feels So Manhwa, It Had Me Fooled

Because it acts like one. Like, if webtoons had a rebellious twin who ran off to film school, this K-drama would be it.

The pacing? Cliffhangers that slap harder than a second lead rejection. The symbolism? Puzzle pieces, trauma metaphors, flashbacks that feel like fever dreams. I sat there with tears in my eyes and seaweed on my shirt whispering, “This is too well-structured to be original.”

Every episode left me like:

• “What just happened?”
• “Is everyone lying?”
• “Am I okay?” (Spoiler: I was not.)

Korean dramas love a visual metaphor. And those puzzle pieces? Not just props. They’re brokenness, secrets, unresolved pain, and honestly, my entire emotional state while watching. It’s the kind of layered storytelling that makes manhwa and K-dramas so emotionally addictive.

This Crime Thriller Had Me Screaming into My Ramen

So here’s the setup. Yoon E-na (portrayed by Kim Da-mi) is a profiler. Her uncle was murdered as a teen. She found the body. Next to it, a creepy little puzzle piece. Detective Kim Han Saem (played by brooding legend Son Suk-ku) suspected her.

Fast-forward ten years. More murders. More puzzle pieces. And guess what? They have to work together. Tension. Angst. That weird, almost-flirty energy you pretend not to love.

Watching them navigate their shared history? I was stressed. Elated. Annoyed. Delighted. The emotional whiplash had me feeling like I was in the drama.

What makes it more intriguing is how the narrative doesn’t hand over answers. Every conversation is loaded with suspicion, trauma, and unresolved guilt.

What makes it more intriguing is how the narrative doesn’t hand over answers. Every conversation is loaded with suspicion, trauma, and unresolved guilt. There’s a unique Korean cultural depth here too where family honor, shame, and buried secrets often shape personal decisions.

It’s not just about solving crimes. It’s about confronting truths that hurt more than the mystery.

Throw in a detective squad, some forensic brilliance, and enough guest stars to make your K-drama bingo card explode, and it becomes the emotional buffet I didn’t know I needed.

Blame It on TikTok: The Great Webtoon Bamboozle We All Fell For

TikTok was like, “Of course it’s a manhwa adaptation.” Instagram reels threw in dramatic edits with voiceovers. Reddit nodded wisely like it had seen the webtoon in a dream. And I? I fell headfirst into the rabbit hole.

The drama’s vibe? Immaculate. Every scene looked like it had been plucked from a vertical scroll of doom. I questioned everything. My drama intuition. My ability to read Hangul. Even my cat gave me the judgmental stare.

But it was all a beautiful con. A deliciously crafted fake-out. The creators wanted us to think it was adapted. And it worked. I didn’t walk into the trap, I danced into it wearing sequins and feelings.

No Webtoon, No Problem: Why It Still Slaps

This could’ve been inspired by a bar napkin and I’d still be obsessed.

It’s gripping, clever, emotionally devastating in the best way. It doesn’t spoon-feed. It challenges you. And when the answers hit? Your soul feels it.

The structure is airtight, too. It knows exactly when to drop a twist, when to let silence do the talking, and when to hit you with an emotional sucker punch.

The structure is airtight, too. It knows exactly when to drop a twist, when to let silence do the talking, and when to hit you with an emotional sucker punch. Honestly, it mimics the pacing of webtoon episodes—quick reveals, high stakes, emotionally charged panels turned into living scenes.

I paused episodes just to breathe. Rewatched scenes to decode micro-expressions. Had full conversations with fictional characters in my head.

This isn’t just TV. It’s a whole event. If you’re a fan of webtoon-inspired dramas like Cheese in the Trap or Sweet Home, Nine Puzzles still scratches that itch—just without the source material.

So, Is “Nine Puzzles” Based on a Webtoon?

No. It isn’t.

But it should be. It has the DNA. The twists. The style. The heartbreak.

If you live for stories that toy with your brain and sucker punch your heart, this drama is your soulmate. Don’t sleep on it.

So, tell me … were you bamboozled too? Did you also search for the mythical manhwa like a K-drama knight on a romantic quest? Drop your thoughts in the comments.

And if you loved Beyond Evil, Stranger, or Through the Darkness, Nine Puzzles will hit all your sweet, masochistic drama spots.

Now do your duty. Share this post. Comment like your K-drama rep is on the line. And smash that share button like it’s the finale plot twist reveal. Because K-drama truth deserves to be loud.