Web Novel Industry Scale 1.039 Trillion KRW, 5.87 Million Users

Government's First Web Novel Survey Results

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that the web novel industry has a market size of approximately 1.039 trillion KRW and about 5.87 million users. This is based on the results of the first-ever "2022 Web Novel Industry Status Survey (as of 2021)" conducted in the web novel sector. An online survey was conducted targeting 500 creators aged 20 to 70 and 100 companies. Regular surveys will be conducted every two years going forward.

The average annual income of web novel writers was estimated at about 34.87 million KRW. Among this, serialization income accounted for 46.1%, and the most common average manuscript fee per work was under 1 million KRW at 28.2%. The revenue multiplier of 7 for writers and 3 for related parties was the most common at 42.4%.

Capture of Naver Web Novel homepage

The average annual sales of production companies and platform businesses were about 990 million KRW, with web novels accounting for 61.7% of that. On average, each business had 16.4 affiliated web novel writers and 3.7 exclusive writers.

Regarding unfair practices, 30.8% of creators responded that it was difficult to understand the details of contract contents. Despite more than half (55.0%) experiencing unfairness in web novel-related transactions, only 11.4% sought expert help when legal issues arose. There was an overwhelming opinion (83.8%) that a separate standard contract for the web novel sector is necessary. For production companies and platforms, damage from illegal copying was significant (41.6%).

Based on the survey results, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to launch the "Public-Private Joint Web Novel Win-Win Council" on the 8th. The council will first discuss the contents of a standard web novel contract and prepare measures to eradicate illegal distribution. The private sector will include writers, publishers, production companies, platform businesses, academia, and legal experts, while the government side will include the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Fair Trade Commission.

Kang Su-sang, Director of the Media Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated, "Web novels are one of the most popular K-content genres, possessing infinite scalability as original content and achieving good results in domestic and international markets. Starting with this council, we hope that a culture of fairness and coexistence will take root in the web novel industry through continuous communication. We will also continue to devise government-level support measures such as copyright protection, talent development, and overseas expansion support."

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