Naver Webtoon Taking Root Worldwide... Elevating the Status of K-Webtoons

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Naver Webtoon is rapidly establishing itself worldwide. In North America, creators' revenue models have been firmly established, and webtoon artists are beginning to be recognized as professionals. In Europe, especially centered in France, the popularity of webtoons has significantly increased, growing into a major pillar of popular culture.

'Webtoon Artists' Establishing Themselves as a Profession

According to Naver Webtoon on the 23rd, the revenue paid to North American webtoon artists since 2020 has exceeded $27 million (approximately 35 billion KRW). Compared to 2019, when the revenue model was applied in North America, the income of English-language webtoon artists increased by 75% in 2021, with monthly payments exceeding $1 million (approximately 1.3 billion KRW).

Naver Webtoon first entered the North American market in 2014 with the English service 'LINE Webtoon.' In the early stages, it introduced Korean webtoon works through translation, and later opened opportunities for local creators to challenge themselves as webtoon artists through the U.S. version of the challenge comic system called 'Canvas.' In 2019, a compensation system was introduced allowing North American creators to generate revenue through their content.

Since 2020, Naver Webtoon has been paying more than 1 billion KRW monthly to North American webtoon artists through various channels such as manuscript fees, advertising, previews, and various reward programs. This is among the highest levels in the North American webtoon industry. This year, a sponsorship feature will be introduced to enable readers to directly support their favorite artists with cash, further activating the creator economy.

Naver Webtoon introduced the PPS (Page Profit Share) program, a creator revenue model, in Korea in 2013. This program shares all revenue generated through content?including paid content sales, advertising revenue, and intellectual property (IP) business?with the artists. Creators can choose the revenue model that suits their content characteristics, enabling them to expect stable income.

With the establishment of such revenue models, Naver Webtoon's North American business is rapidly growing. The monthly active users (MAU) of the English service increased from 6 million in 2019 to 14 million last year, more than doubling. Earlier this year, it surpassed 15 million, securing an overwhelming first place in the North American webtoon market. Its MAU is seven times that of the second-largest webtoon platform.

A crowd is gathering at the Naver Webtoon booth set up at the 'Amazing' festival.

Naver Webtoon Elevates the Status of K-Webtoons in France

Naver Webtoon demonstrated the popularity of K-Webtoons at the 'Amazing' Festival held in Paris, France, from the 14th to the 17th. Among global webtoon platforms, Naver Webtoon was the only one to set up a booth, creating a 132㎡ (approximately 40 pyeong) space where local artist autograph sessions, Korean artist autograph sessions, merchandise distribution, and quiz games were held. The 'Amazing' Festival is an event that introduces and allows participants to experience popular culture attracting worldwide attention.

In particular, autograph sessions by 12 French local webtoon artists currently serializing on Naver Webtoon's French platform were very popular. These artists included those who transitioned from drawing manga to webtoons, artists who shifted from readers to webtoon creators, debutants through contests, and influencer-origin artists?all discovered by Naver Webtoon locally?who held autograph sessions over four days.

On the weekend, when visitor numbers peaked, autograph sessions were held by Yaongi, the artist of the Korean webtoon 'True Beauty,' which enjoys high popularity in France, as well as YC and Rakhyun, artists of 'Admission Mercenary.' Fans of these works lined up to receive autographs, making the booth extremely popular.

Naver Webtoon was the first domestic webtoon platform to enter the European market in December 2019, pioneering the early webtoon market and promoting webtoons as a new form of content. In addition to translating and introducing various Korean works, it has actively discovered local artists, leading the creation of a global webtoon ecosystem.