Naver Webtoon Accelerates Video Adaptation Business in the US... Expanding Global Market

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] Naver Webtoon is accelerating its expansion into the global market by advancing its intellectual property (IP) video adaptation business in the United States.

Naver Webtoon's U.S. subsidiary, Webtoon Entertainment, announced on the 20th that it has formed partnerships with three domestic and international video production studios to expand the adaptation of webtoon IP into local U.S. productions.

The three companies participating in the partnership are Vertigo Entertainment, Rooster Teeth Studios, and Bound Entertainment.

Vertigo Entertainment is known for producing numerous popular Hollywood films including The Ring, Invasion, and The Lego Movie. Rooster Teeth Studios is an animation studio that will co-produce an action series with Naver Webtoon. Bound Entertainment is also preparing a TV series to be aired in the U.S.

This year, Naver Webtoon proved the popularity of Korean webtoons and IPs by successfully animating titles such as Tower of God, God of High School, and Noblesse in collaboration with the global animation company Crunchyroll, receiving favorable reviews. Naver Webtoon's local U.S. production Lore Olympus is currently in animation production with The Jim Henson Company.

Five years after entering the U.S. market, Naver Webtoon secured 10 million monthly active users (MAU) last year, establishing a strong presence locally. Recently, Naver Webtoon also launched 'Webtoon Studio,' a dedicated platform for webtoon IP business in the U.S. In Europe and South America, it surpassed 5.5 million MAU in the third quarter.

Kim Shin-bae, Naver Webtoon’s business leader, said, "With upcoming collaborations with major Hollywood players, Naver Webtoon's status in the U.S. entertainment market is rising. By directly building platforms in overseas markets, we are creating a webtoon market that did not previously exist, while showing balanced results across various countries and growing healthily in the global market."

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