“This manhwa doesn't have any plot”- Internet disappointed as popular webtoon Painter Of The Night reportedly gets a short-form drama adaptation

A Korean BL webtoon, titled Painter of the Night, is set for adaptation, as reported by JTBC on May 22, 2025. This BL webtoon has an 18+ rating for its explicit scenes. The adaptation will reportedly be a short-form drama, with each episode running for approximately two minutes. Meanwhile, a release date for this BL adaptation has not yet been announced.

The webtoon is infamous for having explicit scenes and mature content in the story. However, netizens do not seem happy to hear the news about the adaptation. Internet users have accused the webtoon of containing several scenes that do not propagate consent, and they also allege that the webtoon has no actual plot. Here's what one X user wrote:

"No thank you we don't want it . This manhwa doesn't have any plot even Bj Alex has more plot than this."

"There are a lot of disturbing scenes especially SA in the first 40 chapters," a user replied.

"SK? Have they not read it? Yeah no way it's gonna happen, if it does they are changing the scenes," another commented.

"It has no plot but nakyum getting assaulted over and over by every other character so how and why exactly are they turning it into live action," one netizen wrote.

Internet users also wondered about it being a 'short-form drama,' with some questioning the format, especially for BL shows.

"What does Short Form mean? Is it like those 15 second tik tok dramas?" an X user questioned.

"This type of story is kinda hard to remake in short form drama but i guess we'll see..." a netizen wrote.

"I wish sk stop making short form bls," another replied.

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All you need to know about the webtoon Painter of the Night

Painter of the Night is a webtoon set in the Joseon era in Korea. It tells the story of Yoon Seung-ho, a nobleman who grows interested in the adult artworks of a commoner, Baek Na-gyeom. Seung-ho also grows curious about the artist himself.

Written by Byun Deok, Painter of the Night has been serialized in Lezhin Comics since 2019 and has not lost its popularity spot on the platform since. The webtoon consists of four seasons and a spin-off. Meanwhile, an OST by singer Ahn Ye-eun and a special collaboration makgeolli (Korean rice wine) were also released back when the webtoon was fairly new.

The drama adaptation of Painter of the Night will reportedly be directed by Choi Bo-kyung, who recently co-directed Divorce Insurance starring Lee Dong-wook. The adaptation is being jointly produced by Kidari Studio and Lezhin Entertainment (who own the IP), along with Doodoong and Mongjakso.

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