Strategies for the Webtoon Ecosystem in the Era of Singularity
The Sejong University RISE (Regional Innovation-led University Support System) Project Group announced on the 25th that it successfully concluded the forum titled "AI Webtoon Ecosystem in the Era of Singularity: AI and the Future of Creation" at the Daeyang AI Center on campus on the 2nd.
Participants of the forum 'AI and the Future of Creativity in the Era of the Webtoon Ecosystem Singularity,' organized by the RISE Project Group at Sejong University as part of the Creative Industry Talent Development Project, are posing for a commemorative photo. Sejong University
The forum was organized as part of the Creative Industry Talent Development Project under the Seoul RISE program. It was co-hosted by the Sejong University RISE Project Group, the AI Graduate School of Content track within the Creative Industry Talent Development Project, and Toonsquare, a resident company of Seoul AI Hub.
Against the backdrop of a webtoon industry environment rapidly reshaped by the spread of AI technology, the forum was planned to identify a turning point in the ecosystem shift where creation, education, and industry intersect. It sought future directions by broadly covering changes in the production structure and IP strategies of AI webtoons, curricula, and real-world applications in the industry.
The forum was attended by university researchers, officials from webtoon and AI companies, and working creators.
The keynote presentation was delivered by Professor Han Changwan of the Department of Comics and Animation at Sejong University. After examining IP trends in the Korean content industry, he presented the structural changes in the webtoon industry during the AI transition period and future response strategies, focusing on the potential of AI webtoons.
Lee Hoyoung, CEO of Toonsquare, gave a presentation on the expansion potential of AI webtoons and convergent content.
Instructor Chu Uju introduced the AI webtoon production process and curriculum examples that reflect it, sharing the possibilities for application in real-world practice.
Song Min, CEO of Onoma AI, a resident company of Seoul AI Hub, presented use cases of "Quanta," an AI model specialized for webtoons, and explained the concrete possibilities for applying the technology.
Writer Choi Jingyu presented strategies for utilizing an AI webtoon app based on vibe coding. Through field cases, he demonstrated that AI webtoons are functioning not merely as an auxiliary production tool but as a core technology that is restructuring the entire process of planning, production, and distribution.
In the comprehensive discussion session, university researchers, industry experts, and representatives from companies including Jaedam Media discussed the sustainability of the AI webtoon ecosystem, creator-centered IP structures, and models for cooperation among government, industry, and academia.
At the subsequent expert roundtable on an AI webtoon ecosystem based on cooperation among government, industry, and academia, experts from more than 20 institutions attended, including webtoon-related departments and companies nationwide such as Kyungil University, Kongju National University, Baekseok Arts University, Semyung University, Osan University, Chung-Ang University, Chungkang College of Cultural Industries, Hoseo University, the Korea Cartoonists Association, and Naver Webtoon. Participants agreed that universities should function as platforms where AI-based creative experimentation and industrial verification are carried out simultaneously, and exchanged views on the direction of AI webtoon education at universities and industrial response strategies.
This event also served as an opportunity to publicly share the educational and research vision of the Sejong University AI Graduate School of Content, which will be newly established next month. The AI Graduate School of Content track aims to cultivate convergence-type professionals in practice and research based on generative AI and extended reality (XR) technologies, covering webtoons, animation, video, and virtual content as a whole.
Professor Han Changwan, who is in charge of the unit project for the Creative Industry Talent Development Project, said, "This forum was a venue for concrete discussion on the structural transformation of the AI technology-based creative ecosystem, focusing on the webtoon industry, which is a core sector of the creative industry," and added, "Going forward, Sejong University will continue to focus on cultivating practice-oriented creative and research talent based on industrial demand, and on advancing cooperation models among government, industry, and academia, with the RISE Project and the AI Graduate School of Content track at the center."
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