The printed book industry benefits from the webtoon boom in Korea
The growing popularity of webcomics, also known as webtoons (digital comics), has had a surprisingly positive impact on Korea's publishing industry.
The growing demand for digital works has led to increased sales of their printed books, The Korea Times reported.
The Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) surveyed online 3,500 readers, ages 10 to 69 nationwide, who consume webtoons and print comics. Results showed that 29% of respondents said they had purchased paper versions of their favorite webtoons - an increase of 6.4% compared to 2020.
In fact, three works on the list of the 10 most favorite printed comics of those surveyed this year all originated from webtoons: "Yumi's Cells", "Itaewon Class" and "Solo Leveling".
One teenager participating in a focus group interview, conducted in addition to the online survey, said, "I like to own a print copy of my favorite webtoon instead of just reading it once (online)." .
Another 20-year-old male shared: "I bought it (printed book) for myself and as a gift for friends. Reading a webtoon printed on paper has a different feeling than reading it on a phone screen. ".
Reborn Rich is one of the successful webtoons in Korea.
The survey also showed that webtoons continue to be one of the dominant forms of entertainment in Korea, as indicated by how often they are read and the number of people willing to spend money on paid services.
KOCCA said South Korea's webtoon industry was worth about $577 million in 2019 and is expected to grow every year.
Even in Japan, the land of comics and the world's largest digital comic market, Korean webtoons have more than 70% of the market share, according to mobile data provider App Annie.
Some popular movies are adapted from webtoons such as Reborn Rich, Sweet Home, Business Proposal, Along with the Gods. About 70% of the most popular webtoons are romantic fantasy stories.
Among respondents, 42.9% said they watch digital anime at least three times a week - a jump from 37.3% in 2020. 45.7% responded that they spent money , from as little as 1,000 won ($0.76) to more than 100,000 won per month, for pay-per-view or sneak peek episodes.
With more than 100 webtoons having achieved varying degrees of success over the past decade, 58.5% of survey participants said they have viewed content originating from the web or print comics.
Webtoon is even considered a place where Koreans escape reality and find hope through the lives of the characters. Photo: David D. Lee.
Their most popular webtoon adaptation format is television series with 47.4%, followed by movies with 44.7%.
One person in the interview group said that watching and discovering how the dramas interpreted the original webtoon was an interesting experience.
But while it has become a norm for web comics to make their way to the screen, their potential expansion into the realm of the metaverse and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) remains skeptical.
Among them, 31.5% said they had no intention of watching webtoon-inspired content on the metaverse, and 33.9% said they would. The negative response rate was even higher for webtoon-inspired NFTs, at 45.4% with no interest in consuming them.
Source: Zing
