K-Webtoons Worth Over 1 Trillion Won... Translated into Foreign Languages and Illegally Distributed

On the 10th, JTBC reported that Korean webtoons translated into English and Spanish are being distributed on illegal webtoon communities used by netizens worldwide. Photo by JTBC News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-ju] As Korean webtoons gain popularity, it has been revealed that our webtoons are being shared in foreign languages on illegal overseas sites.

On the 10th, JTBC reported that Korean webtoons translated into English and Spanish are being distributed on illegal webtoon communities used by netizens worldwide.

Works officially exported are being translated into English, Spanish, and other languages and uploaded. The scale of illegal webtoon distribution is difficult to estimate.

According to JTBC, users accessed 23 illegal webtoon distribution sites in Korean 32.6 billion times over the past year.

This is comparable to the total scale of domestic legal webtoon sites.

It is more than three times the usage of illegal webtoon sites detected in 2017, when the estimated damage was about 1.86 trillion won.

Since the method involves diverting through foreign accounts, translating into Spanish, etc., and then re-entering Korea, it is difficult to catch.

Recently, there have been many cases of Korean webtoons leaking to overseas sites in this way. Foreign accounts are mainly used because only mobile phone number verification is required.

Most accounts illegally diverting webtoons were paid for with overseas credit cards.

Regarding this, JTBC pointed out, "To prevent such damage, illegal sites must be blocked quickly," adding, "Dozens of illegal sites emerge daily, but the Korea Communications Standards Commission reviews about two sites per week."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.