Forest of Humans is a 2013 horror Manhwa created by Junho Hwang.
Ru Ha is a college student who takes part in a social experiment inside a locked and isolated facility to hold research and experiments on 10 death row convicts. Things go wrong as the ten convicts escape and slaughter the other staff. Now Ru Ha must fight against her sanity and doubt to survive against the demented killers and escape the facility.
This Manhwa can be found on Webtoons, now complete with 33 chapters (including a prologue).
This work contain tropes of:
- Abandoned Area: The facility that the story takes place in is an abandoned psychiatric hospital.
- Affably Evil: Jaejun is one of the few genuinely polite of the 10 serial killers, making it a point to assure Ru Ha she is not a bad person for self-defense murder.
- Alas, Poor Villain: Jaejun gets a slightly somber death as he allows Ru Ha to flee for her life as he bleeds out, quietly declaring the experience “fun.” Although whether or not he did survive is left ambiguous.
- Ambiguous Ending: After Junho and Hyeseon’s arrest, Ru Ha is making a recovery, and says she is starting therapy, and it was “unexpected.” We then see her in a bus stop, where she then had a conversation with a man who’s face is obscured wearing a coat, where the two discuss the deep and darkness of “forest” and trying to go through it. It’s then revealed that this individual is Jaejun as he says he’s unable to get out of the woods yet but that’s what makes it fun. Is Jaejun actually alive and talking with Ru Ha? Or is he simply a figment of Ru Ha’s imagination?
- Ambiguously Evil: The unnamed professor running the facility has little regards experimenting on human beings under the government's nose, though she justifies it due to how vile the criminals are.
- Apologetic Attacker: Gyeongshik gives Ru Ha this as he ties her up to be tortured by him and Chungil.
- Asshole Victims:
- Hyeseon brutally murders Professor Koo, a rapist doctor who attempts to drug and rape her.
- All of the serial killers inside the hospital count as this, with many of them being sadistic sociopaths.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: Junho and Hyeseon are the two biggest threats in the story against Ru Ha.
- Bittersweet Ending: Ru Ha manages to end up defeating both Junho and Hyeseon, but does not kill them so she can prove she wouldn’t become them. Junho and Hyeseon are arrested and Ru Ha seems to be taking a upswing in her mental health as she is healing. That said, she is still left traumatized and is implied to still harbor doubt over how much of a good person she is.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: Several of the killers operate under some of this:
- Giwung Kim is a serial murdering cannibal, but seems confused about regular conventions, not killing Ru Ha and instead helps her remove the knife off of Chungshik’s corpse and seems confused when she flees from him.
- Chungil Ji is implied to be this, as Gyeongshik says, despite him torturing children, he genuinely loved them and never wants them to die, implying something isn’t right with his head.
- Jaejun is the best example. He’s an unrepented murderer of his own best friend, but randomly saves Ru Ha from death and plans to help her escape for amusement and then, when he’s (possibly) dying, gives her the keycard he had this entire time to let her go.
- Broken Bird: Ru Ha is an energetic and polite young woman, but realizing the situation she is in and the complete danger that has happen, causes her to emotionally break down.
- The Brute: Gyeongshik is the largest, intimidating and arguably most Ax-Crazy of the group.
- Card Carrying Evil: Almost all the villains in shades, most notably Junho, who specifically has thrill in murdering people.
- Central Theme: Morals and Humanity frequently comes up, with Ru Ha consistently doubting how good she is based on how others view psychopaths and her willingness to fight and kill the other serial killers.
- Driven to Suicide: After confronted by his former allies, Chungshik kills himself when realizing his begging fell on deaf ears.
- Eviler than Thou: Discussed. During an interview with Hyeseon, the Professor discusses and asks between Junho, Gyeongshik, and Gihwan would be considered the most evil. Hyeseon doesn’t answer.
- Evil Is Petty: Junho murders Yeongsuk Shim simply for being too ugly.
- Evil Old Folks: Chungil is in his 60s and is a child torturer. And he’s one of the more out there villains mentally speaking.
- Exact Words: Gyeongshik talks Ru Ha down from suicide, saying she should at least fight till the very end, even saying his mantra “Keep living, till you’re not.” This genuine moment is made flat once he reveals he plans to have him and Chungil
- Faux Affably Evil: Gyeongshik appears this way to Ru Ha, politely and warmly telling her to keep living, which is made worst when revealing he was planning torture her alongside Chungil.
- Freudian Excuse: Surprisingly averted, as the story presents no objective reasoning that lead any of the villains to murdering, and the story never bothers to explore why, showing that there is no justification for any of the villains,
- When the interviewer attempts to ask this to Gihwan, trying to find anything with his family, Gihwan annoying tells him that’s wasting his time.
- Great Escape: Hyeseon broke all the villains out and all plan for a mass escape out of the facility.
- Hate Sink: All ten convicts are complete bastards in their own ways, yet a few still manage to prove to be despicable:
- Chungshik Lee is a minor criminal, yet is a sniveling and smug coward who attempts to arrogantly prove he’s the boss before it’s revealed he’s a revolting child murderer and pedophile.
- Gihwan Kang, after he is released from his bonds, proves to be a domineering, smug and sadistic monster who wants to break Ru Ha by trying to rape her in front of Jaejun.
- Ironic Echo: When he is cornered by Gyeongshik, Chungil and Giwung, Chungshik begins to beg for his life and asking what he did to deserve this. Gyeongshik simply taunts, asking if those words sound familiar, and he is horrified when realizing that he was saying the exact same thing his victims were pleading before he killed them, leaving Chunshik to realize he was dead.
- Lack of Empathy: Ru Ha is a surprising example of one beyond the killers. It’s made explicit that from an early age, despite craving love and affection she was never good responding to it nor understanding it. This lack of empathy deeply troubles her and leaves her wondering if she’s just as evil as the killers.
- Made of Iron: Gyeongshik takes a brutal beating through the series yet it barely deters him. He get’s a hammer end to the back of the head by Jaejun, head bashed against the wall by Gihwan, and then injected with poison by Junho, but still doesn’t take him down.
- No Honor Among Thieves: Any cooperation the villains have with each other quickly tear apart as they attempts to get rid of each other.
- No OSHA Compliance: Ah yes, housing 10 of the most dangerous serial killers and convicts in the country in a very decrepit abandoned hospital with little to no security at all. What could possibly go wrong.
- Shoot the Shaggy Dog: Ru Ha’s father attempts to do anything to prevent her daughter from being arrested. Too bad for him, he gets murdered by Hyeseon and Junho.
- The Sociopath: Almost all the villains qualify for this in spades, with Junho and Hyeseon being high functioning examples while Gyeongshik and Gihwan being low functioning.
