The Dark Side of the 1 Trillion Won K-Webtoon Industry... Misogyny Controversy Remains a Challenge

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] The K-webtoon industry, which had been thriving with a scale of 1 trillion won, has been engulfed in controversy over misogyny. Following Kian84's "Return to School King," Naver Webtoon’s "Helper 2: Killberos" has also faced backlash for excessive expressions. Online, a hashtag campaign demanding "Stop misogyny in webtoons" is underway. Public opinion has flared up over the violence that goes beyond the scope of "creative freedom." Since misogyny could be a fatal blow to the growth of the webtoon industry, portals are also deeply concerned.

Webtoon Complaints This Year Already Surpass Last Year’s Volume

According to data obtained by Asia Economy on the 23rd through the office of Shin Hyun-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, the number of complaints related to "violence, hatred, and sensationalism" in webtoons reported to the Korea Communications Standards Commission increased from 133 cases last year to 153 cases as of August this year. Within less than a year, related complaints rose by 20 cases (15%). Representative Shin pointed out, "As the webtoon market has grown to a scale of 1 trillion won, problems with hateful expressions are emerging, but social responsibility in response is insufficient," adding, "The webtoon industry needs to make self-regulatory efforts to prevent recurrence."

The continuous increase in complaints about webtoons is because, while the industry is gradually growing, there are virtually no legal sanctions against misogynistic or sensational scenes. Currently, webtoon regulation is handled by the "Webtoon Self-Regulation Committee." When complaints are filed with the Korea Communications Standards Commission, they forward the complaint details to the Webtoon Self-Regulation Committee. After review, the committee can request platforms serializing the webtoons to take actions such as service termination, content modification, youth access restrictions, or adult verification recommendations.

However, even if these requests are not followed, no special measures are taken. In fact, the controversial scene in "Return to School King" implying that a woman got a job through sexual relations only resulted in a caution request to the webtoon platform, monitoring, and strengthening of staff training. There is no way for the commission to ensure these measures are properly implemented. A commission official explained, "Since it is literally self-regulation, there are no legal (penalty provisions)."

Growing Calls for Introduction of an 'Ombudsman System'

As webtoons expand their business globally, there are also calls for portals to strengthen internal mechanisms in line with social changes. According to the Korea Creative Content Agency, the webtoon market size surpassed 1 trillion won last year. The webtoon market, which was 150 billion won in 2013, has grown nearly sevenfold in six years. Naver Webtoon's global monthly users reach 67 million, with monthly transaction volume around 80 billion won. Naver Webtoon is on track to achieve an annual transaction volume of 800 billion won this year and has grown close to 1 trillion won in annual transactions. Kakao Page is also estimated to have 35 million subscribers and an annual transaction volume of 500 billion won this year.

Experts advise that webtoon platforms also need to introduce an ombudsman system. Since the sanctions by the Webtoon Self-Regulation Committee lack effectiveness, portals should establish mechanisms such as user committees internally. Professor Lee Byung-min of Konkuk University’s Department of Cultural Contents said, "Like viewer programs at broadcasting stations, there needs to be a space where panels composed of user representatives from various social strata can present opinions," adding, "While maximizing the preservation of creative freedom, a channel in the form of an ombudsman is needed to provide sound opinions on socially unacceptable topics such as child sexual abuse."

Regarding this, a Naver Webtoon official stated, "We are conducting various discussions to reduce discomfort for users in line with social changes such as gender sensitivity, and we will strengthen guidelines related to 'hate expressions' in our internal operating policies," adding, "For webtoons expanding globally, we perform translation work or modify (controversial) scenes according to each country’s culture and regulations."