Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Webtoons, the vertical-scrolling iteration of digital comics that emerged some twenty years ago in Korea, along with the smartphone, are now a global medium.
But they are only at the beginning of their global journey, says Charlie Park, CEO of Kakao Entertainment-owned Tapas. Park was speaking Tuesday at the Asia Television Forum in Singapore in a session moderated by industry consultant Jimmy Kim.
Park explained that the webtoon segment was for several years a niche fan-driven activity with few opportunities for monetization.
And suggested that the ‘wait or pay’ business model, introduced by Korean firm Daum, combined with the advent of micropayments, allowed money to flow in to the sector. “This in turn led to further investment and growth,” said Park. “Our company has invested $1.5 billion in the webtoon industry, said Park. “That has caused quality generally to improve and had other impacts, such as allowing some webtoon creators to make this their full-time activity.” Webtoons have been the source material for numerous films and TV series, including Netflix’s “A Business Proposal,” Disney+’s critical and commercial hit “Moving” and “Knuckle Girl” on Prime Video.
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