Before Solo Leveling, before the current webtoon boom, there was Tower of God (신의 탑). It's one of the titles that built the whole medium's international fanbase — a sprawling, ambitious fantasy that's been running since 2010 and racked up billions of reads. If you want to understand why people fall so hard for Korean webtoons, this is a foundational text. Here's my honest, friend's take.
No big spoilers beyond the setup, promise.
Written and drawn by SIU (Lee Jong-hui), running on Naver/WEBTOON since 2010 — one of the platform's flagship originals and a global hit with billions of reads. It's ongoing and very long, so it's a commitment rather than a weekend binge. Available in English on WEBTOON; see our guide to where to read webtoons.
What it's actually about
A mysterious, enormous Tower stands at the centre of everything. Those who climb it and reach the top are promised whatever they desire most — wealth, power, glory, anything. But each floor is a brutal test, with deadly trials and stronger rivals the higher you go.
The story follows a boy called Twenty-Fifth Bam (Baam), who has spent his whole life alone in the dark beneath the Tower, knowing only one person: a girl named Rachel. When she enters the Tower to chase her own dream, Bam follows her in — and discovers he's a rare "Irregular," someone who entered the Tower by their own will, capable of shaking its entire order. What begins as a boy chasing the only person he loves becomes an epic about ambition, betrayal, found family and the price of getting what you want.
Why it's a webtoon landmark
- Staggering world-building. SIU has built one of the deepest, most intricate fictional worlds in webtoons — floors, factions, powers and politics that reward attention and reread. Few stories go this deep.
- A huge, beloved cast. Tower of God lives and dies on its enormous ensemble; the side characters are so loved that whole fandoms form around them.
- It grows with its art. Early chapters look rough — SIU was learning — but the art and storytelling level up dramatically as it goes, which is part of its charm.
- Genuine stakes. Characters you love are not safe. The emotional gut-punches are real, and they stick with you.
The honest catch
I'll be straight with you: Tower of God is not an easy first webtoon. The early-2010s art takes adjusting to, the world throws a lot of names and systems at you fast, and because it's been running for over a decade and is still ongoing, the scope is genuinely intimidating. Some readers bounce off the first floors before it clicks.
My advice: give it more than a few episodes. The moment the world opens up and the cast fills in, it goes from "confusing" to "I can't stop." But if you want something short, neat and finished, this isn't that — start with Solo Leveling instead, then come back when you're ready to commit.
The anime
Tower of God also got an anime adaptation (its first season aired in 2020, with a second season following), which is a great, lower-commitment way to sample the story and meet Bam before diving into the webtoon's full depth. If the anime hooked you, the webtoon is where the real, unabridged saga lives.
So — should you read it?
Read it if you love deep, long-haul fantasy world-building, a giant cast to get attached to, and the satisfaction of watching both a hero and his creator grow over a decade. Wait if you want something quick, polished from page one, or already finished.
For me, Tower of God is a rite of passage — the webtoon that proves how far the medium can go when a creator is willing to dream this big. Climb when you're ready.
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