Aniplus to Animate Major Webtoon 'Bulgeun Yeowoo'... Expanding Production Business

Global comprehensive content company Aniplus (CEO Jeon Seung-taek) is solidifying its position as a comprehensive content company by confirming the production of series animations based on popular webtoons through its subsidiary, the animation-specialized OTT platform Raftel.

According to Aniplus, the webtoons confirmed for production this time include about 10 popular works such as "Bulgeun Yeou" (Red Fox), "Wiheomhan Pyeonuijeom" (Dangerous Convenience Store), "Piramideu Geim" (Pyramid Game), and "Horangi Deureowayo" (The Tiger Comes In). The company plans to release the series animations of these works between 2024 and 2025.

"Bulgeun Yeou" is an East Asian fantasy genre webtoon that recorded 15.94 million views on KakaoPage and has been published as a standalone book, establishing itself as a steady seller. "Wiheomhan Pyeonuijeom" won the grand prize in the BL comic category at the "Ridi Awards," which selected the most popular works in web novels, webtoons, BL comics, and comics genres last year, gaining popularity not only in Korea but also overseas.

Additionally, "Piramideu Geim" is a school thriller that has maintained steady popularity from 2020 to last year. It was also serviced overseas in English, Japanese, French, and other languages through Naver Webtoon's global platform. Lastly, "Horangi Deureowayo" is a virtual historical fantasy that ranks high in popularity in the fantasy category on Naver Webtoon.

Raftel, which was incorporated as a subsidiary of Aniplus in November last year, is the largest animation-specialized OTT platform in Korea. Besides streaming various animation works, it has steadily been engaged in the production of animations based on popular webtoons. Since 2021, it has been accumulating know-how in producing and servicing webtoon-based animations such as "Super Secret," "Semantic Error," "4 Week Lover," and "That Summer."

Aniplus is expanding its business into webtoon IP (intellectual property) animation production through its subsidiary Raftel, expecting synergy effects with existing businesses to increase its global market share. Especially, the steadily growing global comics market is seeing OSMU (one source multi-use), which utilizes original IP in various contents such as video animations and merchandise, as a key trend. Accordingly, Aniplus aims to strengthen various IP content utilization businesses operated by itself and its affiliates, including merchandise production, exhibitions, and collaboration cafes, alongside animation production through Raftel, thereby solidifying its unique position as a comprehensive content company.

An Aniplus representative stated, "Since the webtoons being animated this time have consistently gained popularity over the past few years, they will draw significant response from webtoon consumers and fandoms. Securing excellent original IP for diverse content is very important, and Aniplus will actively pursue profitability expansion by continuously promoting the animation of outstanding works in the webtoon market not only through animation but also via Raftel."