Suseong Webtoon’s "I Became the Substitute Empress" Enters Top 10 on Japan’s Line Manga

Suseong Webtoon announced on August 21 that its subsidiary Terrapin's K-webtoon, "The Stand-in Empress Spent the First Night," entered the weekly Top 10 on Japan's largest webtoon platform, Line Manga, after its release in June. This achievement came just one week after its launch.

It is considered an exceptional case for a webtoon to secure a top ranking in such a short period after launching in Japan. In the Japanese market, where there is a strong preference for domestic content in the romance and fantasy genres, a Korean IP has surpassed local favorites to reach the upper ranks.

According to the company, Japanese readers have praised the webtoon for its "solid story development" and "delicate portrayal of emotions that enhances immersion." This serves as further proof of the excellence of Korean webtoons.

"The Stand-in Empress" is a proven success in Korea as well. On Naver Series, it received a rating of 9.9 and attracted 1.3 million subscribers, garnering significant attention from readers. A Suseong Webtoon representative stated, "A 9.9 rating is virtually a perfect score, indicating recognition for both the work's quality and its popularity." The representative added, "Having 1.3 million subscribers is also a benchmark for a mega-hit in the webtoon market."

Suseong Webtoon continues to strengthen its content production capabilities by consistently developing high-quality IP through its affiliates, including Toomics and Terrapin. The company is securing its competitiveness as an original content producer, moving beyond being a simple distribution platform, and is establishing a diversified revenue structure and a stable growth foundation.

A company official explained, "The success of 'The Stand-in Empress' is the result of the synergy between Suseong Webtoon's content planning capabilities and Terrapin's production expertise. Given its simultaneous popularity in both Korea and Japan, we are actively considering expansion into additional overseas markets such as China and Southeast Asia."

The official added, "There are also opportunities for secondary copyright businesses such as dramas and films, which will help maximize IP value and enhance shareholder value."

Strengthening content production capabilities is leading to improved performance. The company expects that as more IPs achieve simultaneous success in both domestic and international markets, royalty and secondary copyright revenues will become more substantial, greatly enhancing profitability. In the first half of this year, Suseong Webtoon recorded consolidated sales of 62.8 billion KRW and operating profit of 6 billion KRW. Sales increased by 131%, and operating profit turned positive. Terrapin, the webtoon production company acquired earlier this year, also contributed to improved results by achieving 400 million KRW in operating profit in the first half.

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