Korean Webtoons Research Articles

Understanding Korean Webtoon Culture: Transmedia Storytelling, Digital Platforms, and Genres

Understanding Korean Webtoon Culture: Transmedia Storytelling, Digital Platforms, and Genres

"Wise Mothers," "Mom Bugs," and Pyŏngmat (Twisted Tastes): The Limits of Maternal Emotional Expression in South Korean Webtoons

Abstract: In the last decade, South Korean webtoons have joined television dramas (K-dramas) and K-pop as an important element of the Korean Wave abroad. Domestically, the South Korean public can idly browse or religiously follow thousands of free or subscription webtoons on their smartphones. Webtoon artists may dream of achieving broader success by having their works adapted transmedially, as a web drama (online TV drama) or even better, as a network, cable or Netflix series that achieves mainstream success. Two significant subgenres of webtoons are "lifestyle webtoons" (saenghwarwept'un) and "family webtoons" (kajogwept'un) and these two subgenres are combined in what I am calling "childcare webtoons" (yugawept'un). While South Korea also follows global media trends of "mom blogs" and Instagram microcelebrities or Youtubers sharing their parenting journeys ("sharenting"), "childcare webtoons" are a particularly rich space for observing changing mothering ideologies and parenting norms. This article examines "mom humor" and other stories mothers tell across the South Korean Internet, paying particular attention to what kinds of emotional expression are sanctioned and what is taboo. I analyze webtoons such as "I'm a Mom (Nanŭn ŏmmada)" and "The Birth of a Married Woman(Yubunyŏŭi t'ansaeng)," suggesting that even as the tedium of everyday motherhood is increasingly critiqued through media, the still somewhat rigid gender roles and maternal expectations in South Korea translate into an overall more muted and subtle "mom humor" alongside the still more socially expected stories of maternal gratitude and fulfillment.

Dissemination and Perception of South Korean Webtoons: the Case of Italy

Dissemination and Perception of South Korean Webtoons: the Case of Italy

Understanding Korean Webtoon Culture: Transmedia Storytelling, Digital Platforms, and Genres by Dal Yong Jin (review)

Understanding Korean Webtoon Culture: Transmedia Storytelling, Digital Platforms, and Genres by Dal Yong Jin (review)

Research on the Operation Strategy of Dongman App, An Excellent Chinese Online Comics Platform in the Era of Mobile Reading

With the popularity of mobile internet and smartphones, the era of mobile reading has arrived. Webcomics, as a popular form of entertainment, have gained the favor of a large number of users. This paper takes the excellent Chinese webcomics platform Dongman APP as the research object, and discusses its operation strategy by comparing it with other platforms such as Kuai Kan APP, Tencent Animation APP, and Korean webtoon. Through research on the operation strategy of Dongman APP and from the perspective of innovative industries, this study provides concrete case comparisons and practical suggestions for the development of other online comic platforms.

Patriarchal Ideology in Good Wife, a Horror Episode of Korean Webtoon Shriek

When the couple of man and woman have become husband and wife, it means that the husband becomes the head of family and father of his children while the wife becomes the breadwinner of the family and mother of her children. However, there is a misconception of the ‘head and breadwinner of the family.’ The misconception is that since the husband is the head of the family, it means the husband can order his wife. While the wife, since she roles as the ‘breadwinner’, she must obey and be submissive to her husband and her in-laws. If something bad happens to the husband, the wife will be blamed, even when the wife gets angry at her husband for some reasons, still the wife is the one to blame.

Villainess Protagonists’ Performative Acts as the Representation of Modern Femininity

The research discussed a different representations of femininity through the villainesses and heroines in two Korean webtoons (web cartoons). Traditionally, villainesses were depicted as undesirable antagonists as they did not fit into the frame of traditional femininity or were merely viewed as sexually attractive. However, the traditional aspects of femininity were now contested by the villainess protagonists. Utilizing Butler’s theory of gender performativity along with Kress and van Leeuwen’s visual analysis, the protagonists’ and antagonists’ thoughts, actions, and appearance were analyzed. A descriptive qualitative analysis was conducted on two webtoons, The Villainess Reverses the Hourglass, and It Looks Like I’ve Fallen into the World of a Reverse Harem Game. The studied data are selected from chapters 1-45 in each webtoon. The results show that the villainess protagonists are depicted as more independent, have more power, and occasionally dress in a masculine way, while the heroines-turned-antagonists are illustrated as a dependent, lack power, and always dressed femininely. In this case, the heroines-turned-antagonists’ traits represent Korea’s traditional notion of femininity. Meanwhile, the villainess protagonists possess traits opposing the heroines’ traits. Positioning the villainesses as protagonists and heroines as antagonists show a clash of modern vs. traditional notion of femininity, and putting the ‘villainesses’ as the desirable protagonists imply how their representation of femininity is considered more favorable in the modern context.

Analysis of the Major South Korean Webtoon Platforms’ Service Quality

본 연구는 온라인 웹사이트 평가 도구인 WebQual을 이용하여 웹툰 플랫폼의 이용자를 대상으로 전통적 IPA와 수정 IPA를 통한 서비스 품질을 평가하고자 진행되었다. 그동안 콘텐츠 산업 내에서 웹툰 서비스가 갖는 영향력에 비해 웹툰 플랫폼 서비스품질에 대한 실증연구가 부족하였다. 웹툰 산업이 가파른 성장세를 보이고 있는 상황에서 이용자에게 어떠한 요소를 제공해야 하는지 파악하여 웹툰 플랫폼 활성화 방안을 모색해 보는데 목적이 있다. 소비자의 중요도와 성취도 두 가지 차원에서 품질의 특성을 분석하는 간단하면서도 효과적인 분석방법인 IPA 방법을 활용하였다. 전통적 IPA와 수정 IPA를 활용하여 분석결과를 비교하고, 이에 따른 웹툰 플랫폼 활성화를 위한 시사점을 제시하였다. 연구 결과 전통적 IPA와 수정 IPA에서 공통적으로 나타난 웹툰 플랫폼 이용자들이 가장 중요하게 생각하는 속성은 ‘상호작용이 명확하고 이해하기 쉬움’, ‘이용하기가 쉬움, 최신 콘텐츠를 보유하고 있음’, ‘다양한 분야를 제공함’, ‘세부정보를 충분히 제공함’ 등의 중요한 요소를 도출하였다. 이용자들이 웹툰 플랫폼을 이용할 때 항상 중요하게 생각하고 있으며, 이용 후 만족도가 높아지는 것을 의미하기 때문에 지속적인 관리 및 유지가 필요하다. 또한 수정 IPA에서 도출된 ‘개인 맞춤형 큐레이션’의 서비스품질 속성에 집중해야 한다. 웹툰 콘텐츠의 핵심은 취향으로 연결되는 새로운 경험이다. 확고한 취향의 작품으로 팬덤을 모으고 있는 웹툰 플랫폼이 늘어나고 있다. 이를 통해 개인의 특성을 파악하고 새롭게 발견하는 취향을 적용할 필요가 있다. 본 연구 결과를 바탕으로 앞으로 웹툰 플랫폼의 활성화를 위한 방안을 제시함으로써 지속가능한 성장을 위한 유용한 자료로 활용될 것으로 기대된다.

Bullying dalam Drama Korea (Analisis Resepsi dalam Drama Korea True Beauty 2020)

This study analyzes the audience’s meaning of the bullying’s message contained in the Korean drama series entitled True Beauty. Audience reception studies see that the audience is a communication element that actively receives and interprets messages transmitted by the media, including the drama series True Beauty. True Beauty is one of the best and popular Korean dramas adapted from a Korean webtoon series entitled The Secret Of Angel. This drama series explores the phenomenon of bullying that occurs in the school environment based on the factor of physical beauty. The purpose of this research is to find out how Indonesian teenage audiences perceive bullying scenes in the 2020 Korean drama True Beauty. The data in this study were obtained through an in-depth interview process with 6 Indonesian teenage audiences, namely 5 female teenagers and 1 male teenager. The research method used is the reception analysis method on Stuart Hall's encoding-decoding theory with a descriptive qualitative approach. In selecting informants in this study using purposive sampling technique which includes people who will be selected based on predetermined characteristics. The results of this study are that there are 5 informants in the dominant hegemony position, 4 people are in the negotiation position and 1 person is in the opposition position.

한국 웹툰 청소년 담화 속 ‘은어’ 요소의 중국어 재현 양상 분석

Jargon is a secret dialect particularly used in a group of peers. Jargons among adolescents are differentiated from older generations’ languages. Teenagers tend to create new jargons in order to strengthen their solidarity and conformity. The creation of a new jargon is unlimited and not restricted, and jargons are the keys to make their conversation unique. Teenage jargons are often shown as forms of abbreviation for an existing word, the transformation of the phonemic form, and the addition of new prefixes/suffixes. Since jargons started to appear frequently in webtoons, movies, and dramas, translators have sought for ways to translate Korean jargons into a different language with different characteristics. This study specifically examines how teenage jargons in Korean webtoons are translated into Chinese. Moreover, this research suggests ways to translate teenage jargons into another language with natural flow. In analysis, explicitation and normalization were often used when translating Korean jargon into Chinese. Based on this result, this study shows some vivid ways to translate teenage jargons to make it as similar as possible to the original language.

K-웹툰을 위협하는 사이버범죄에 대한 대응방안

As K-webtoons receive worldwide attention, Korea's status is increasing, and the Korean webtoon industry is also developing. Along with that, however, cybercrime attacking K-webtoons is also on the rise. Until now, the issue of K-webtoon infringement has been dealt with only for copyright infringement. However, from now on, it should be dealt with in terms of economic crime and cybercrime. The problem is that Korean criminal justice has limitations in responding to cybercrime. This is because the current legal system was built on the basis of analog society. Therefore, in this paper, we examined the current status and type of cybercrime attacking K-webtoons, limitations of current laws, and countermeasures. As a result, the K-Webtoon industry should continuously monitor crime damage and calculate the scale of damage more accurately. The government should strengthen public relations and monitor related crimes. In particular, investigative agencies should strengthen international investigation cooperation and strengthen punishment by treating the crime as an organized crime. The legislature should come up with a law that can deal with the problem of illegal webtoon servers as economic crimes and introduce legal grounds to recover criminal profits. And measures should be legislated to allow investigative agencies to respond appropriately to cybercrime, such as online search.
 Korea stands tall as a mainstream of world culture. One of them is the K-Webtoon. However, cybercrime is threatening the K-Webtoon. Therefore, it is necessary to find a way to respond appropriately to the cybercrime. Citizens should continue to pay attention to the threat posed by K-webtoons. In addition, countermeasures against cybercrime should be discussed in the public debate. This is not just a problem for K-Webtoon writers or their industries. The legislature, the government, and all the Korean people should solve it together.

플랫폼상에서 이루어지는 웹툰 팬 번역의 특징과 가능성 — 네이버 웹툰(WEBTOON)과 토리코믹스(Torycomics) —

With the Korean webtoon gaining popularity around the world, the webtoon ecosystem for more convenient producing, exposing, and distributing of contents is created by platform companies. This study investigates the nature and implications of fan translation carried out on WEBTOON and Torycomics, online webtoon platforms, focusing on technical assistance provided by platform companies, rewards for fan translators, evaluation of fan translation, and utilization of language data. Literary review and an interview with Bae Soo Ho, CEO of Torycomics, revealed that platform companies create a transnational stage for fans by setting translation guidelines and rules, monitoring fan activities and providing technical assistance so that fans can easily complete translation and share their favorite cultural contents. The translation process is user-friendly with nothing needs to be installed: fans get access to original contents on companies’ websites or mobile apps, use upgraded tools provided online to translate and upload their translation, which will instantly shared with webtoon fans around the world. The webtoon-specific language data is built up with categories for onomatopoeia, culture-specific words, and slang. The database creates revenues for companies by being channeled into online dictionaries and machine translators or sold to other companies.

‘I read webtoon every day!’: young adult k-pop fans’ language learning and literacies with korean webcomics

ABSTRACT This paper considers the transnational multimodal literacy practices of non-Korean college students in America who use the webtoon app, which showcases Korean webcomics (also called webtoons). The findings suggest that these practices promoted agency in reading, learning the Korean language, and developing critical cultural awareness. Along with the burgeoning outgrowth of Korean pop culture in the United States, Korean webtoons have become popular among adolescents and young adults. Yet, there is no literacy research on webtoon readers in a Western country. This qualitative study is drawn from three cases of non-Korean avid webtoon readers to examine their experiences. The findings showed that these young adults do not read webtoons just for pleasure. They had an explicit learning goal related to improving their Korean language skills and learning about Korean culture, which they had little opportunity to learn about during primary and secondary school. The purpose of this paper is to reiterate the importance of out-of-school literacy and transnational multimodal literacies by introducing how webtoons promoted reading and learning for its readers.

Care as a Border‐Crossing Language: The Webtoon Reader Discussion Forum as Mediascape

AbstractDrawing from Appadurai’s notion of mediascape, in which global cultural flows simultaneously construct local/global perspectives, I explored how youth and young adults across the globe make sense of digitally shared space, with a specific focus on the Webtoon reader discussion forum. Findings illustrated that the participants constructed the notion of care as standing up for others, raised awareness of social justice, and mobilized transcultural values to construct a cross‐cultural community with multimodal engagements. By understanding the reader discussion forum as a mutually constitutive negotiated space, the voluntary decision of these young individuals to engage in Korean Webtoon digital space underscores how they construct literacy practices across the globe while transcending demarcated categories of race, gender, language, culture, and other essentialized identity markers.

The Platformization of Culture: Webtoon Platforms and Media Ecology in Korea and Beyond

This article examines the webtoon (wept'un)—a term coined in Korea to refer to webcomics—which is arguably the most pervasive and powerful form of digital serial production in twenty-first-century Korea. Webtoons have developed by utilizing various potentials that the digital platform offers, such as open solicitation, (partial) free web/mobile distribution, profit from advertisement and page viewing, and transmedia production. As a new cultural medium, the webtoon is thus inseparable from its platform and organically tied to its distinctive platform ecology, which is different from the ecosystems that other (global) mega-platforms create. Engaging with the insights from recent studies of platforms and utilizing empirical media analysis, I argue that Korean webtoon platforms demonstrate the continuing and intensifying dependency of art on platforms—a process that I call “the platformization of culture”—and that this specific type of platformization is reinforced by what I call “the artist incubating system.” The case of webtoon platforms reveals a number of telling aspects of media ecosystems for art production in the digital age—aspects that are spreading and expanding to various fields of art.

Redrawing the Division Lines?

This article examines Cold War icons transfigured in new media ecology by looking at the South Korean webtoon (web cartoon) Secretly, Greatly. In featuring the superfluous existence of kanch’ŏp (North Korean spies) dispatched to the South, the graphic narrative interweaves the legacy of national division with the sensibilities of the millennial generation. Feeling that their lives are rendered ingyŏ (surplus) under neoliberal governance, the precarious youth empathetically relate to the history-laden image of spies, whose belonging in society has been disavowed or forsaken. Appropriating earlier aesthetic conventions, Secretly, Greatly thus offers content and a channel through which the surplus generation can express and share their sense of misplacement in the present. In addressing such remediation of inherited memories, this study critically attends to the webtoon’s formal qualities that evoke affective engagement and connective practices in the digital space. By fostering multisensory interactions with the kanch’ŏp-ingyŏ personas on the screen, the graphic power of comics invites the viewer to participate in the characters’ boundary-crossing movements against the geopolitical backdrop of divided Korea. Nonetheless, the webtoon ultimately leaves the survival of North Korean others beyond the realm of the visible because their ordinary coexistence in the South is yet to be imagined.

Korean webtoons and collective innovation: expanding Europe's creative industries through competitive localization

This study investigates the rise of South Korea’s webtoon industry and the fan–translators who are contributing to the transformation of this entrepreneurial digital comics format. By analyzing the creator-owned thriller series Bastard (2014 –) and its various foreign-language versions, the authors demonstrate how cultural intermediaries are localizing content and cultivating new audiences through a process of 'collective innovation'. The characteristics of this crowd-sourced activity offer new understanding of the dynamics and potential impacts of this digital comics industry, which is rapidly transforming with only limited policy intervention. The study illustrates how the French digital comics platform Delitoon is attempting to compete in this Korean-dominated domain, raising questions for enterprises seeking to join this popular wave of digital media. In doing so, this study fosters debate for business managers, policymakers, and practitioners in Europe’s creative industries who are developing and promoting creator-owned content while challenging protectionist boundaries.

Cultural intermediation and the basis of trust among webtoon and webnovel communities

ABSTRACT This study investigates some of the previously unrecognized reading, writing and sharing trends emerging across Asian-born popular digital webtoon and webnovel platforms. These particular sectors of the creative industries are rapidly becoming energizing vehicles for transmedia intellectual property (IP) – referring to a network of interconnected media, popular culture and merchandise emanating from a single creative source. Specifically, South Korean webtoons and Chinese webnovels are cultivating new audiences and participatory cultures beyond their Asian borders, and thus playing a significant economic role in the percentage of global GDP that the broader cultural and creative industries generate annually. To shed light on how this phenomenon is shifting various modes of production, this study analyses how a range of active fans, otherwise known as ‘cultural intermediaries’, have moved to the forefront of creative industry transformations while building trust among their followers and demonstrating loyalties with the platforms on which they circulate their user-created content. Taken together, the webtoons and webnovels explored highlight some of the complex impacts and tensions on the production, circulation, and translation of popular digital media in an increasingly participatory and decentralised online and mobile environments. In so doing, it introduces important global perspectives to an area of study often firmly anchored to Western cultural products and practices, thereby contributing to current discussions on the continuing transformation of creative work in Asia's digital economy.

Global transcreators and the extension of the Korean webtoon IP-engine

Webtoons are fast cementing their place as a new sector of the digital media industries, with interest in this niche comic form increasing on a monthly basis across a range of platforms. To clarify this transformation, this article investigates the popular webtoon Cheese in the Trap, as well as its television series and film remakes, to illustrate the transmedia flows and participatory culture that underpin the extension of this new ‘IP-engine’. Next, it investigates the previously unrecognized contributions that fan translators – or what the authors call ‘transcreators’ – are making to the global spread of this format on Line Webtoon, the largest platform of its kind. The authors build on some significant previous studies – albeit with limited scope – by analyzing how webtoon series and the big data linked to them are transformed across multiple formats and platforms, how they are received by fans, and how cultural intermediaries are amplifying the impact and global spread of webtoons.

한국 웹툰 스토리의 특성과 문제점: 제재를 중심으로

한국 웹툰 스토리의 특성과 문제점: 제재를 중심으로