A good way to gauge the creativity of a writer is by how unique the premises they write are. There are a plethora of sci-fi manhwa out there that touch upon the 'time-traveling' genre in one way or another. Isekai, reincarnation, and power-scaling manhwa have some sci-fi elements in them, regardless of how they're developed throughout the course of their run. For example, the concept of alternate realities and dimensions is one of the most prevalent concepts in Solo Leveling and similar manhwa. Similarly, transmigration and 'going back in time' are quite dominant in a lot of the popular romance-isekais, like Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady with the Lamp or I Shall Master This Family.

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However, most of these titles seem to only thrust the main characters into the past or into a completely different world. They're either given another chance at life by resetting their own, or they find themselves in the body of a totally different person in a completely new world. The concept of a "futuristic world" or "being reincarnated into a world in the future" is rarely explored. Even when it is, it mostly blends other—much more traditional—themes into it to make it more palatable and 'normal.' It's something these manhwa make an attempt, and mostly succeed, at tackling.

6 Court Of Puppets

Anime-Planet Score: 3.69/5

• Released: 2021
• Author(s): Ryu Hoon (Story), Ji Chang-geun (Art)
• Status: Completed

Although the exact year isn't explicitly mentioned in Court of Puppets, based on how it looks—with its android detectives and heavily futuristic weapons and machines—it's pretty safe to assume that the manhwa is set sometime far in the future. The manhwa also features some eerily realistic and, frankly, some of the best artwork seen in manhwa in a long time.

The premise of it is somewhat similar to the anime Psycho-Pass, and features detectives working in cahoots with sentient androids to fight crime. The main character, Woojin, is a detective with unmanageable temper issues, and gets temporarily laid off from his job because of them. His superior appoints him as an advisor to an android known as Magnum, in hopes that Woojin will learn to control his anger issues and, in turn, be let back into the force.

5 Dreamcide

Anime-Planet Score: 3.85/5

• Released: 2016
• Author(s): Shinweol (Art), Hong Jeonghoon (Story)
• Status: Completed

While not exactly set in the future, Dreamcide has a premise that alternates between the present and the future through the main character's 'dreams.' He initially brushes off his nightmares as a result of all the stress he's been going through, but eventually realizes that they're not actually nightmares, but snippets of what is to come in the future.

Hazin Nam is a dreary high-school student who's fed up with his school's hierarchical system that favors the wealthy over the ordinary. He's in the middle of moving houses and, as a result of all the accumulated stress, is seeing these vivid dreams of the future, where he and an unknown girl are seen fighting zombies and trying to survive an apocalypse. Not thinking much of it, Hazin simply goes about his life until, one day, that same mystery girl transfers into his class. As if on cue, strange, almost unreal, coincidences start mirroring his dreams, forcing Hazin to acknowledge the reality that they might not be 'stress-induced nightmares' after all.

4 The Blood Of The Butterfly

Anime-Planet Score: 3.93/5

• Released: 2020
• Author(s): Remin
• Status: Completed

The Blood of the Butterfly is initially set in the year 2033 in a world that appears quite normal except for its giant bug problem threatening humanity's existence. Despite the obviously apocalyptic setting, the manhwa starts off pretty conventionally, with the main character, Maehwa Baek, heading to school like any other day.

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However, like everything else sci-fi action, things start escalating quickly into a much darker, more intense premise that gives more insight into the setting of the entire story. Maehwa Baek might seem like an ordinary kid on the outside, but he's far from it. He loses his wits at the sight of blood and gains inexplicably destructive powers, enough to seriously harm those around him. On his 20th birthday, Maehwa loses someone really close to him, setting him on a path to uncover the secrets of his birth.

3 Noru

Anime-Planet Score: 3.93/5

• Released: 2012
• Author(s): Ahn Sung-ho
• Status: Completed

Noru is an unconventional manhwa created in an unusual 'docu-series' format. It is set on a desolate future Earth, where humanity is on the verge of extinction, and the remaining humans are barely surviving in the true sense. The entire manhwa is drawn from the perspective of a being an 'alien' species that's traveled light-years to come to Earth, just to document its self-destruction and aftermath.

Said being encounters a man known as Noru among the locals, who essentially worship him for being kind and generous towards them. Noru is making a documentary of his own, using a very run-down camera and the bare minimum of supplies he can get in a world that has nothing. The alien finds him extremely interesting and decides to follow him around on his journey across a barren land, a land that was once a thriving civilization.

2 Gepetto

Anime-Planet Score: 4.0/5

• Released: 2012
• Author(s): Yeon Jewon
• Status: Completed

The thing about manhwa set in the future is that most of them are set in a post-apocalyptic scenario. Not many of them explore a rich, thriving society of futuristic humans that hasn't hit rock bottom or hasn't been overtaken by androids. Gepetto, while also featuring this exact storyline, evolves a bit differently by incorporating elements of human success, even after a crippling war.

The story revolves around the aftermath of a devastating war between humans and the androids they created. Dr. Gepetto, the mastermind behind it all, held crucial secrets about his work that could reshape the entire world, but he passed away before revealing them. Now, entire governments are after this well-hidden knowledge, which emerges in the form of a blue-haired sentient android known as Wale.

1 Leviathan

Anime-Planet Score: 4.31/5

• Released: 2018
• Author(s): Noh Miyoung (Art), Lee Gyuntak (Story)
• Status: Completed

A post-apocalyptic manhwa set centuries in the future, in times when the world is flooded by water and has been taken over by giant, leviathan sea creatures. The setting of this particular manhwa is very unique, seeing as it is entirely set on the ocean, and even shows humans living on massive ships rather than on land—particularly because there is no land to live on, since it's all underwater.

The story unfolds through the perspective of two young siblings, Bota and Lita, who have only heard of the Earth's pre-apocalyptic glory in stories from their dad. With constant sheltering and strict rules to avoid danger from their father, their world is turned upside down when they're left to fend for themselves after a string of unfortunate events. It's then that they discover there's far more to these monsters than meets the eye.

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