Webtoon makers leaving Korea for US, Japan
Local online comic platform Toomics provides its online comic “Supernova” to Chinese online comics platform Tencent Dongman. / Courtesy of Toomics
By Baek Byung-yeul
Korea's “webtoon,” or online comic platforms, are shifting their focus to the United States, Japan and other foreign markets to seek new growth opportunities.
The domestic comic market was estimated at around 1 trillion won ($894 million) last year, according to data from the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), and among that the webtoon industry accounts more than 70 percent with a market size of 724 billion won.
According to data from the National IT Industry Promotion Agency, Korea's webtoon industry has seen annual growth of 8.6 percent. Despite the rapid growth, local webtoon platforms have been providing services overseas to diversify their profit portfolio.
Lezhin Comics has shown its presence in the U.S. The U.S. market is divided into two traditional comic powerhouses Marvel Comics and DC Comics, but the Seoul-based platform has established itself recently as one of the emerging players in the online comic market there.
Lezhin Entertainment, which operates the online comic platform, said its online comic platform topped the Google Play app store's best grossing application chart during the first half of the year, a first for Korean webtoon platforms.
“We decided to enter the U.S. market as we concluded that U.S. readers were willing to pay for digital content,” a Lezhin Entertainment official said. The company also explained it could attract U.S. readers as it succeeded in providing quality translations. When the platform first entered the U.S. market in 2016, it only featured 12 Korean comics in English but now it has over 200.
Another local webtoon platform Toomics is also providing their online comics to online comic platforms in China, the U.S. and Japan.
“In China, we are cooperating with Tencent Dongman and Kauikan Manhua. We are also servicing online comics published through our platform in the U.S. starting last December and in Japan starting this April,” an official from Toomics said.
The company said it started to provide its online comics to overseas markets while it is preparing to launch its own platform there. “The Korean webtoons we are serving in foreign countries have been well received. It is because there are a growing number of people interested in Korean-made content thanks to the robust popularity of K-pop idols and Korean dramas,” the official said.
Korean companies are flourishing in Japan's webtoon market.
In the Japanese market, Comico, a mobile webtoon platform serviced by NHN Entertainment's subsidiary NHN comico, has been a hit, drawing average downloads of more than 2 million a month.
Piccoma, Kakao's webtoon platform in Japan is also garnering Japanese readers as the second-largest platform. To attract more readers in Japan, Piccoma joined hands with YG Entertainment to publish “Go Blings,” an online comic revolving around K-pop boy band Big Bang.