Lezhin Entertainment said Monday that it has joined hands with a local company to create dramas based on webtoons, or online comics.

The operator of webtoon platform Lezhin Comics has signed a memorandum of understanding with SBS The Story Works, a drama maker, to produce TV shows based on popular online comics series.

SBS Story Works has rolled out some hit Korean dramas including “Divorce Lawyer Is in Love” and “Ghost.”

The announcement came amid heated competition in the media sector to make TV shows or films based on digital comics.

Internet giants Naver and Kakao, which run their own Webtoon services platforms, have joined the fray, producing webtoon-based TV shows.

The webtoon company was picked by the Korean government as one of the most promising Internet businesses here.

Webtoons Danji, D.P. and Revatoon, published on Lezhin Comics, have drawn rave reviews from subscribers.

Around 1,100 webtoon titles have been published on Lezhin Comics and the number of visitors to the webtoon platform reportedly stands at 7.5 million per month.

Lezhin also operates webtoon businesses in the U.S. and Japan. It is the second most popular webtoon platform in Japan after Korean game firm NHN Entertainment’s Comico.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)