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.
Are Korea’s webtoon platforms becoming gateway for global pop culture?
This image shows Marvel Comics’ popular character Spider-Man, which will be released through Webtoon Entertainment’s vertical scroll format of Korean-style webtoon, or online comic. On Aug. 13, Webtoon Entertainment and the Walt Disney Company signed a partnership to publish about 100 titles of Disney’s popular comics. Courtesy of Naver Webtoon
By Baek Byung-yeul
Korean webtoon platforms such as Naver Webtoon and Kakao Webtoon are rapidly transforming from local digital comics hubs into pillars of global pop culture, creating major cross-industry intellectual property (IP) hits and exemplifying the power of digital-native storytelling.
The distinct vertical-scrolling format of webtoons, optimized for mobile viewing, and their adaptability to diverse genres position Korean platforms as a prime conduit for both exporting original IP and importing or reimagining global franchises.
On Wednesday, Webtoon Entertainment, the U.S. parent company of Korea’s Naver Webtoon, announced a multi-year global content partnership with the Walt Disney Company.
Through this deal, Disney, Marvel, Star Wars and 20th Century Studios’ most beloved franchises such as Spider-Man, Avengers and Star Wars will be reborn as vertically scrolling webtoons specifically tailored for mobile devices.
Around 100 different titles will be sequentially launched within a dedicated Disney section in the English-language Webtoon app, marking Naver’s entry as a key player in mainstream global content distribution.
The collaboration will both adapt existing classics and generate new, original webtoon series inspired by Disney’s vast archives, ranging from superhero action to princess stories, to offer fresh interpretations of well-known characters for worldwide audiences in a new format. The launch lineup includes titles such as “Amazing Spider-Man,” “Avengers,” “Alien,” “Star Wars” and “Disney As Old As Time: A Twisted Tale.”
Daniel Fink, Disney’s senior vice president and head of digital innovation, said this partnership “will allow [Disney] to expand [its] beloved franchise universes on a best-in-class digital platform," underlining Disney’s ambition to tap Webtoon’s younger, mobile-centric demographic and to explore new revenue streams for its extensive back catalog.
For Naver Webtoon, whose platform boasts arond 156.1 million monthly active users globally, the deal fills major content gaps such as superhero titles, a segment previously underserved in Asia.
Actor Lim Soo-jung in a scene from Disney+ series “Low Life” / Courtesy of Walt Disney Korea
The cross-border cultural influence of Korean webtoons is already evident in the success of many hit dramas and films adapted for global streaming platforms.
One of the recent success stories is "Low Life," based on cartoonist Yoon Tae-ho's acclaimed webtoon "Pine" available through Kakao Webtoon. Set in the late 1970s, "Low Life" follows people in Korea's coastal towns who race to salvage treasure from a fabled shipwreck.
The series was released on Disney+ last month and quickly climbed to the No. 1 spot on the platform's TV show rankings in Korea after its premiere. “Low Life” held the top spot in the overall content category in Korea for 26 consecutive days, according to the ranking site FlixPatrol, as of Aug. 13. The show also gained significant attention overseas, climbing to ninth place on Disney+’s global TV show ranking.
The drama's explosive reception has caused a surge for the original webtoon as well. According to Kakao Entertainment, the webtoon's views jumped by a whopping 58 times and its revenue increased 26-fold in the month after the show's debut. This highlights the mutual relationship between videotized adaptations and webtoon originals, which drives new subscriber growth and increases IP royalty flows.
Cultural critic Bae Kook-nam noted that the rise of Korean webtoon platforms reflects a remarkable leap in digital storytelling capability and reshaped the comics industry in the digital era.
“The digital prowess of Naver Webtoon and Kakao Webtoon is setting out a new vision for comics in the digital era,” Bae said.
He also emphasized that the COVID-19 pandemic served as a watershed moment for the expansion of hallyu, or the Korean wave, and that the influence of these platforms has been particularly strong in Japan, where they dominate the online comic market.
“This competitive edge has grown considerably since the COVID-19 pandemic, which became a turning point for the expansion of hallyu. Their impact is especially notable in Japan, where Webtoon Entertainment’s LINE Manga and Kakao Piccoma hold the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the online comics market, showing a strong presence,” the critic added.