K-pop meets webtoons in soundtrack songs

A promotional poster for “Stay Alive,” the soon-to-be-released soundtrack song for the BTS-inspired webtoon series, “7FATES: CHAKHO” / Courtesy of HYBE

By Park Han-sol

The BTS-inspired urban fantasy webcomic series “7FATES: CHAKHO,” which continues to top the new and trending charts of Naver Webtoon's global platform since its January release, has grabbed headlines yet again ― this time, for the scheduled release of “Stay Alive,” a song by BTS members serving as a musical score for the comic.

Set to be unveiled on Feb. 5 (KST) along with the fourth episode of the webtoon series, the track will be produced by Suga and feature the vocals of Jungkook, their agency HYBE announced on Thursday. The full version of the song will be made available on global music platforms on Feb. 11.

Adding that “Stay Alive” is based on the digital comic's synopsis and storyboards, the agency said that it “complements the storyline and atmosphere of '7FATES: CHAKHO' with Jungkook's vocals amplifying the song's mood.”

While soundtrack songs released by K-pop idols and rappers used to be largely limited to movies and dramas, webtoons have been gaining ground as another viable platform for collaboration with the music industry, with a number of songs sweeping the local charts.

This is a notable shift, considering that until a few years ago, webtoons' incorporation of musical scores stopped at background music without lyrics, or tracks produced by lesser-known indie performers. In other words, the songs were extra features that would help immerse the readers in the story, but investing in the soundtrack had failed to catch on in the general webcomic industry.

In July 2020, however, “Slightly Tipsy,” a song performed by K-pop boy band B1A4's Sandeul for the popular Kakao webtoon “She is My Type,” created a sensation as it climbed the local Melon charts and took the No. 2 spot, just after BTS' “Dynamite.”

The webcomic series continued to collaborate with other big-name artists ― including Super Junior's Kyuhyun, EXO's Chanyeol and APink's Jeong Eun-ji ― on songs that all took the charts by storm.

Such collaborations became even more active the following year, marked by the time-travel romance webtoon series, “The Moon that Rises in the Day,” featuring soundtrack songs by solo artists like Gummy and K.Will.

The rom-com webtoon “Romance 101” even boasted a star-studded lineup of a whopping 14 high-profile singers, including Kim Jun-su, 10CM, Highlight's Yang Yo-seob and Younha, to name just a few.

Some soundtrack songs have been released alongside music videos featuring animated scenes of the original webtoons. In August 2021, singer-songwriter Ahn Ye-eun dropped a music video for “Night Flower,” a song for the popular webtoon series “Painter of the Night.” The clip has garnered more than 8 million views on YouTube since its release.

Experts say that the advent of webtoon soundtracks has created a win-win situation for both parties, bolstered by the huge, dedicated fanbases of both webcomics and K-pop singers.

While the popularity of soundtracks in local charts can create new demand for original webtoons, it can also go the other way, in consideration of the fast-growing size of the global webcomic industry.

According to a report released by the Korea Creative Content Agency last December, the webtoon industry saw its combined sales amount to more than 1.05 trillion won in 2020, a 64.6 percent increase from the previous year, at 640 billion won.

“For popular music, winning moves can only be made by building familiarity [with the public]. Nowadays, listeners are inundated with a flood of new songs hitting the charts every day, making it difficult to reach every corner of the market, even if one is an established artist,” music critic Jung Min-jae told The Korea Times.

Thus, collaborating with webtoons can be another effective promotional tool and point of dialogue with consumers for K-pop acts and soloists.

What makes webtoon soundtracks stand out, in comparison to those created for films or dramas, is the “lifespan, or durability” of the original content, which typically goes hand in hand with the popularity of the soundtracks themselves, he said.

Films often have a running time of two or three hours, with only some deemed by the public to be worth rewatching. This reality makes the accompanying film soundtracks less likely to be revisited as well. Although dramas last longer, as they are divided into weekly episodes, they too have clear end dates, making only a handful of viewers get invested in the show after it ends.

“But in the case of a webtoon, readers can start reading it anytime they want. In that way, the so-called 'lifespan' of the original content lasts longer, giving the accompanying soundtrack a higher chance of being seared into their memory through repetition.”