Are you an avid Manhwa reader? Chances are you are one among the millions that have Webtoon installed in their smartphone and read the Korean comics (if not frequently) regulary. If you ever have the chance to visit South Korea, people reading Webtoon while doing their everyday things (such as riding the subway or waiting in line) is a common occurrence that you might encounter.
Many sources reported that the number of Manhwa comics readers has significantly increased in recent years - even breaking the domination of the long standing titan that is Japanese Manga.
Long before that happened, Manhwa experienced a major decline around 1998 following the heavy impact and influence of Japanese and other imported comics. In a long series of futile efforts, many publishers tried to attract the reader's attention by copying the style and the genre of japanese manga. The economic recession during the era also brought difficult challenges for the industry, causing the limitation to Manhwa production.
Thanks to the soaring digital content consumption in South Korea, the never-ending support from fans and huge backing from the government, the industry has flourished ever since and catapulted Manhwa back into it as a main player. Now Manhwa that you know well and love, offers a lot more fresh, eclectic and diverse stories.
Webtoon Helped Changing The Industry
2003, a big search engine company Naver launched a new platform called LINE Webtoon that significantly changed the way we read comics. Unlike any other platform that scanned the exact print layout into digital format, Webtoon presented comics in a scroll-down format, providing a more convenient reading experience for the digital comic readers.
The platformization of Webtoon also impacted the comic production pipeline. The platform offers flexibility for editors and creators. Unlike the traditional publishers, the Webtoon editors do not put their sole focus on the creation process. The flexibility that Webtoon offers in terms of drawing style and storyline are also making it a very welcoming creative environment for professional and novice creators alike.
Naturally the platform attracted huge numbers of comic creators, and in turn, huge numbers of readers. Data from KT Economy research Institute shows that there are currently more than 140.000 comic artists involved in the Webtoon industry and successfully gained mass readers that reached a whooping 6,2 millions readers per day.
Furthermore, Webtoon connects the creators and their fans. Prior to creators officially publishing their comics on the platform, they are able to showcase their work through Webtoon Challenges where fans can support the creators by giving votes to their most favorite comics. A form of interaction between the two can also be had through the comment sections, bridging them closer than ever before.
Since it was established, Webtoon has contributed to the creative economy with the economy value growth increased remarkably from US$ 96 million in 2012 to US$ 290 million in a span of three years.
Government Played Its Part In Nurturing The Creative Ecosystem
The Government of South Korea put a serious effort in strengthening the creative ecosystem. One of their initiatives was by developing 5 Year Manhwa Planning and investment in digital structure and Creative Economy Action Plan. Executed in 2002, this program was inspired by the Korean Wave in China and Japan in the 90s. It was an effort to push the growth of the digital structure through research and analysis and nurturing future Webtoon artists and authors.
The 3 main goals of this master plan is to:
Open a new jobs opportunity and markets through creative content and new innovations
Make the global leadership in Korea become more stronger to help expanding the creative economy
Support artists and the community where art and creativity are highly appreciated.
In 2008, the government announced a new plan to continue promoting and supporting the training program for the Manhwa artists and cracking out the Manhwa piracy. Maintaining and continuing the past initiatives, the third plan in 2013 Manhwa and Webtoon are set to be promoted to an even wider audience. On the forth government program back in 2014, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism announced that they were giving out ₩6 million (around $6000 USD) for each of 30 Webtoon artists, and supporting them with educational programs.
This huge government and creative collaboration is handled by Korea Creative Content Agency under the Korea Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. Established in 2009, KOCCA has been strategically introducing creative contents from South Korea to the potential market (domestic and overseas) including the South East Asia region. On top of that, the institution helps to fund creative contents in various formats (such as Webtoon and animation), as well as to track and prevent the content piracy.
But Not Without The Tremendous Support from Manhwa Fans
KOCCA stated that in 2017, the South Korean comic book market was ranked 6th globally, proving that the Manhwa community in the country is one of the biggest communities in the world. The fans intensively share many derivative contents related to their favorite Manhwa - such as creating spin offs and providing the translation or interpretation. These globally-connected communities lead the Manhwas to be well-circulated on many different digital platforms all over the world.
Not stopping there, the big fan support has been leading the most famous and popular Manhwas to be adapted into several K-Dramas, movies, and video games – effectively expanding its accessibility and influences in mainstream pop culture.
The remarkable story of Manhwa truly shows that apart from the creative forces, the support from government and loyal fans could go a very long way. If only a certain institution in our beloved country would care and give their full support for our very own burgeoning creative industries.
Executive Content Writer:
Radia Luthfina N
Co-Writer & Content Editor:
Cavin T. & Sesa (Kolaku.co)
Creative Team:
Jasmine Surkatty, Art Director
Kharen Chandra, Illustrator
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