Anyone Can Become a Webtoon Artist... Naver Webtoon Unveils 'WebtoonWith'

Naver Webtoon officially launched the ‘Webtoon With’ program, which supports the creative ecosystem, on the 27th.

‘Webtoon With’ is a win-win program that encompasses all activities aimed at creating a healthy creative ecosystem together with creators, users, and partners through Naver Webtoon’s services, policies, and technologies. Naver Webtoon revealed an infographic summarizing last year’s win-win achievements centered on four areas: ▲providing open creative opportunities ▲supporting global expansion ▲diversifying creator revenue ▲developing technologies that support the creative ecosystem.

Providing Open Creative Opportunities for Ages 18 to 64

Naver Webtoon offers opportunities to challenge creation regardless of serialization experience through the ‘Challenge Comics’ (webtoons) and ‘Challenge League’ (web novels) contests. Last year, 39% of webtoons and 59% of web novels that secured official serialization were from Challenge Comics, Challenge League, and contests. Challenge Comics and Challenge League are amateur creative spaces where anyone can expose their works and gain fans.

Efforts are being made to discover diverse works by expanding support for various contests such as the ‘Greatest Contest,’ ‘Champion’s Tournament,’ and genre-specific contests. The youngest and oldest creators currently officially serializing webtoons and web novels on Naver Webtoon and Naver Series debuted as official serialization creators through contests at ages 18 and 64, respectively.

Half of Officially Serialized Domestic Webtoons Exported Overseas

Since starting Japanese language service in 2013, Naver Webtoon has expanded its global platform, opening a stage for domestic works to rapidly advance overseas. During the global expansion process, various areas necessary for global serialization are supported so that creators can focus solely on creation. Localization processes that are difficult for individual creators to handle during serialization, such as translation and design tailored to local sensibilities and culture, marketing, and promotion, are comprehensively supported.

Among Naver Webtoon’s 85.6 million global platform users, 77% are overseas readers, and last year, 52% of officially serialized domestic webtoons were exported abroad. The webtoon ‘Jaehon Hwanghu’ (Remarriage Empress) on Naver Webtoon grew into a global IP, with overseas sales accounting for 88% of its revenue last year.

Diversifying Creator Revenue... 21 Revenue Models

Naver Webtoon has been operating the PPS (Partners Profit Share) program since 2013 to increase the revenue creators can earn and establish a stable creative environment. Officially serialized creators who hold copyrights have 21 revenue models across three areas besides manuscript fees: ▲paid content sales (preview, full access), ▲advertising products linked to works, ▲IP business (secondary businesses such as video, publishing, music, games).

Since the launch of the PPS program in 2013, the number of revenue models has increased from 9 to 21, enabling creators to earn additional income through various channels regardless of popularity or serialization status. As the influence of webtoon and web novel IPs has grown, the number of works earning additional revenue from IP businesses such as video, publishing, games, and music increased from 8 in 2013 to 415 last year.

Recently, as part of ‘Webtoon With,’ the ‘Creators’ system exclusively for Challenge Comics and Best Challenge creators was opened. Creators includes features that allow amateur creators to gauge reader reactions, enhance creative convenience, and protect works from malicious comments. Monetization features are also being prepared for introduction within the year.

‘StoryTech’ Platform Supporting the Creative Ecosystem

Naver Webtoon is also leading the development of technologies to assist creators and protect the creative ecosystem as a StoryTech platform. Last year, six technical papers were published, including presentations at global conferences such as the Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Conference (CVPR).

Naver Webtoon is independently developing and researching technologies that protect the creative ecosystem. Significant efforts are being made to create an environment where anyone can enjoy content, such as AI-based automatic provision technology for ‘webtoon alternative text’ that helps visually impaired people enjoy webtoons.

A Naver Webtoon official stated, “‘Webtoon With’ is an activity that Naver Webtoon has consistently pursued since the early days of the service to foster a healthy creative ecosystem,” adding, “We will continue to invest in and support the creative ecosystem through ‘Webtoon With’ going forward.”

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