Rising Paper Prices Due to War Became a Boon for Webtoons

Rachel Smythe's 'Lore Olympus'

As Korean webtoons rapidly grow in the global comics market, an unexpected event has played a role in this development: the war between Russia and Ukraine. The war caused paper prices to soar, which in turn raised the prices of printed comic books. This shift accelerated the paradigm change in the comics market from print to digital, aiding the growth of webtoons.

In France, the largest comics-consuming country in Europe, sales of “manga” (Japanese comics) fell below one million copies in the first quarter of this year. This represents an 18% decrease compared to the same period last year. Manga enjoys significant popularity in France and is the most consumed publication in the French publishing sector.

However, the rise in paper costs due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the consequent increase in publishing prices have hindered manga sales. International pulp prices surged to a record high of $1,010 per ton in August last year, rising more than 50% within a year. As a result, the price of a French manga volume, which was around 7 euros (approximately 10,000 KRW) in 2020, has now increased to 10 euros (about 15,000 KRW), nearly a 50% rise.

International Pulp Price Trends. (Photo by Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy)

In Japan, the world’s largest comics market, sales of printed comic books have also declined. In 2022, sales of Japanese printed comics (comic books and comic magazines) dropped 13.4% year-on-year to 229.1 billion yen (approximately 2 trillion 863 billion KRW). The North American market has also seen a decline in printed comic sales since the end of last year.

Webtoons have capitalized on the decline of printed comics. While printed comic sales decreased, webtoons showed growth. Japan’s digital comics revenue grew 8.9% year-on-year last year. At the center of this growth are Kakao and Naver. The global comics platform Kakao Piccoma achieved a quarterly transaction amount of 25 billion yen (about 228 billion KRW) in Japan for the first time in Q2. For Naver Webtoon, Japan accounts for 50% of its transaction volume.

As of June, sales of traditionally popular comics in the North American market, such as manga and “superhero” comics like Superman, have all declined. Manga sales, in particular, dropped nearly 60% year-on-year. In contrast, the “graphic novel” category, which includes webtoons, rose sharply by 53% compared to the same month last year. The top two titles in this category were the hardcover volumes 4 of “Lore Olympus” by Rachel Smythe, a creator who gained recognition through Naver Webtoon’s creator development system “Canvas.” More than half of the works within the top 20 were webtoons.

The share of webtoons in the overall comics market is expected to grow rapidly. As webtoons gain popularity in Japan, major Japanese print comic publishers have begun recruiting webtoon creators. Kakao has targeted the North American and European markets through the acquisition of the North American webtoon platform “Tapas” and the web novel platform “Radish.” Naver Webtoon has also announced aggressive market expansion plans, gearing up for a U.S. stock market listing targeted for next year.

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