K-Webtoon Sales Surpass 2 Trillion Won... Active Exports to Japan

Comparing Industrial Growth Trends, Creator Earnings Remain Low

The Korean webtoon industry is experiencing rapid development. In 2023, it recorded a growth rate close to 20%, surpassing 2 trillion won in sales for the first time in history.

According to the '2024 Webtoon Industry Survey' report published on the 2nd by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency, total sales amounted to 2.189 trillion won. This is a 19.7% increase from 1.829 trillion won the previous year.

In 2017, sales were only 279.9 billion won. However, in 2020, sales exceeded the 1 trillion won mark, reaching 1.0538 trillion won, and the following year recorded 1.5 trillion won. A representative from the Korea Creative Content Agency explained, "Since we began conducting related surveys in 2018, there has been steady growth over the past six years."

Most of the 2023 sales were generated by platform companies. At 1.4094 trillion won, a 25% increase from 1.1277 trillion won the previous year, this accounted for 64.4% of the total webtoon industry sales.

Japan accounted for the largest share of webtoon exports at 40.3%. This was followed by North America (19.7%), Greater China (15.6%), Southeast Asia (12.3%), and Europe (8.2%).

In terms of export types, online transmission rights made up the majority at 80.6%. Publishing rights (12.1%), secondary derivative work creation licenses (3.0%), and OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) exports (1.4%) followed.

Compared to the industry's growth, creators' incomes were relatively low. The median annual income of webtoon artists who serialized works throughout 2023 was only 38 million won. The median income refers to the income of the artist positioned in the middle when incomes are arranged in order. During the same period, the median monthly household income for a four-person family in Korea was 5.4 million won. Converted to annual income, this amounts to 64.8 million won, nearly twice the annual income of webtoon artists.

The chronic issue of overwork among webtoon artists, long pointed out in the industry, worsened compared to the previous year. Artists spent 5.9 days per week on creative activities, 0.1 days more than the previous year's 5.8 days. On days they created, they spent an average of 10.1 hours on creative work, an increase of 0.6 hours from 9.5 hours the previous year.