The Korean digital comics market continues to grow, driven by young generations who actively utilize digital platforms. As a result, in 2020, the total worth of the Korean webtoon market grew by KRW 413.7 billion from the previous year, exceeding KRW 1 trillion.
Webtoons are original content with high potential for film or TV series adaptation, not to mention their own entertainment values. For example, True Beauty, a globally popular webtoon series published by Naver, was adapted into a TV series in 2020. In addition, Sweet Home, a webtoon series with more than 1.2 billion cumulative views, was also made into a Netflix series and made the top 3 among Netflix TV shows in the United States.
Lore Olympus is regarded as one of the most successful webtoons released by Naver. It is also significant as a unique project where a local artist was employed by a Korean webtoon platform. Created by an American amateur artist Rachel Smythe, it has been published in English, Spanish, French, Japanese, German, and other languages since its release in August 2020, and has exceeded 1.2 billion views across the world. Lore Olympus also won the Best Web Comic award at the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, which is considered the Oscar for comics, in 2022, and named Digital Book of the Year at the world-renowned Harvey Awards in 2021 and 2022.
Korean animation series for children have also significantly contributed to the Korean Wave. The globally popular Baby Shark became the first YouTube video to surpass 10 billion views. An animation series based on the characters was produced by EBS. After its US release, the series recorded the highest rating among children between 2 and 5. Entitled Baby Shark’s Big Show, it is widely loved by children in many countries, including the US, the UK, Australia, and Italy.
The Haunted House (Shinbi Apartment), an animation series featuring dokkaebis recorded a 10% rating in Korea. Subsequently, it was exported to Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore, and became the mostviewed animation series in Thailand. In China, Catch! Teenieping ranked 3rd among children’s animation series on Youku, one of the four largest video-sharing platforms in China. Miniforce: Super Dino Power ranked 1st in both rating and share ratio at the Chinese animation channel Jinying Cartoon. The series was also named one of China’s Top 10 Licenses in the first half of 2021, along with Frozen and the Harry Potter series by the US market study firm NPD Group.
Webtoons are original content with high potential for film or TV series adaptation, not to mention their own entertainment values. For example, True Beauty, a globally popular webtoon series published by Naver, was adapted into a TV series in 2020. In addition, Sweet Home, a webtoon series with more than 1.2 billion cumulative views, was also made into a Netflix series and made the top 3 among Netflix TV shows in the United States.
Lore Olympus (webtoon)
An original webtoon of Naver Webtoon English Service, this romance fantasy reinterprets the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone, the king and queen of the underworld.
Lore Olympus is regarded as one of the most successful webtoons released by Naver. It is also significant as a unique project where a local artist was employed by a Korean webtoon platform. Created by an American amateur artist Rachel Smythe, it has been published in English, Spanish, French, Japanese, German, and other languages since its release in August 2020, and has exceeded 1.2 billion views across the world. Lore Olympus also won the Best Web Comic award at the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, which is considered the Oscar for comics, in 2022, and named Digital Book of the Year at the world-renowned Harvey Awards in 2021 and 2022.
Pinkfong Baby Shark (Content IP)
The “Baby Shark Dance” video became the first video on YouTube to hit 10 billion views, which is more than human population on earth.
Korean animation series for children have also significantly contributed to the Korean Wave. The globally popular Baby Shark became the first YouTube video to surpass 10 billion views. An animation series based on the characters was produced by EBS. After its US release, the series recorded the highest rating among children between 2 and 5. Entitled Baby Shark’s Big Show, it is widely loved by children in many countries, including the US, the UK, Australia, and Italy.
The Haunted House (Shinbi Apartment), an animation series featuring dokkaebis recorded a 10% rating in Korea. Subsequently, it was exported to Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore, and became the mostviewed animation series in Thailand. In China, Catch! Teenieping ranked 3rd among children’s animation series on Youku, one of the four largest video-sharing platforms in China. Miniforce: Super Dino Power ranked 1st in both rating and share ratio at the Chinese animation channel Jinying Cartoon. The series was also named one of China’s Top 10 Licenses in the first half of 2021, along with Frozen and the Harry Potter series by the US market study firm NPD Group.
