Gyeongju City Nears Completion of 'Gyeongbuk Webtoon Campus'... Cartoonist Lee Hyun-se Appointed as President

Expansion of Projects Linking Local Universities... Creating Youth Jobs and Utilizing Regional Story Resources

Exterior design plan of the 'Gyeongbuk Webtoon Campus' building opening in Hwangnam-dong, Gyeongju this July.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Jae-ho] The 'Gyeongbuk Webtoon Campus' project, jointly promoted by Gyeongju City, Gyeongbuk Province, and the Gyeongbuk Content Agency, has entered its final stage.

According to Gyeongju City on the 25th, the construction of the Gyeongbuk Webtoon Campus, being built on the site of the former Hwangnam Elementary School in Gyeongju, is progressing with a total budget of 1.5 billion KRW, including 350 million KRW in national funds, aiming for completion by the end of June. The facility will be a two-story building of approximately 800㎡.

This facility will include artist residency rooms for webtoon artist training and webtoon experience and education, corporate residency rooms, education rooms equipped with webtoon production equipment (Wacom Cintiq devices and Clip Studio programs), and exhibition spaces.

The inaugural honorary president is Lee Hyun-se, a cartoonist from Gyeongju famous for works such as 'The Horror Foreign Baseball Team' and 'Armageddon.' An invitational exhibition will also be held to coincide with the opening.

In the future, close cooperation with local universities such as Dongguk University, Gyeongju University, and Gyeongil University’s webtoon-related departments is expected to not only create youth jobs based on webtoons but also expand webtoon production projects utilizing local story resources. The program operation will be managed by the Southeast Regional Center of the Gyeongbuk Content Agency, which established its base in Bomun, Gyeongju last year.

Mayor Joo Nak-young of Gyeongju emphasized, "In preparation for the post-COVID era, we will discover talent in the webtoon industry, one of the major content industries, and create a vibrant city image by producing various historical and cultural resources into webtoon content."

Meanwhile, prior to the opening of the Webtoon Campus, basic and advanced webtoon courses, specialized programs, and programs for vulnerable groups will be conducted starting next month. Detailed schedules and education locations will be announced through the Gyeongbuk Content Agency website.