Busan Webtoon (B-Webtoon) Recognized First by the World

Production of Webtoon Set in Kitakyushu, Japan, Busan Artist Dispatched Locally

Special Exhibition of Works by Busan Webtoon Artists in Florence, Italy

Overseas interest in the works of Busan webtoon artists is heating up.

Busan City and the Busan IT Industry Promotion Agency (Director Jeong Mun-seop) will showcase works by Busan webtoon artists at the Kitakyushu Manga Museum in Japan and the Korea Film Festival in Florence, Italy, starting March 30.

Since 2018, the city and the IT Industry Promotion Agency have been promoting exchanges of works with the Kitakyushu Manga Museum in Japan to widely publicize works by Busan-based artists.

In 2019, three Japanese artists were dispatched to Busan to produce six branded webtoon works, and after seeing the skills of the Busan artists who participated in the production, the Kitakyushu Manga Museum officials proposed producing a branded webtoon set in Kitakyushu this year.

Three Busan-based artists were selected through a public contest to be dispatched to Kitakyushu, and they plan to create their works through on-site research in Kitakyushu from March 16 to 22.

All selected artists have won awards in contests and competitions, and their main genres vary from romance to thriller. The completed works will be published at the Kitakyushu Manga Museum and featured in a planned exhibition at the Japan International Manga Artists Competition.

A Busan brand webtoon drawn by a Japanese Kitakyushu artist.

The works can also be directly experienced at the ‘Busan Global Webtoon Festival’ to be held in the second half of this year, and will be serialized online on the ‘K-TOON platform’.

At the Korea Film Festival in Florence, Italy, held from March 30 to April 7, webtoons by Busan artists, including works by Busan-based artist Jeong Gyu-ha (Q-HA), will be exhibited under the theme ‘Comics and Webtoons ? The Future of Comics,’ along with their film adaptations.

During last year’s Busan International Film Festival, Riccardo Zelli, the executive director of the Florence Korea Film Festival, who visited Busan, came into contact with Jeong Gyu-ha’s works permanently exhibited at the Busan Global Webtoon Center near the Busan Cinema Center and reached out first.

Executive Director Riccardo was captivated by the Busan webtoons exhibited alongside and proposed also exhibiting the ‘film-adapted Busan webtoon’ works.

As a result, this year’s Florence Korea Film Festival will feature works by many Busan artists, including Jeong Gyu-ha’s works, Kim Woo-seop’s ‘Shark,’ Oh Young-seok’s ‘Dokgo’ and ‘Tong,’ Kim Tae-geon’s ‘Steel Rain’ and ‘Aridong Last Cowboy (Must Catch),’ Oh Soo-min’s ‘Midnight Cafe,’ Nam Jeong-hoon and Kim Tae-heon’s ‘The Seventh Circle,’ and Lee Seong-gyu’s ‘Bari.’

At the Florence Korea Film Festival, Jeong Gyu-ha’s ‘Battle of Noryang’ will be exhibited in relation to the opening film ‘Hansan,’ and a masterclass by Jeong for students of a nearby manga academy in Florence is also planned.

A scene from Jeong Gyu-ha's work, "Noryang Battle."

By exhibiting works of Busan webtoon artists at a film festival featuring prominent cultural and artistic figures such as director Bong Joon-ho and actor Park Hae-il, it is expected that the global recognition and status of Busan webtoons (B-Webtoons) will be elevated.

Kim Ki-hwan, Director of the Busan City Culture and Sports Bureau, said, “Busan webtoons (B-Webtoons) have now gained such stature that they are invited overseas,” and added, “We ask for the citizens’ great interest and support for Busan webtoons, which the world recognizes first.”

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