Kyowon Group Launches Social Contribution with 'Youth Webtoon Challenge'

Mentoring, Online Release of Works, Opportunities for Content Creators
Creative Support Fund Totaling 60 Million Won Provided

Kyowon Group announced on the 28th that it will carry out the Youth Webtoon Challenge, a self-reliance support project for 'content creators,' who are considered preferred occupations among teenagers and young adults. Photo by Kyowon Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Kyowon Group announced on the 28th that it will conduct a self-reliance support project called the Youth Webtoon Challenge for ‘content creators,’ a preferred occupation among teenagers and young adults.

The first project of the challenge, which features different themes each year, is the ‘Youth Webtoon Challenge,’ recruiting aspiring webtoon artists until the end of August.

Kyowon Group will select five teams for the ‘Main League’ for young adults in their 20s and 30s, and ten teams for the ‘Rookie League’ for teenagers aged 16 to 19. Each selected team will be provided with creative support funds of 10 million KRW and 1 million KRW, respectively.

A stepping stone program in collaboration with webtoon agency Jaedam Media and the Green Umbrella Children’s Foundation has also been prepared. Selected artists will receive close mentoring to develop their skills from webtoon producers affiliated with Jaedam Media. Special lectures by webtoon artist Jeon Seonwook on webtoon pre-draw techniques and career lectures in the webtoon field will be held separately for aspiring artists in each league.

Entries for this challenge are limited to original works based on free themes. The submission should include a project plan and a completed story consisting of four episodes, with the first episode containing at least 60 panels. The Rookie League allows participation with a single-episode short story considering the students’ academic situations.

Artists with experience in serializing webtoon works or publishing books are not eligible to apply, and works that have won other contests or infringe copyrights will be excluded from the evaluation.

A Kyowon Group official said, “We will continue to create various stepping stone programs so that teenagers and young adults can pursue their dreams even in difficult circumstances.”

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