Nvidia CEO’s webtoon moment highlights global ascent of K-comics

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, left, and Naver founder Lee Hae-jin pose at a welcome event held at Naver’s 1784 headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, June 8. Courtesy of Naver Webtoon

A recent casual encounter between Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Naver founder Lee Hae-jin has cast a fresh spotlight on the explosive growth and global influence of Korean webtoons, showing how digital comics have become a mainstream cultural medium.

During his visit to Korea from June 5 to 9, the leader of the global artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant visited Naver’s 1784 headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on June 8 to discuss massive AI infrastructure partnerships.

At a welcoming event prepared by Naver Webtoon, the tech billionaire participated in a unique cultural event by filling out empty speech bubbles in a customized comic strip from the hit webtoon "The Greatest Estate Developer."

Standing next to the Naver founder, the Nvidia CEO used the comic format to deliver a witty business message.

"The more GPUs (graphics processing units) you have, the more you can work and the more happy you are," Huang said during his visit to the Naver office.

He added that "GPU equals happy.” This created a viral moment that highlighted how a webtoon work is now naturally used as a creative tool for communication even during high-level tech meetings.

The strategy fantasy series used for the event, adapted from a web novel by BK_Moon with story by Lee Hyun-min and art by Kim Hyun-soo, represents the pinnacle of modern webtoon success.

The story follows a protagonist who uses civil engineering knowledge to manage a fantasy estate.

The comic version concluded its highly successful five-year run in March after achieving a near-perfect rating of 9.98 on the Naver Webtoon platform and accumulating over 1.2 billion global views.

The series won the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award at the 2025 Korea Content Awards last December, solidifying its critical acclaim.

Cultural critics say the story brought something new to the comedy fantasy genre by mixing civil engineering with fantasy estate management, while winning over global fans with its unique visual style.

With the game adaptation already released, "The Greatest Estate Developer" continues to show the expanding popularity of its intellectual property.

Naver's decision to showcase its webtoon work to a global technology pioneer underscores the company's strategy to position digital comics as a core cultural export.

By turning a corporate tech meeting into a promotional stage, the company demonstrated how Korean webtoons have grown from a domestic subculture into a major entertainment medium that attracts international business leaders.