Webtoon
Webtoon ( Korean 웹툰 ) describes South Korean webcomics or Manhwa that are published online. The term is made up of the English terms web and cartoon . The South Korean Internet portal Daum has been offering a Webtoon service since 2003 and Naver since 2004. These services regularly publish Webtoons, which are available free of charge.
According to Bloomberg's David Welsh , more than 3 million Korean users pay to access online comics and 10 million use free webcomics.
In July 2014, Naver released 520 Webtoons and Daum released 434. Since the early 2010s, services like Tapastic and Line Webtoon have officially started translating Webtoons into English. Popular webtoons that have been translated into English include The Breaker , Girls of the Wild’s , The Gamer , Noblesse and Tower of God . In recent years, these webtoons have become increasingly popular in western markets and compete with Japanese manga .
Because digital comics became a popular medium, the print publication of Manhwas has declined. The volume of comics that are published as webtoon has reached a level similar to that of comics that are published offline.
history
Generation zero
The earliest webtoons were scanned, real comics published on the Internet. Usually they were formatted in a one-sided layout.
First generation
Due to the technological development, the authors were able to use Flash animations. This enabled a comic format in which one could see the individual pictures of the comic one after the other in the correct order. It also made zoom-in and zoom-out possible. This increased the tension.
Second generation
Improved reloading of content enabled authors to use a vertical layout with scrolling. This meant that authors no longer had to plan for a one-sided format and could also use effects such as fade-in and fade-out in order to display the course over time. This made reading webtoons smoother.
Third generation
With the advent of smartphones and tablets , webtoons also spread to new platforms with the help of apps.
Before 2014, there were only unofficial translations of webtoons into English by fans. In July 2014, Naver and Line, respectively , began publishing popular webtoons translated into English via the Line Webtoon service.
outlook
In the future, movements, sound effects and other special effects will be combined in a new Webtoon format. This will keep Webtoons competitive.
market
The webtoons market is valued at around ₩ 420 billion (US $ 368 million) in 2015.
Although digital comics are becoming increasingly popular, print publications still make up the bulk of comic book sales. Some publishers offer online content and print media at the same time.
Webtoons were the source material for various media such as films or drama series . One of the earliest examples of this is the film Beat (1997), which is based on the comic book by Huh Young-Man . Two films were produced from Huh's later work Tazza after it generated over 100 million page impressions in Sports Chosun newspaper . Another work by Huh, Le Grand Chef, was published in the Dong-a Ilbo newspaper for 5 years and 540,000 copies were sold.
Navers Line Webtoon Service, which started in 2014, is now one of the largest Webtoon platforms in Korea. According to Naver, it reaches over 6.2 million users every day. Line Webtoon's free translation service helped Webtoons become part of the global Korean wave . However, the success of Korean webtoons cannot be compared to the rest of the Korean wave: readers often do not even know which country the comic they are reading comes from.
Adaptations of webtoons
| medium | title |
|---|---|
| Movie |
APT (아파트) (2006)
Sunjeong Manhwa (순정 만화) (2008) BA: BO (바보) (2008) Moss (이끼) (2010) Pained (통증) (2011) Late Blossom (그대 를 사랑 합니다) (2011) The Neighbor (이웃 사람) (2012) 26 Years (26 년) (2012) Secretly, Greatly (은밀 하게 위대 하게) (2013) Fashion King (패션 왕) (2014) |
| watch TV |
Mary Stayed Out All Night (매리 는 외박 중) (2010)
Aridong's Last Cowboy (아리 동 라스트 카우보이) (2010) Always Low Prices Cheollima Mart (쌉니다 천리마 마트) (2010) Misaeng (미생) (2014) Cheese in the Trap (치즈 인 더 트랩) (2016) |
| Video games |
Ragnarok Online (라그나로크 온라인) (2002)
Berkanix (베르 카 닉스) (2009) |
| Animated series |
Welcome to Convenience Stor e (와라! 편의점) (2012)
Story of Miho (미호 이야기) Notjima Jeongshinjul (놓지 마 정신 줄) (2014) |
| Plays |
The Great Catsby (위대한 개츠비) (2007)
BA: BO (바보) Hello, Schoolgirl (순정 만화) |
| Brands / Distribution |
Marine Blues (마린 블루스)
Welcome to Convenience Store (와라! 편의점) Socks Goblin (양말 도깨비) Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow (어제, 오늘 그리고 내일) |
Webtoon portals
The following table lists Korean Webtoon portals:
| Name of the portal | operator |
|---|---|
| Naver webtoon | NAVER Corp. |
| LINE webtoon | NAVER Corp. |
| Daum webtoon | Cocoa Corp. (formerly Daum) |
| Nate webtoon | SK Communications |
| Toomics | Toomics |
| Foxtoon | Foxtoon Inc. |
| Lezhin comics | Lezhin entertainment.Inc |
| Olleh webtoon | KT.Inc |
| Picitoon | Picicast |
| Comico | NHN comico (formerly NHN PlayArt) |
Web links
swell
- ↑ Lee Jae-na, Kim Yong, O Hyo-jeong & Kim Geon: 웹툰 아카이브 설계 및 구축 에 관한 연구. A Study on Design and Implementation for Web-toon Archives . In: 한국 비 블리 아 학회지 . tape 26 , no. 4 , 2015, p. 123-149 (Korean, dbpia.co.kr [accessed January 11, 2017]).
- ^ The Korea Herald: Korean webtoons going global. In: www.koreaherald.com. May 25, 2014, accessed June 13, 2016 .
- ↑ David Welsh: Forget Manga. Here's Manhwa. In: Bloomberg.com. Retrieved June 13, 2016 .
- ↑ Jun-Youb Lee: Startup Battles Naver in English Webtoons. In: WSJ. Retrieved June 13, 2016 .
- ↑ 한국 경제 TV: (다시 도전 이다) 미생 · 스틸 레인 웹툰 작가 들, 美 · 中 독자 도 웃고 울린다 - 한국 경제 TV. In: www.wowtv.co.kr. Retrieved June 13, 2016 .
- ↑ Noh, Sueen. "" To Be or Not to Be, That Is the Question ": What Is Happening with Korean Comics, (Manhwa), Today?" International Journal of Comic Art (IJOCA) 9.2 (2007): n. Pag.International Journal of Comic Art (IJOCA). John A. Lent, Sept. 2007. Web. 3 Dec 2015.
- ^ Popular Mobile Webcomic Service, LINE Webtoon, Debuts in the United States and Worldwide. In: MarketWatch. Retrieved June 13, 2016 .
- ↑ arirang, Arirang International Broadcasting Foundation: Korea webtoon market experiences exponential growth over past 10 years. In: www.arirang.co.kr. Retrieved June 13, 2016 .
- ↑ South Korean 'webtoon' craze makes global waves | The Japan Times. In: The Japan Times. Retrieved June 13, 2016 (American English).
- ↑ Choi, Yun Cheol: 2009 abroad contents market research. Korea creative contents agency, April 30, 2010, accessed June 13, 2016 (Korean).
- ^ Joan MacDonald: Webtoons Provide Abundant Storylines For Korean Film And Drama Adaptations. In: Forbes . February 12, 2019, accessed May 15, 2019 .
- ↑ Jung-Eun Song, Kee-Bom Nahm, Won-Ho Jang: The Impact of Spread of Webtoon on the Development of Hallyu: The Case Study of Indonesia . In: 한국 엔터테인먼트 산업 학회 논문지 . 8, No. 2, 2014, pp. 357-367. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
- ↑ Tomohiro Osaki: South Korea's booming 'webtoons' put Japan's print manga on notice. In: Japan Times . May 5, 2019, accessed May 15, 2019 .