Webtoon Entertainment, the parent company of Naver Webtoon, announced its horror series “Stagtown” is being developed into a feature film for North American audiences. (Image courtesy of Stagtown)
SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — Korean digital comics, known as webtoons, are breaking new ground across international borders and media formats, with recent adaptations announced for both Hollywood and Japanese stage productions.
Webtoon Entertainment, the parent company of Naver Webtoon, announced on January 22 that its horror series “Stagtown” is being developed into a feature film for North American audiences. The project brings together Naver’s Wattpad Webtoon Studios and LuckyChap Entertainment, the production company founded by Margot Robbie known for films like “Barbie” and “Saltburn.”
Benjamin Brewer, the visual effects lead artist for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” is set to both write and direct the adaptation. “Stagtown,” which follows protagonist Frankie’s supernatural encounters upon returning to her hometown, was originally discovered on the amateur platform Canvas before becoming an official series on WEBTOON’s English service in 2021, accumulating 18 million views.
In parallel developments, Kakao Entertainment announced that a musical adaptation of the popular webtoon “Itaewon Class” will premiere in Japan this June. The production brings together an international creative team, including co-writer Riko Sakaguchi of “The Tale of Princess Kaguya,” director Yuna Koyama, a Yomiuri Theater Award recipient, and Korean-American composer Helen Park, a Tony Award nominee. Japanese singer-actor Nozomu Kotaki will star as Park Saeroyi, the protagonist.
“Itaewon Class,” which follows the story of a principled young entrepreneur, has garnered 430 million views as of this month. The series has already seen successful television adaptations in both Korea and Japan, with an HBO series currently in development in Taiwan.
Industry observers note that webtoons are increasingly viewed as valuable intellectual property (IP) seeds that can flourish across various media formats. Major webtoon companies are actively pursuing these opportunities, with Naver Webtoon currently developing adaptations of “Lore Olympus,” “Death of a Popstar,” and “Freaking Romance,” while Kakao Entertainment is involved in producing a live-action drama adaptation of “Solo Leveling.”
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
