Unlike Japanese comics, Korean comics that have won their favorite for hitting the nail on the real issue has become the country's latest cultural output product. In South Korea, online comics are the most popular IP source in the film and television industry, and so far more than 250 online comics have been adapted into movies and TV series. Combining the existing marketing advantages of Korean dramas and Korean movies, the remakes have expanded the cultural influence of the comics themselves overseas.
The South Korean government strongly supported this. On November 3 last year, President Moon Jae-in wore a mask for the character of the Webtoon comic "TEN" to celebrate "Korean Comic Day" and promote this popular online comic with bullied teenagers as the main character. Moon Jae-in said: "During the COVID-19 pandemic, the popularity of online comics in South Korea has exploded, and its expansion in overseas markets is also very active. Korean online comics have received high praise in the United States and Japan." The rise of
Webtoon
Webtoon (웹툰) is a type of online comics founded in South Korea. It consists of "Web (Internet)" and "Cartoon (Comics, Cartoon)". You can read it by just sliding up and down, without turning pages. It is a comic designed specifically for computers and mobile phones. The Economist pointed out that South Korea's online serialized comics were born in the early 2000s, when Naver and Daum, the country's largest online search engines, began to establish the Webtoon platform and hired animation writers to create online comics. The revenue of
search engine websites should be based on the number of visitors. Naver and Daum determine to produce attractive content, which can also attract visitors to browse for a longer period of time. They are right. Over the past 10 years, the online comics market has grown tenfold and has become an important source of income for online companies. What is more noteworthy is that Korean online comics have begun to have a certain impact on global culture.
For readers, the advantage of online comics over traditional comics is that the platform content has diverse storylines, interactive functions, bright and colorful pictures and background music; after watching an episode, fans can click on the comment section to discuss the plot with others. Lim Hyun-jee, a 26-year-old office worker in Seoul, pointed out that she prefers to read the latest episodes on her phone on her way to commute than to read several booklets of paper comic books.
21-year-old Canadian Webtoon reader Jacqueline said she felt that the plot of Korean online comics is very different from standard superhero stories. French reader Kathleen Dangoumau pointed out that two comics about campus bullying and suicide are her favorite works in recent times, and she said this theme is regarded as taboo by the French media.
American comics fan Quiandez McAfee said he found that many of his favorite TV series recently were adapted from online comics, which prompted him to further read the two-dimensional works. "I like the wonderful stories that can be immersed in it. There are so many talks and many seasons in the web comics. There are always some works that can become my spiritual food for a while," said McAfee, whose favorite web comics include "Tower of Gods" (신의 탑), "God of Colleges and Universities" (갓 오브 하이 스쿨) and "Sweet House" (스위트홈).
original comic IP remakes dramas, expanding overseas influence
Jang Min-gi (transliteration) of Gyeongnam University said that the success of online comics is not limited to comic lovers, but the earliest group of cartoonists who collaborated with Naver and Daum, remakes their works into movies and TV series, so that original IPs can get huge benefits.
For example, the TV series of the same name adapted from "Sweet Home" is one of the most successful original series on Netflix in 2020. It has won the rankings in 11 countries. The drama and the original comics tell the story of humans transforming into monsters of various attributes due to "desire", and this explores the various desires buried deep in human nature. "Itaewon Class" (Itaewon 클라쓰) tells the story of teenagers' entrepreneurship revenge, "The Cheese Trap" (치즈 인 더 트랩) talks about the love troubles of a group of college students, and the remake of the film also achieved great success.
IP+IP comic universe
Kan comics' IP evolution is still continuing, and it is moving towards creating a complete worldview, just like the Marvel Universe (MCU), challenging the most valuable cultural and creative model. South Korea YLAB Publishing House has built the comics produced into a common universe called "Super String". Many works such as "Sky in the Abyss", "Resurrection Man", "Terrorist", "Neolithic Woman" have been arranged into the timeline of the worldview, and the protagonists are each involved. The official website introduces: "In order to save the earth, superpowers from different dimensions form the 'Super String' to start the struggle with evil forces!"
YLAB's ambitions not only end there. The official website introduces that the "Super String" common universe "will extend to multiple fields such as movies, TV series, games, etc., and is an IP blockbuster unique to YLAB." Zhang Minji believes that IP film and television will eventually attract more people to become comic fans, just like the movie version of Spider-Man or Black Panther re-creates the popularity of Marvel comics. "Recently, most Marvel fans have watched the movie first and then read the comics. Netcom also wants to go this route, they are creating their own universe.
