Naver Webtoon ‘Lore Olympus’ becomes New York Times bestseller

A contemporary reimagining of Greek mythology, “Lore Olympus” has notched the No. 1 slot on the New York Times’ bestseller list. Naver Webtoon announced the listing in the graphic books and manga category on Tuesday. “Lore Olympus,” originally a romance webtoon created by New Zealand artist Rachel Smythe, was published in book form last month. The online comic was first released in 2018, when Naver Webtoon began its English service and provided a platform for am

Dec. 7, 2021

Web comic-based dramas turn viewers’ attention to original works

As an increasing number of web comics make the jump from online to both local television channels and global over-the-top platforms, the rich storylines of the original works are once again enjoying the spotlight. While the web comics brought local broadcasters smash hit dramas, the success of the adaptations have also played an essential part in growing the popularity of webtoons. Web comics, also known as webtoons, are comics posted online that are read by scrolling down the screen, mostly

Dec. 6, 2021

Kakao Entertainment and Naver Webtoon to fight illegal websites

As Korean webtoons enjoy new heights of popularity, being turned into drama series and films, the Korean webtoon industry is seeking to take down illegal websites featuring pirated webtoons. Seven leading webtoon platforms -- Kakao Entertainment, Kidari Studio, Lezhin Entertainment, Naver Webtoon, Ridi, Topco and Toomics -- announced Tuesday that they would take collective action to fight the illegal distribution of webtoons. The companies seek to protect the authors’ desire to create ori

Nov. 30, 2021

Webtoon-based books to continue global webtoon fever

Naver Webtoon’s beloved webtoon series “True Beauty,” “Tower of God” and “Doom Breaker” will be published in book form in the fall of 2022, the company said in a press release Monday. American imprint Webtoon Unscrolled, launched by Wattpad Webtoon Studios, will publish the print editions, according to Naver Webtoon. The new imprint is part of Naver Webtoon’s push to expand its contents and webtoon IP, including TV series, movie adaptations and

Nov. 23, 2021

Naver Webtoon drops surprise ‘Eternals’ webcomic

Just days ahead of the theater release of Marvel Studio’s “Eternals,” Naver Webtoon unveiled the movie’s Korean webtoon version Sunday. The first two episodes, titled “Intelligent Design 1“ and ”Intelligent Design 2,” have a 9.26 rating on the Naver platform as of Monday. Celebrating the release of the film, the first four episodes are available free of charge, Naver Webtoon said. The webtoon, based on the Marvel Comics series of the same titl

Nov. 1, 2021

Crime thriller drama returns as webtoon after five years

Cable channel tvN’s 2016 hit drama series “Signal” will be adapted into a webtoon, media content company BY4M announced through its public relations agency Wednesday, unveiling drawings of characters and well-known scenes from the drama. “Signal” is a time slip mystery-thriller centered around investigators from the past and future who communicate via a special walkie-talkie to solve crimes. The walkie-talkie transports its users to past crime scenes and offers in

Sept. 8, 2021

[Herald Interview] Creators of ‘Navillera’ reflect on their journey

The story may be heartwarming and sweet, but its creators were driven by ferocious determination, according to Hun, co-author of the webtoon series “Navillera.” “I know it sounds weird, but I think Jimmy and I have been possessed by something to finish our webtoon ‘Navillera.’ I don’t think we can create a work with such an effort ever again,” Hun said. Written by Hun and illustrated by Jimmy, “Navillera” is a South Korean webtoon about a

Sept. 7, 2021

Virtual comics fest to be held next month

Comics and web-based cartoons will be virtually screened at the 24th Bucheon International Comics Festival from Sept. 4, the festival’s organizers said in a press release Thursday. The annual festival, hosted by the Korea Manhwa Contents Agency, is being held online for the second consecutive year via its YouTube channel. The theme of this year’s festival is “new normal, new connection,” highlighting the change in lifestyle as a result from the extended social distancin

Aug. 19, 2021

Naver Webtoon to partner with BTS, DC Comics

Naver Webtoon is partnering with Korean entertainment powerhouse Hybe and DC Comics. “One of our plans for this year, named ‘Super Casting,’ is the collaboration with other leading companies in the entertainment industry. We are planning to build an interesting platform and universe with the artists, including BTS, allowing both readers and K-pop fans to enjoy the new contents,” said Naver Webtoon CEO Kim Jun-koo at a press conference Wednesday morning. “The part

Aug. 18, 2021

[Newsmaker] Naver expands storytelling business with Wattpad M&A

Internet platform giant Naver announced its acquisition of web novel platform Wattpad on Wednesday, more than doubling the size of its social storytelling operations. Naver will acquire 100 percent of Wattpad shares for approximately $600 million in the first half of this year. Wattpad is an online platform that allows anyone to read and write stories. With over 90 million monthly users who spend a total of 23 billion minutes each month, Wattpad is the largest social storytelling platform in

Jan. 20, 2021

Illegal websites, pandemic-related problems hamper growing webtoon market: KOCCA report

With many webtoons being made into movies, TV dramas and games, the medium is enjoying new heights of popularity. Although COVID-19 has made the creation of webtoons more difficult, it could not stop the fast growth of the industry. At the same time, however, illegal websites that feature pirated webtoons have persisted with no signs of abating, despite governmental efforts. The Korea Creative Content Agency and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism released its 2020 annual report on the

Dec. 30, 2020

How K-webtoons jumped from online to TV, theaters

More and more webtoons, or web comics, are being made into dramas and movies, as the rich storytelling format gains broader popularity. Webtoons are comics posted online that are read by scrolling down the screen, a presentation format that is unique to Korea. While some webtoons had existed online on personal blogs and websites, it was when popular local web portals like Naver and Daum started releasing daily webtoons that the market really expanded. In its early days in the early 2000s, web

Dec. 7, 2020

Naver accused of excessive censorship of webtoons after string of controversies

After the success of K-pop, K-drama and even K-movies internationally, the letter “K” is now often placed in front of Korean products that make Koreans proud. “K-quarantine” was a word used in multiple headlines this year to recognize the relative success of Korea in containing the COVID-19. However, there is one K- word that became widespread online this year that does the opposite: “K-censorship” is a derogatory term used to criticize excessive censorship

Oct. 21, 2020

Steve Aoki, Tom Bilyeu harness webtoon power with 'Neon Future'

When webtoon “Neon Future” debuted on Naver’s English webtoon platform Canvas on July 13, many noticed one of the character’s resemblance to DJ Steve Aoki and soon discovered that he was one of the authors of the webtoon.. “Neon Future,” co-written by Aoki, Tom Bilyeu and Jim Krueger, is a webtoon -- an online comic read vertically -- set 30 years in the future where advanced technology is illegal. It deals with the conflict between the Augmented, who have c

Oct. 7, 2020

Webtoon OST goes mainstream

While it has become common for songs from movie and drama soundtracks to hit the top of music charts, songs related to webtoon stories have not generally reached that level of recognition. That may no longer be the case. After its release in July 20, “Slightly Tipsy,” a song from the soundtrack of Daum Webtoon “She is My Type” by K-pop group B1A4’s Sandeul steadily climbed the charts to reach the No. 2 spot on the Melon charts, just after BTS’s “Dyna

Sept. 16, 2020

Drawing the fine line: Artistic expression and offensive content

Following widespread controversy over violent and sexually explicit content in his work, Naver webtoon “Hellper” author Sakk apologized Monday and said he was taking a break. It was the 248th episode of the webtoon’s second season. While controversy over “Hellper” began brewing as soon as the new season kicked off in 2016, things came to a head Sept. 11 when the local media picked up comments that had appeared on an online community site a few days earlier. The w

Sept. 15, 2020

Webtoon ‘The Sound of Your Heart’ ends in 14 years

South Korea’s longest running webcomic series “The Sound of Your Heart” by illustrator Cho Seok has come to an end after 14 years. Officially launched on internet portal Naver’s webtoon platform on Sept. 8, 2006, the webcomic -- known as “The Sound of Heart” in Korean -- ended Tuesday with its 1229th episode. “I feel lucky to be able to feel ‘done’ with the comic,” the 37-year-old cartoonist said in the final episode, adding words o

June 30, 2020

Characters to come to life at cosplay festival in Bucheon

The Gyeonggi International Cosplay Festival will be held from Wednesday to Sunday in Bucheon, a city west of Seoul. Cosplay involves dressing up like animation, video game or comic book characters.  Cosplayers’ parade (Korea Manhwa Contents Agency)On Saturday, professional cosplayers will parade along a 1.8-kilometer route around the Bucheon City Hall, showcasing their costumes. Music and other performances will entertain visitors. The highlight of the festival is the Gyeonggi International Cosp

Aug. 13, 2018

‘Webtoons’ enter mainstream of comics

Webtoons or webcomics have become mainstream among readers of comics, data showed Monday. According to data analysis firm Daumsoft Inc., the word “webtoon” has become more frequently used on blog and Twitter posts since 2010.  A cut from a webtoon is displayed on a smartphone. Sohn ji-young/The Korea HeraldThe company analyzed over 706,000 blog posts and 3.2 million Twitter comments regarding webtoons. The analysis showed that webtoons became the third-most popular way people accessed comics in

July 27, 2015

‘YO-Kai Watch’: Japan’s monster craze set to go international

TOKYO (AFP) ― Move over Pokemon, a legion of new cutesy monsters is haunting Japan and set to break out all over the world after trampling the competition at home. “YO-Kai Watch” is a nexus of manga comics, anime cartoons and computer games that revolve around the life of a school boy and the monsters ― “Yokai” ― that he summons with his wrist strap.While the name is unfamiliar in the West, it’s already very big business in Japan.“We bought a lot ― about 20 items ― as we can rarely buy them,” Sh

Sept. 15, 2014