(Image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Sept. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — KakaoPage, a webtoon and Internet social media platform operated by Kakao Corp., will hold a contest in the young adult genre in collaboration with Changbi Publishers, a major South Korean publishing house.
Young adult novels refer to novels about the main character’s growth, such as hardships, trials, adventures, and love that the main character goes through.
Examples include the “Hunger Games,” “Maze Runner” and “Twilight” series, which were even adapted into movies based on the high popularity of the original novel.
Anyone willing to participate can apply from Wednesday to January 31, 2020, and any genre such as detective, mystery, fantasy or romance can be chosen if it is a fast-paced and absorbing story like a movie.
Both newcomers and established writers can apply, and the winner will be announced on March 20, 2020 after a preliminary and main session.
The grand prize and the a prize for excellence are 10 million won (US$8,370) and 5 million won, respectively.
Furthermore, winning works can be put on a paid serial on Kakao Page, and there will be opportunities to publish them as e-books and paper books through Changbi Publishers.
In particular, the contest is significant in that Changbi Publishers has joined hands with KakaoPage, a content platform, to revitalize the Young Adult market.
As the youth content market is still weak in Korea and people in their 30s and 40s account for the majority of the webtoon market, much attention is being paid to the contest.
D. M. Park (dmpark@koreabizwire.com)
