Best Kingdom Building Isekai Manhwa

Important takeaways

• Many isekai manhwa shift the focus from typical adventures to developing societies for prosperity.
• Stories of kingdom building often deal with modern realms, technological advances, and regulations.
• Characters in these manhwa develop society by providing healthcare, infrastructure, and good living environments.

Isekai are usually known for their overpowered protagonists, fun adventures, and unique characters. While most tend to play out similarly, some stories prefer a different path. Instead of going on a journey, they develop and cultivate the surrounding area, often adding modern infrastructure and regulations for the prosperity of the community.

Kingdom building refers to stories that focus on building settlements and communities. Despite the name of this subgenre, most manhwa do not always include a literal kingdom; not all can be kings. They instead focus on smaller areas or certain groups of people, especially in modern environments. The sense of progression is incredibly satisfying, which is why these stories are so popular.

1 The Apothecary Prince

A Korean doctor is revolutionizing medicine in another world

• MyAnimeList Score: 6.78
• Published: 2023 to ?
• Genres/themes: Adventure, Fantasy, Isekai, Reincarnation
• Author: Back-kyung Moon
• Illustrator: Dadaeng

Since many isekai are set in a medieval setting, the introduction of certain technology or information is often the focus of the story. IN The Apothecary Princea Korean doctor dies and is reborn as Rachiel, the sick prince from a novel he read. With his body unable to perform simple tasks, he can only heal himself with cures from the modern world, unlocking a health progression system.

While the beginning of the story is mostly about regaining his health, Rachiel goes on to establish a standard of health for the rest of his kingdom, providing healthcare and medicine. This has a small domino effect of giving jobs to the working class as hospitals and clinics have to be built. In his effort to help people, he accidentally causes other good things to happen.

2 Chitra

Collect beautiful men with God's Gacha

• MyAnimeList Score: 6.89
• Published: 2018 to date
• Genres/themes: Fantasy, Isekai, Reincarnation, Reverse Harem
• Author: Taesun
• Illustrator: Ref

Shojo manhwa often have protagonists who have to build themselves up from scratch, but it's usually through personal dealings. IN Chitraa young woman is reincarnated as a poor countess who had lost everything and was left for dead. Using the God of Beauty's gacha system, she can recruit talented men throughout history as assistants.

Most characters have a good reason to start developing their country. In this case, Chitra does so as an apostle to the god of beauty. All she does is make the world more beautiful, starting with the men. She reforms their bad behavior as well as their outward appearance. This is in addition to creating a military, a stable economy and a good living environment.

3 Solo Glitch player

Overworked man becomes a master in his favorite game

• MyAnimeList Score: N/A
• Published: 2020 to today
• Genres/themes: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Video Games, Isekai
• Author: Cheongcho
• Illustrator: Kiminteu

Characters usually put more effort into their territories because they know something bad will happen in the future. IN Solo Glitch playerthe main character is sent into the world of “Paradiso”, a popular VR game, and with his extensive knowledge of the game, he knows about how the world will change in the next ten years. To survive the coming war and famine, he must reform himself and the territory.

Set in a gaming universe, Solo Glitch player combines player archetypes with traditional isekai. There aren't many screens, but the main character can use bugs from the real game. Mostly they are used to his advantage, but he can use his acquired skills to catch bandits, enforce laws and make deals. Despite the plethora of clichés, this manhwa is quite entertaining.

4 I woke up like the villain

Being is not bad when you have money

• MyAnimeList Score: 6.95
• Published: 2020 to 2024
• Genres/themes: Action, Fantasy, Isekai, Reincarnation
• Author: Sooo, Yuhyeon
• Illustrator: Arlg

In modern times, kingdom building looks a little different. Instead of running an entire kingdom, it's usually a company or maybe a gang. In this story, an ordinary office worker becomes attached to a web novel as Choi Yuseong, a minor character who only appears at the beginning of the story. To survive being used by the protagonist, he begins to restore his reputation and becomes self-sufficient.

Unlike other kingdom-building manhwa, Yuseong does not make major changes to society, but he steadily builds up a number of loyal partners and employees, and uses the knowledge of the novel to help other characters grow. He focuses on personal growth for a majority of the manhwa, and much of the society he creates is seen as a side plot.

5 Tyrant Of The Tower Defense Game

One player's ultimate survival challenge

• MyAnimeList Score: 7.75
• Published: 2022 to today
• Genres/themes: Action, Fantasy, Isekai, Military, Reincarnation, Video Games
• Author: Ryueun, Garam
• Illustrator: Gyong

This manhwa is a little different from the others on this list. Instead of building a community, this story is about keeping one. One day, a popular streamer gets trapped in a popular tower defense game called “Protect the Empire”. When he assumes the identity of Prince Ash, he quickly learns that his decisions have life or death consequences and that his circumstances are no longer a game.

The I-world game has a gacha model, which focuses on gathering strong and unique characters to defend the base, and this is reflected in the overall story, as Ash makes connections with many people who will help him. Just like in those games, he must maintain resources, infrastructure, and the morale of his people.

6 Rubbish of the Count's Family

A man tries to solve the world's problems in order to live comfortably

• MyAnimeList Score: 7.82
• Published: 2020 to ?
• Genres/themes: Fantasy, Isekai, Reincarnation
• Author: Yu, Ryeo Han
• Illustrator: PAN4

As the title suggests, the protagonist of this manhwa is not a king or a prince. Cale Henituse is the eldest son of a count and a minor villain in a fantasy novel. When the main character reincarnates as Cale, he is determined not only to survive but also to live comfortably. But knowing the plot of the novel, he knows that there are problems all over the world. The only way to guarantee his future is to fix everything himself.

Trash of the Count's Family is interesting because most of it is about preparing for the kingdom building. It was not until much later that he began to establish his territory and build villages. However, it does mean that the story is full of adventure with fun characters including a couple of shapeshifters and a dragon. It's the best character collector manhwa out there.

7 My royal awakening

A prince tries to stop history from happening

• MyAnimeList Score: 7.58
• Published: 2020 to 2022
• Genres/themes: Drama, Historical, Reincarnation, Time Travel
• Author: Goosebumps
• Illustrator: Tae-Hyung Kim

One of the more popular isekai settings is a time in Korean history or somewhere inspired by it. This manhwa follows an ordinary man after being transported into the body of Jinseong, younger brother of Korea's most tyrannical ruler. But things are different from what he learned in textbooks. To prevent his brother from becoming a tyrant, he would change history.

Historical manhwa are interesting because writers often take real events and put in their ideas and interpretations. While most people in the US don't know the details of Korean history, the manhwa centered around it is still entertaining. It is an example of true kingdom building because Jinseong is a prince, and he solves the kingdom's problems to help his brother.

8 The largest real estate developer

A college student can apply their degree outside of school

• MyAnimeList Score: 8.75
• Published: 2021 to ?
• Genres/themes: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Isekai, Reincarnation
• Author: Back-kyung Moon
• Illustrator: Hyunsoo Kim

The most popular and well known kingdom builder manhwa is definitely The largest real estate developer. One day, a civil engineering student wakes up as Lloyd Frontera, the troubled son of a poor noble family destined to decay. With his terrible reputation, the protagonist has no choice but to clean up Lloyd's image and help rebuild his family's territory.

This manhwa is a great combination of resource management, land development and action. Not only does Lloyd have a special status screen that tracks his building skills, but it also helps him practice aura techniques and swordplay. There aren't many other manhwa that involve so many different things and have an incredibly charismatic protagonist.