Korean webcomics are capturing global attention again, not just for their hit series, but for a business model and creator revenue share, which has now become an international standard.

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"WEBTOON and creators: A KRW 4T win-win ecosystem"

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NAVER WEBTOON announced in its recent press conference that it has paid over KRW 4T to creators for the last 5 years, demonstrating the strong health of the WEBTOON ecosystem. The company plans to invest KRW 70B more this year for creator support and technology advancement.

Moreover, NAVER WEBTOON is set to diversify creators' revenue stream beyond paid content to advertising and IP business, and empower creators even more for a stronger partnership.

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Press conference with the new President of WEBTOON Entertainment / Source: NAVER WEBTOON

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"Captivating big tech at the price of a coffee"

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Webcomics have captured the world's attention. In Europe, comics were mostly published in print books, but "wait-to-unlock" and "a la carte payment" model—first introduced by WEBTOON—have now become the new norm for the global entertainment.

Tech giants like Amazon and Apple are launching or strengthening their own webcomics platform and replicating WEBTOON's profit model. The culture of enjoying "snackable, bite-size content" at any time, anywhere at the price of a cup of coffee in the mobile-first environment, has given a whole new content experience to gen Zs and built powerful fanbase around the world.

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Lore Olympus, Hardcore Leveling Warrior and Elf&Warrior are NAVER WEBTOON originals

awaiting animation adaptation

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The webcomic content has demonstrated its social proof along with expansion of its distribution ecosystem. With webcomics' narrative structure and directing approach setting new benchmarks, and growing collaboration with global video streamers and entertainment companies, webcomics will serve as a critical driver for the content value chain.

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