Naver Webtoon and HYBE Collaborate on Project... Launch of '7FATES: CHAKHO'

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] The collaboration project between Naver Webtoon and HYBE is becoming visible. The two companies plan to strengthen the status of K-content in the global market based on original webtoons and web novels that expand the IP of BTS, ENHYPEN, and TOMORROW X TOGETHER.

According to the two companies on the 16th, Naver Webtoon simultaneously released the webtoon and web novel of HYBE's original story '7FATES: CHAKHO,' a collaboration with BTS, in 10 languages worldwide through its global service the day before.

'7FATES: CHAKHO' is an urban fantasy genre set in a near-future city, inspired by the Joseon Dynasty's 'Chakho Gapsa,' a unit known for catching tigers. The work reinterprets the mythological stories of bears and tigers and traditional Korean tiger folklore. The full version of the teaser advertisement video released on the 1st surpassed 50 million cumulative global views.

On the previous day, a global outdoor advertisement was also unveiled. The advertisement consists of a teaser video showing BTS members disappearing into a portal connected to the webtoon world and a video featuring webtoon cuts from '7FATES: CHAKHO.' It can be seen in four global landmark cities including COEX in Samseong-dong, Seoul, Times Square in New York, USA, Siam in Bangkok, Thailand, and Taipei, Taiwan.

This collaboration between Naver Webtoon and HYBE is part of the 'Super Casting' campaign announced by Naver Webtoon last September. Super Casting is a project that produces IPs of world-class entertainment companies into webtoons or web novels based on the IP value chain that Naver Webtoon has built on a global scale.

Naver Webtoon plans to continue its collaboration with HYBE. Following the release of 'Dark Moon: Altar of the Moon,' a collaboration with the group ENHYPEN, on this day, an original story 'Boys Chasing Stars,' a collaboration with TOMORROW X TOGETHER, is scheduled to be released on the 17th.

A Naver Webtoon official said, "Through this collaboration, we plan to showcase HYBE's original stories in various genres of content and lead the 'IP expansion,' where global super IPs connect to various contents such as web novels and webtoons, onto the global stage."