Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
Korea's World Webtoon Awards to highlight top global creators in online comics
Visitors take a look around the inaugural World Webtoon Festival in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, Sept. 26, 2024. Newsis
By Baek Byung-yeul
The 2025 World Webtoon Awards are set to take place in Seoul in October, celebrating the best and brightest in the global webtoon industry, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Monday.
Hosted by the culture ministry and its affiliate Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), the event aims to honor outstanding works, encourage professionals in the industry and solidify Korea's reputation as a global leader in online comics.
This year's awards ceremony, the second of its kind, will be held Oct. 22 at Lotte Cinema’s Lotte World Tower branch. The list of 26 finalists for the main awards has been announced, chosen from a pool of 99 candidates.
The ministry said the selection process was highly competitive, drawing a surprising 1,338 recommendations from readers worldwide and demonstrating the immense global popularity of online comics. The nominees include 23 Korean works and three works by Japanese artists.
Among the awards, the Reader’s Choice Award is introduced for the first time this year, offering fans chances to vote for their favorite webtoon works. The winner will be determined by an online vote among the 26 finalists. The voting period is from Monday to Oct. 21 on the official awards website. Fans can vote once a week for a total of eight times, with a prize draw for participants.
Voting for the Reader’s Choice Award is available on the World Webtoon Awards website from Monday through Oct. 21. Courtesy of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
The final winners of the main awards, including the coveted Grand Prize and the Jury's Choice Award, will be selected from the 26 finalists by a jury of experts. The panel will be led by renowned Korean cartoonist Lee Hyun-se, and will also include Gwangjin, the winner of last year’s Jury's Choice Award for his webtoon “The Great.”
The awards ceremony will be jointly held with the World Webtoon Festival, which runs Oct. 19 to 22 at Lotte World amusement park. The festival will feature a special exhibition at Lotte World Ice Rink and multiple webtoon pop-up stores at Lotte World Tower.
In a bid to expand its presence in the online comics industry, Korea launched the World Webtoon Awards and World Webtoon Festival last year. In its inaugural event, “Solo Leveling” won the Grand Prize.
“We hope this event will be a place where webtoon professionals and readers can celebrate their achievements together,” an official from the culture ministry said.