The Korean webtoon industry continues to evolve and is at the forefront of a digital storytelling revolution that has expanded its reach both domestically and internationally. And at the 2024 Frankfurt Book Fair, South Korea's Creative Content Agency is showcasing numerous companies, while other major players are working the floor looking to make deals.
For a primer on this booming business, PW spoke with Kim Hyung Joo, head of webtoons at Munpia, one of Korea's leading digital publishing platforms. Munpia is a subsidiary of Naver, which is also the parent company of Toronto-based Wattpad.
A portmanteau of "web" and "cartoon," webtoons have become a significant part of Korea's cultural exports and digital entertainment landscape, and Kim emphasized the unique aspects of webtoons that make them distinct from the rest of the publishing industry. "What sets us apart in the biggest way would be creating serialized stories," Kim said. "We write down our stories in a series and make sure that our readers read them and maintain retention throughout."
This serialized format contributes to what Kim describes as the "addictive quality" of webtoons. In Korea, webtoons are viewed as part of the "snack culture," consumed in short bursts during commutes or breaks. "We spend like two or three minutes a day reading webtoons, here and there, it is not intended for extended reading," Kim said.
Interestingly, Kim pointed out a perceived difference in how webtoons are approached in the United States compared to Korea. "In the U.S., how we feel is that it is viewed more like literature. We find some people are more drawn to the stories, some are more drawn to the art."
The Korean webtoon industry is a significant economic force, valued at approximately $1 billion, with Munpia and Kakao dominating the market, with Lezhin Comics and Ridi Corp’s Manta controlling much of the remaining market share.
Munpia’s competition strategy is straightforward. "We're trying to make the biggest mega-selling IP possible," Kim said. This approach involves building a portfolio of original content that can be adapted into various media formats, including books, movies, and TV series.
When asked about current trends in webtoons, Kim highlighted the popularity of certain themes. "Millionaire stories are very big in Korea," he said. "We're big on the rags to riches stories," which are part of the prevalence of "progression fantasy" stories where characters level up in a manner similar to video games.
Despite the perception that webtoons cater to a narrow range of genres, Kim emphasized the diversity within the medium. "There is a wide spectrum of genres that we have," he said. "Most people think that we're doing just fantasy—which are undeniably the most popular—but we offer so much more than that."
Kim noted that with the growing popularity of the format, competition is on the rise. "Over the last three years, the market has been super saturated," he said. "What readers used to do is they wanted to keep reading the same story all over, but more recently, people have changed their perception and they're looking forward to more sophisticated stories, more quality stories, more art-driven stories."
Despite this maturation of the market and readership, Kim stressed Munpia still has potential to grow. "We want a new batch of fresh readers that are not familiar with the typical grammar and format of webtoons and web novels," he said. "Our biggest mission is to absorb all kinds of readers."
