I am covering trend, food and fashion. Previously, I covered diplomacy, city, environment and unification.
Popular Naver webtoon ‘Wind Breaker’ canceled over plagiarism allegations
A paperback cover for "Wind Breaker" / Captured from the author's blog
By Kim Se-jeong
The popular Naver Webtoon series "Wind Breaker" was canceled last week following allegations of plagiarism.
According to the platform, "the manuscript of 'Wind Breaker' was found to have compositional and directorial similarities with another work. We have decided to stop the serialization and service of the work."
Webtoons — digital comics originating in Korea — are typically read on mobile phones and have gained global popularity.
The creator of "Wind Breaker," Jo Yong-seok, confirmed the cancellation and issued an apology to readers.
"I sincerely apologize for the distress caused by the recent tracing allegations related to my work," he wrote in Korean. Tracing refers to drawing over the lines of another image using tracing paper or digital tools.
"Among the reference materials I used during production, some scenes ended up being very similar to — or nearly identical in expression to — those from other works. This is clearly my fault," Jo said in an apology posted at the end of the series' final episode on the Webtoon platform. The comic is no longer available.
He continued, "For years, I lived in a constant race against deadlines. In that rush, I allowed urgency to override the standards I should have maintained — and I failed to uphold them."
"Wind Breaker" follows the story of an amateur cyclist striving to win competitions. First published in December 2013, the series ran for 12 years and became one of the most popular sports comics on the platform. It was translated into English, Chinese and Japanese and released in paperback.