Meet K-Comics and Webtoon Fans in 6 Asian and European Countries

The Ministry of Culture Sports and Tourism (Minister Yu In-chon hereinafter referred to as MCST) and the Korea Creative Content Agency (President Jo Hyeon-rae hereinafter referred to as KOCCA) will launch the K-Comics World Tour starting with an exhibition in the Philippines on June 21 followed by Vietnam Indonesia Belgium Italy and Singapore.

Southeast Asia although currently having a smaller market size for comics and webtoons compared to other regions traditionally shows high interest in Hallyu (Korean Wave) indicating potential growth in demand for Korean comics and webtoons. Meanwhile Europe presents a market where webtoon consumption among existing manga fans can be expanded. Through this exhibition plans are underway to increase interest and consumer base for webtoons in both regions thereby establishing a foundation for Korean webtoon service companies to enter overseas markets similar to Japans Kakao Piccoma and Americas Webtoon Entertainment.

From June 21 to August 10 popular romance genres in the Philippines will feature exhibitions of works such as Whats Wrong with Secretary Kim and The Red Sleeve Cuff. These exhibitions starting in the Philippines in collaboration with the local Korean Cultural Center (Director Kim Myung-jin) cater to the local preference for romantic comedy and drama genres.

Particularly notable Whats Wrong with Secretary Kim was remade into a drama in March this year in the Philippines achieving top rankings for three consecutive weeks on the Viu online video service platform. The exhibition will recreate settings from webtoons such as the vice chairmans office and secretarys room generating considerable interest. Artist Cho Hye-seung responsible for the artwork in The Red Sleeve Cuff will attend the event to conduct storytelling concerts and host workshops on drawing comics for locals. The exhibition will be held at the first floor of the Metropolitan Museum (The M) in Manila until August 10.

In the remaining five countries tailored exhibitions and experience spaces utilizing popular K-content will be developed to reflect local preferences. Additionally each Korean Cultural Center abroad plans various programs including webtoon competitions for locals storytelling concerts between local and Korean artists business exchange meetings between local and Korean comic companies and workshops for aspiring webtoon creators.

An MCST policy official commented Except for some countries global comic readers are still more familiar with printed comics than webtoons. He added Just as BTS and BLACKPINK expanded the territory of K-pop through global performances we hope this K-Comics and Webtoon World Tour will expand the population enjoying webtoons in Asia and Europe contributing to the overseas expansion of Korean companies.