Unfortunately, Cheese in the Trap has a bad reputation among people, and I do not understand why. Cheese in the Trap is a Manhwa written by Soonkki that ran from 2010-2017. It is a Manhwa that has stuck with me throughout my whole life, and its characters eternally live in my head which is exactly why I have decided to convince you to read it!

Cheese in the Trap is about Hong Seol, a young college student who is returning to college after a gap year to start her third year. In the beginning of the Manhwa, one of the first things that we learn about Seol is that she is hardworking and studious. She does not come from a wealthy family, so she has to work hard for everything that she has.

The reasoning behind Seol’s gap year is slightly kept hidden at the start of the series. But as the story progresses, we are constantly shown flashbacks of Seol’s second year at college. These moments are haunting, elusive, and even frightening at times. We quickly find out that Seol’s second year was difficult for many reasons but they all seem to point to one person, Yoo Jung.

Jung is the rich, popular, and handsome guy at Seol’s university. Everybody, and I mean literally everybody loves him. However, Seol views him with suspicion, and she has good reason to.

Seol and Jung are the focus of the Manhwa but there are many other characters that play important roles, like the high spirited Baek In Ho and his fiery twin sister Baek In Ha. The reason why I love Cheese in the Trap so much is because how well written all the characters are. In many series, characters feel one dimensional, but in Cheese in the Trap you feel as if the characters could be real people with real problems. Throughout the series, we get to learn more about each character. We find out why they behave the way they do, and their past traumas. It leaves you feeling empathetic towards almost every character, and it’s all done in a haunting tone. Slowly information is revealed like you are reading a mystery. It is important to note that the Manhwa is often listed as a romance, psychological, thriller, and drama.

The Manhwa explores several issues like wealth inequality, bullying, stalking, toxic relationships, sexism, harassment, and so on. The Manhwa is so popular that it has been adapted twice, once in in a 2016 K-Drama starring Kim Go Eun and Park Hae Jin, and later on in a 2018 movie starring Oh Yeon Soo and Park Hae Jin. Unfortunately, these adaptations do not do the Manhwa justice as they leave out a lot of information, and the characters are not as well fleshed out as they are in the original.

However, I do appreciate the 2016 adaptation for introducing me to the Manwha. During the start of my K-Drama obsession, I watched the 2016 series. At the time, it was truly one of my favorite K-Dramas. Devastated by the ending, I sought out the original source material after finding out that there was a lot more to the story and a far more satisfying ending.

Hopefully, my words have convinced you that Cheese in the Trap is worth reading. It is quite a long read, with fifteen volumes, but I promise that it is worth it, and I am not just saying that because of blind nostalgia. I have read it three times, once in middle school, later on in high school, and most recently during college. So, I am pretty confident that it is a good use of one’s time. The English translation is currently available on Webtoon.