Tomb Raider King (Korean: 도굴왕) is a South Korean web novel written by Sanji Jiksong. It was serialized in Kakao's digital comic and fiction platform KakaoPage beginning on November 1, 2016. A webtoon adaptation of Tomb Raider King was first serialized in KakaoPage on June 30, 2019, with the webtoon's first season concluded on January 30, 2023, followed by its second season, which was released from February to March 2023. During their panel at Anime Expo 2022, Yen Press announced that they licensed the manhwa in English under their Ize Press imprint. Its individual chapters have been collected and published in twelve volumes by Redice Studio, as of August 2024.
An aeni television series adaptation produced by Studio EEK premiered in Korea and Japan in July 2026.
Contents
Plot
The tombs have been appearing all over the world, unbeknownst to mankind the tombs contain relics that grant powers to those who use it. Tomb raider Seo Joo-Heon, returns 15 years into the past and embarks on a journey around the world to steal all the tombs before anyone gets them.
Characters
Main
Seo Joo-Heon
Voiced by: Hwang Chang-young, Yoshimasa Hosoya (Japanese), Monty Thompson (English)
The main protagonist of the series. Joo-Heon nearly died in present while stealing the tombs that were appearing all around the world. He returns 15 years into the past to steal all the tombs and get revenge on those who betrayed him.
Irene Holton
Voiced by: Lee Yuri, Saori Hayami (Japanese), Natalie Van Sistine (English)
An American from a rich, wealthy family. She had a relic that causes bad luck to those who come in contact with her, when Joo-Heon breaks her free from the relic she was able to return to her original self and even develops romantic feelings for him. In the original timeline, she was a member of Pandora and became the cruel King of Bankruptcy after her family was killed.
Lee Seol-Ah
Joo-Heon's ex-girlfriend and the scout of his team. In the new timeline, she works for the China-Russia excavation team under Chaewon Jin before regaining her memories and rejoining Joo-Heon's team. Seol-Ah uses a relic to summon ghosts.
Yoo Jae-Ha
Voiced by: Shim Ki-hyuk, Miyu Irino (Japanese), Tyler Viator (English)
The restoration specialist of Joo-Heon's team. He became the King of Fraud after his art style was plagiarized by his professor, Gene Richard. In the new timeline, Joo-Heon convinces him to work for him again in exchange for help in exposing Gene Richard. Unlike his other teammates, Joo-Heon decides not to restore his memories in order to prevent him from becoming the King of Fraud again. Eventually, Jae-Ha regains his memories, but does not revert to his original personality. He uses the relics of Antonio Salieri and Leonardo da Vinci.
Antagonists
Kwon Tae-Joon
Voiced by: Min Eung-sik (Korean), Junichi Suwabe (Japanese), Max Hartman (English)
Main antagonist. A board member of Pandora and the chairman of TKBM, the company that employs Joo-Heon's excavation team. He is one of the people who monopolized the use of relics in the original timeline and sent Joo-Heon's team to their death. In the new timeline, he is often the target of Joo-Heon's team. Chairman Kwon uses the relics of Julius Caesar and Achilles.
Keira Clark
Voiced by: Kim Na-yul (Korean), Yūko Kaida (Japanese)
A U.S. Soldier known as the King of War. She is one of the people who monopolized the use of relics in the original timeline and plunged the world into war. In the new timeline, Joo-Heon's team manages to stop her from collecting the map relics that allow her to strike at her enemies with precision.
Yang Chen
A former member of Joo-Heon's team, he betrayed his teammates after Chairman Kwon promised him a promotion in the original timeline. In the new timeline, he still works for TKBM.
James Rothschild
The human identity of the relic of Prometheus and the leader of Pandora.
Eve Rockefeller
A member of the Rockefeller family and a high ranking member of Pandora. She uses the relic of Merlin.
Joshua Jackson
A member of Pandora known as the King of Fate. He uses the relic of the Oracle of Delphi to predict prophecies.
Media
Web novel
Written by Sanji Jiksong, Tomb Raider King was first serialized in Kakao's digital comic and fiction platform KakaoPage since November 1, 2016. The novel was licensed in English by Wuxiaworld and released from December 14, 2019, to May 22, 2021.
Webtoon
A webtoon adaptation launched in KakaoPage on June 30, 2019, and concluded its first season on January 30, 2023; its second season began on February 9, 2023, concluding on March 27, 2023, with its 412th chapter. Its first collected volume was released by Redice Studio on January 5, 2021. It is published on Tapas in English. The collected volumes have been licensed and published in North America by Yen Press since November 22, 2022.
Aeni
An aeni television series adaptation was announced at Anime Expo 2024. It is produced by Studio EEK and directed by Woo Seung-wook, with Lee Hyun-joung serving as character designer and Kim Ju-young composing the music. The series premiered on Aniplus in South Korea, as well as its Japanese dub on July 9, 2026, on Fuji TV's B8station programming block under the title King of Grave Robbery (盗掘王, Tōkutsu Ō). The opening theme song is "Show Down", while the ending theme song is "To Be Continued", both performed by QWER.
Crunchyroll is streaming the series, which also has an English dub. Medialink licensed the series in Southeast Asia.
Video game
In May 29, 2025, Tomb Raider King collaborated with the mobile idle RPG
"Max Level Idle" which included Seo Joo-Heon, Irene Holton, and Lee Seol-Ah as playable characters.
Sequel
Tomb Raider King: End Line
In July 2026, Kakao announced a sequel titled Tomb Raider King: End Line.
The story is set after the events of Tomb Raider King; After Joo-Heon’s wedding with Irene, he sees a hallucination of his daughter being kidnapped by unknown relics. He later discovers a relic opening to a multiverse of powerful rival Majesties and warring relics, he embarks on a journey to rescue his lost daughter.
The web novel is also written by Sanji Jiksong.