Naver Webtoon Establishes in North America... Creator Income Up 75% in 2 Years

Introduction of compensation system since 2019
270 billion KRW in revenue paid since 2020
Reader support feature also introduced this year
15 million monthly users early this year, ranked #1

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] It has been revealed that the creator revenue model of Naver Webtoon's North American platform, ‘Webtoon,’ has been stably established. The earnings of affiliated creators increased by 75% over two years, and through this, webtoon artists in the North American market are expected to be recognized as having stable careers.

75% Increase in Earnings of English-language Webtoon Creators

According to Naver Webtoon on the 20th, the revenue paid to North American webtoon creators since 2020 has exceeded 27 billion KRW (27 million USD). Compared to 2019, when the revenue model was applied in North America, the earnings of English-language webtoon creators increased by 75% in 2021, with monthly payments exceeding 1 billion KRW (1 million USD).

Naver Webtoon first entered the North American market in 2014 with the English service ‘LINE Webtoon.’ In the early stages of the business, Korean webtoon works were translated and introduced, and later, through the US version of the challenge comic system called ‘Canvas,’ a path was opened for local creators to challenge themselves as webtoon artists. In 2019, a compensation system was introduced allowing North American creators to generate revenue through their content.

Since 2020, Naver Webtoon has been paying more than 1 billion KRW monthly to North American webtoon creators through advertising, previews, and various reward programs in addition to manuscript fees. This is among the highest levels in the North American webtoon industry. This year, a sponsorship feature will be introduced to allow readers to directly support their favorite creators with cash, further activating the creator economy.

Sharing All Revenue with Creators

Naver Webtoon introduced the PPS (Page Profit Share) program, a creator revenue model, in Korea in 2013. This shares all revenue generated through content, including △paid content sales △advertising revenue △intellectual property (IP) business, with the creators. Creators can choose the content revenue model they prefer according to the characteristics of their content, enabling them to expect stable earnings.

With this revenue model established, Naver Webtoon's North American business is rapidly growing. The monthly active users (MAU) of the English service increased from 6 million in 2019 to 14 million last year, more than doubling. Earlier this year, it surpassed 15 million, securing an overwhelming first place in the North American webtoon market. Its MAU is seven times that of the second-ranked webtoon platform.

Shin Ok Lee, Head of Content for Naver Webtoon's North American business, said, "The creator compensation system, which was pioneered and established in Korea, has been well applied in North America, rapidly growing the local creator ecosystem and expanding the K-webtoon market. Through a virtuous cycle structure that grows together with creators, we will develop webtoons as core content in the North American entertainment market and elevate their status."

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