SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — A new fantasy webtoon and web novel inspired by K-pop superstars BTS will be released later this week, the group’s management agency said Wednesday. Hybe said its original story of “7Fates: Chakho” will be available on Naver Webtoon, an online platform for web-based comics run by South Korea’s top [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s cartoon exports jumped more than 40 percent in 2020 from a year earlier amid the growing global popularity of Korean pop culture, a report said Wednesday. Outbound shipments of cartoons, including webtoons, stood at US$64.82 million last year, up 40.9 percent from a year earlier, according to [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — In the midst of the rapid growth of the South Korean content industry, the competition between Naver Corp. and Kakao Corp., the two major tech companies, is heating up to secure story content like webtoons and web novels. Naver Webtoon, the webcomic arm of the nation’s top portal operator, [...]
SEOUL, May 11 (Korea Bizwire) — Kakao Entertainment, an entertainment arm of Kakao Corp., said Tuesday it has acquired U.S.-based online comic app Tapas and fiction app Radish for US$510 million and $440 million, respectively. The subsidiary of Kakao Corp, the operator of South Korea’s top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, said the latest deals could help [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — Naver Corp., South Korea’s top Internet portal operator, and Kakao Corp., the operator of the country’s top mobile messenger KakaoTalk, have an unrivaled presence here but often face criticism that their platforms are limited to the domestic market. This criticism, however, is becoming increasingly misguided since Naver and Kakao’s [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — Naver Corp., South Korea’s top internet portal operator, is witnessing a growth in its webcomic business, which will eventually improve its earnings, industry sources said Friday. Naver Webtoon, more commonly known as Line Webtoon in the United States, is home to a plethora of creator-owned content, ranging from romance [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — The webcomic arm of South Korea’s top portal operator, Naver Corp., said Monday that it has kicked off service in French and Spanish as part of ongoing efforts to reach foreign audiences. Line Webtoon, a global service provided by Naver Webtoon Corp., added two languages in Europe, in addition [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — Brazil, known as South America’s gateway to the Korean Wave, hosted an exclusive event to promote Korean webtoons. The Korean Cultural Center in São Paulo held a Webtoon Night Exhibition on Monday. Famous webtoon artists including Kwon Hyuk-joo and Song Rae-hyun were present at the opening ceremony, giving an [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Webtoons are evolving as they expand their market reach mobile games and dramas. Recently, mobile games and dramas using Naver Webtoon IP are gaining popularity. Thanks to the popularity and recent trends, it is estimated that the size of South Korea’s webtoon market will surpass US$1 billion by 2020. [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — For South Korean filmmakers and drama studios, webtoons, or web-based comics, have been one of the most bankable sources for the past decade thanks to their fresh subjects and solid plots. Now, the theatrical scene is also turning their eyes on the tried-and-true content. Published online in 2016, the [...]