'Moving' Author Kangpul, Bucheon International Comics Festival 'Janghan Junior Award'

Awarded to a Writer Who Worked for the Development of Korean Comics
Leading Webtoon Popularization with Solid Story and Scroll Technique

The Korea Manhwa Contents Agency (President Shin Jong-chul) announced on the 2nd that webtoon artist Kang Full has been selected for the ‘Outstanding Junior Award’ at the 27th Bucheon International Comics Festival.

Author Kang Full.

The ‘Outstanding Junior Award’ is given to cartoonists under the age of 55 who have made significant contributions to the development of Korean comics and serve as role models in creative activities. The awardee is selected by a selection committee from candidates recommended by the Cartoonists Association, related organizations, and the Bucheon International Comics Festival organizing committee.

This year, a total of 17 candidate artists were recommended, and on September 6th, Kang Full was chosen by vote after deliberation by the selection committee. Kwon Young-seop, chairman of the selection committee and president of the Korea Senior Cartoonists Association, stated the reason for the selection: “He has made great contributions to the beginning and development of Korean webtoons.”

Kang Full is a first-generation webtoon artist and a pioneer of Korean webtoons. Since 2003, he has serialized numerous long-form webtoons with excellent artistic quality such as Sunjeong Manhwa, Apartment, Fool, 26 Years, I Love You, and Neighbor on Daum Webtoon (now Kakao Webtoon), leading the popularization of webtoons with solid storytelling and vertical scroll techniques.

Moreover, since 2006, many of these works have been adapted into films and dramas, proving the potential of webtoon originals. Kang Full has received numerous awards recognizing both artistic merit and popularity, including the Today’s Korean Comics Award (2004), Korea Comics Award (2004), Reader’s Comics Award (2004, 2006), Bucheon International Comics Festival Grand Prize (2005), and the Korea National Assembly Award for Comics of the Year (2010).

Kang Full’s 2015 webtoon Moving, a Korean-style superhero story depicting parents and children hiding superpowers, was produced as an OTT series drama last year, reaffirming the competitiveness of K-content. The artist personally participated in scriptwriting and won the 60th Baeksang Arts Awards Best Screenplay (2024) and the 5th Asia Contents Awards Writer Award (2023). The horror mystery webtoon The Lighting Shop (serialized in 2011), which surpassed 150 million cumulative views, is also scheduled to be aired as an OTT series drama in the second half of this year, with Kang Full again directly involved in scriptwriting.

As Kang Full expands his activities as both a webtoon and drama writer, his relentless efforts inspire many junior artists and play a pivotal role in the development of Korean comics as a master of the webtoon industry. Thanks to his immense popularity, Gangdong-gu District in Seoul established the ‘Kang Full Comics Street’ in 2013.

The ‘Outstanding Junior Award,’ given by senior and fellow cartoonists, was established in 2003 and has continued for 22 years. Past recipients include Heo Young-man, Lee Hyun-se, Kim Soo-jung, Won Soo-yeon, Yoon Tae-ho, Shin Il-sook, and Jo Seok, with Ryu Ki-woon, creator of Yongbi Bulpae, receiving the award last year.

The award ceremony for the ‘Outstanding Junior Award’ will be held on the 3rd during the opening event ‘Night of Cartoonists’ at the 27th Bucheon International Comics Festival. Kang Full will receive a plaque of appreciation and a golden pen nib as a prize.