Romance Fantasy – 로맨스 판타지
Also known as Rofan or Ropan – 로판
A genre that uses fantastical elements with a theme of romance. Rofan, short for romance fantasy, is a genre that originally began as a mixture of stories with romantic narratives, fantastical narratives, and related themes. The rofan genre known today has established itself as a standalone genre from romance, while continuing to distinguish itself from other romance and fantasy stories.
There are some recognizable themes in the Korean romance fantasy genre. These include the quasi-European world in which the story takes place, the present of a religious and/or magical organization, etc. The quasi-European backdrop that many rofans take place in is typically from the 19th century, Victorian Era. Other backdrops include steampunk, the 19th century industrial machinery alternative to the representative Victorian styles, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance Era, etc.
Even though many Korean rofans take place in the past, they are generally without the inconveniences of the past, like hot water, the general stance and understanding of cleanliness and hygiene amongst the aristocracy, and more. Some rofans do poke fun at the lack of modern technologies and conveniences, à la breaking of the fourth wall, with the protagonist whining about the lack of smartphones and delivery app services.
Listed below are some useful glossaries to refer to when navigating rofan stories, whether they’re web novels or manhwa/webtoons. There are also some MTL, machine translated (i.e., Papago, Google Translate, etc.), mistakes for some commonly used terms in rofan stories, along with their proper English localization.
Organizations – Temple, Knight Order; Magic Tower, Merchants, etc.
NOTE: These glossaries also apply to non-romance stories that have a quasi-European background.
NOTE: The glossaries above are periodically updated to include more terms.
tags: glossary, rofan glossary, romance fantasy glossary, ropan glossary, manhwa notes glossary, translation, translations, manhwa notes translations, manhwa notes translation, korean, english, romance fantasy, rofan, ropan, January 28, 2024, manhwa notes, manhwanotes
