What is Regression / Returner?

Regression is one of manhwa's defining tropes: after death, defeat, or the end of the world, the protagonist is sent back to an earlier point in their life. They keep all their memories and knowledge, so they can dodge old mistakes, exploit the future they alone remember, and get revenge on the people who wronged them.

A "returner" is the close cousin — someone who comes back from another world, a dungeon, or years away, bringing overwhelming power home with them. Both scratch the same itch: a competent hero with an unfair information advantage, steamrolling a story whose ending they already know.

It's catnip for readers because the payoff is immediate — no slow learning curve, just a smart lead making ruthless, satisfying moves from chapter one.