“The Soulless Duchess,” an adaptation of a web novel of the same title by author Jin Se-ha, is a Kakao webtoon reproduced by illustrator Han Jin-seo. The romance fantasy centers around the female lead character who is restarting her life via time travel after dying a tragic death from her fiance’s betrayal. The series attracted many webtoon fans and readers by portraying an active and strong ind...

Kakao’s first webtoon NFTs of its global intellectual property “Solo Leveling” is scheduled to go on sale at a digital art platform and marketplace Klip Drops starting on Jan. 12. Drawn by the webtoon’s illustrator Jang Sung-rak, two of the most famous scenes -- the last scene of the final episode and an iconic scene from the 172nd episode -- will be released as the company’s NFTs. The two NFTs...

Kakao Entertainment on Wednesday revealed four webtoons -- “Call Sign,” “Strange Neighbor” (unofficial translation), “Return of the Disastrous Hero” (working title) and “The Unwelcome Guests of House Fildette” -- as some of the most anticipated projects to be released in the first half of the year. “Call Sign,” written by the Kakao Page’s best-known author Cho Seok-ho, revolves around a rookie f...

The South Korean webtoon industry saw its combined sales top 1 trillion won ($843.6 million) for the first time last year, government data showed Friday. The total sales of the local web-based comic market amounted to 1.05 trillion won in 2020, up 64.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data by the culture ministry and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA). It is the first time t...

Hybe, the K-pop powerhouse behind the superband BTS, has released an official teaser for “7 Fates: CHAKHO,” an upcoming original webtoon collaboration among BTS members, Hybe and Naver Webtoon. The one-minute video, starring RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook, talks about fate -- the central theme of the upcoming webtoon. In the teaser clip, the members are seen reaching toward a ball...

While Korean webtoons enjoy new heights of popularity and gain global recognition as cultural content, the local webtoon industry is concerned that the use of the term “webtoon” may become exclusive for the South Korean internet giant Naver. A type of web comic, webtoons are electronic cartoons and graphic novels that are read by scrolling down the screen, mostly on smartphones and tablet PCs. ...

The 16-part series “Be Melodramatic” marked the highly anticipated small-screen drama return of director Lee Byoung-heon, the creator behind megahit film “Extreme Job,” one of the two domestic films to have reached 16 million tickets sold, along with “The Admiral: Roaring Currents.” The comedy series enjoyed a global viewership via Netflix after its last episode aired in September 2019. JTBC’s ...

Bucheon International Comics Festival also featured a webtoon OST concert as one of its major programs, inviting musicians to give live performances. “I entered the world of webtoon after listening to Sandeul’s ‘Slightly Tipsy,’” a Sogang University student and a webtoon fan surnamed Lee, 25, told The Korea Herald on Tuesday. “After listening to such an amazing song, I became curious about webt...

A contemporary reimagining of Greek mythology, “Lore Olympus” has notched the No. 1 slot on the New York Times’ bestseller list. Naver Webtoon announced the listing in the graphic books and manga category on Tuesday. “Lore Olympus,” originally a romance webtoon created by New Zealand artist Rachel Smythe, was published in book form last month. The online comic was first released in 2018, when ...

As an increasing number of web comics make the jump from online to both local television channels and global over-the-top platforms, the rich storylines of the original works are once again enjoying the spotlight. While the web comics brought local broadcasters smash hit dramas, the success of the adaptations have also played an essential part in growing the popularity of webtoons. Web comics, ...

“Illegal distribution is a serious issue that hampers the growing webtoon market. We will put our utmost effort to protect the local webtoon platforms and encourage the creativity of the authors with various activities, including this campaign,” Kakao Entertainment said in a press release on Tuesday.

Illustrator Blue-Deep’s “Doom Breaker,” which started in June, became one of the top-rated webtoons within its first month. Published in 10 languages online, the action-fantasy webtoon has been received well by foreign readers. “Aside from the three webcomics, Webtoon Unscrolled is planning to publish 12 popular Naver Webtoon series in printed format each year,” a Naver Webtoon official told The...

Just days ahead of the theater release of Marvel Studio’s “Eternals,” Naver Webtoon unveiled the movie’s Korean webtoon version Sunday. The first two episodes, titled “Intelligent Design 1“ and ”Intelligent Design 2,” have a 9.26 rating on the Naver platform as of Monday. Celebrating the release of the film, the first four episodes are available free of charge, Naver Webtoon said. The webtoon,...

“Signal” is a fourth drama series to be turned into a webtoon. “Fight For My Way,” “Healer” and “Bad Guys” are other popular drama series that have been reworked as webtoons. Starring veteran actors Lee Je-hoon, Kim Hye-soo and Cho Jin-woong, the sci-fi crime thriller achieved a double-digit viewership share. The webtoon will be serialized on Naver Webtoon and Kakao Webtoon. By Lee Si-jin ( s...

The author hopes to repay the fans’ support. “Having a grandfather as a lead character and a story about ballet were difficult challenges, going against the popular trend of the webtoon industry. I am grateful for the fans who understood and shared similar emotions with me and Jimmy. We will try our utmost to present interesting and meaningful comics,” Hun said. By Lee Si-jin ( sj_lee@heraldco...