KT Mili's Library Announces Leap to 'Comprehensive Reading Platform'
New Webtoon and Web Novel Business Initiatives
100 'Mili Place' Offline Hubs to Open Nationwide This Year
Annual Investment of 20 Billion KRW, Targeting 150 Billion KRW Revenue Within 3 Years
At the KT Mili's Library 2025 Business Roadmap Press Conference held at the Glad Hotel Yeouido on April 23, CEO Hyunjin Park declared this year as the inaugural year for advancing into a 'comprehensive reading platform' and made the above statement. Park announced plans for broad business expansion, including the upcoming launch of a subscription-based story service called 'Mili Story' centered on web novels and webtoons, as well as the opening of a reading-friendly offline service called 'Mili Place'.
At the KT Mili's Library 2025 Business Roadmap Press Conference held at the Glad Hotel Yeouido on the 23rd, CEO Hyunjin Park is introducing the business plan. KT Mili's Library
Mili's Library plans to sequentially unveil 'Mili Story' content, with web novels set for release in June and webtoons in September. In collaboration with major domestic genre publishers, the company aims to provide 10,000 best-selling and non-exclusive titles in the web novel and webtoon categories. Park explained, "We plan to offer a subscription service where users can access web novels, webtoons, and books all at once."
The company is also actively pursuing audiobooks and video adaptations. The strategy is to fully leverage the assets of its parent company, KT, to create synergy. Currently, KT Studio Genie and KT ENA offer drama and variety show services, KT Genie Music provides music streaming, and KT Skylife operates broadcasting services. Mili's Library announced that it will prioritize the production of an audiobook for the fantasy title "Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint" and a webtoon adaptation of the romance work "Gungno."
The company also plans to address the issue of a lack of bestsellers, which has been cited as a weakness of the subscription model. The company will actively supply titles with sustained demand, such as the Minumsa World Literature Series, which launched in March. Park stated, "This year, we are preparing to offer works from at least seven prominent bestselling authors."
As part of its integrated online and offline reading services that break down the boundaries of reading, the company will promote various offline events. The 'Mili Place' reading-friendly spaces will be established in cafes, art galleries, and multi-purpose cultural venues to support reading groups with authors. Currently, the company offers a 20% discount at over 40 partner cafes nationwide and plans to expand this to 100 locations within the year. To support integrated online and offline reading, Mili's Library provides services such as 'Mili Pairing', which allows users to continue reading from where they left off in a paper book on an e-book, 'Handwriting Mode', which enables users to make notes on e-books just like on paper books, and an 'AI Service' that recommends personalized books.
To achieve these goals, Mili's Library announced plans to invest 20 billion KRW annually over the next three years in content acquisition, recruitment of top talent, and IT infrastructure enhancement, aiming to reach 150 billion KRW in revenue by 2027.
CEO Hyunjin Park emphasized, "We will broaden our scope with genre content such as web novels and webtoons, and expand reading touchpoints beyond books through 'Mili Place' by utilizing partner cafes and cultural spaces." Park added, "This year will be a turning point as we expand our services in line with the times while preserving the essence of reading."
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