WEBTOON Basics Understanding the Webtoon Industry
GCC Academy
Learning Goals Can explain the current status of the Webtoon industry. Can explain major job positions in the Webtoon industry. Can explain the future of the Webtoon industry.
Learning Content Current status of the Webtoon industry Major job positions in the Webtoon industry Future of the Webtoon industry
CEO Seo Beom Kang President of Korea Webtoon Industry Association(KWIA) Executive Business Director of Inamu Corp.
Hello everyone, I am Seo Beom Kang, the president of KWIA
Today we will be talking about the current status and the future of the Webtoon industry
Webtoon industry has been experiencing continuous growth and change
Because it is a digital content that is accessed through the online mobile environment
It changes rapidly in creating new combinations and trends
In order to keep up with such speed of growth and change
It is required for us to understand the characteristics of the Webtoon industry
And to accurately diagnose the present and foresee the future
As we take a look at various job positions and roles within that Webtoon industry
It will be a great help for you to prepare for and to set your future directions and learning
Current Status of the Webtoon Industry
Let's begin by looking at the current status of the Webtoon industry
I'm sure many of you are interested in the Webtoon industry
Yet you may not know how to approach the information
Let's begin by looking at the differences between comics and Webtoons
Many of you ask whether we need to understand such a difference
Or if there is a difference, after all
However, comic and Webtoon are two different things
And I will give you the definitions of each
Let's talk about comic's definition first
Comics are based on an offline environment
Where it gets printed on paper for publishing
Therefore, despite possible differences in the type and size of paper as well as printing methods
Comic is always tangible and is printed
Some cases they get published as e-books
But e-books are the tranformed data of something that originally aimed for printing
In order to cater to the online circulation
Therefore, first major objective is seen as offline circulation through bookstores
Next is the definition of Webtoon
Webtoon is based on an online environment
Where the service is provided through a digital device and its screen
Therefore, despite differences in the types and specs of the digital device
Webtoon is in an intangible data format
For some cases, the work ends up being printed for publishing after editing works
But this work has initially been created for the online service
Which then gets optimized for offline circulation in a print form
Therefore, the initial aim is the online service
Like so, comics and Webtoons differ in their primary aims
Next are some important points
Regarding the differences between comic and Webtoon
Primary Aim A comic is for offline publishing
And Webtoon is for online publishing
Distribution Environment Bookstores for comics and online platforms for Webtoons
Product Comic is paper printed
And Webtoon is a digital data
Viewing medium Comics can be viewed as books
Webtoons can be viewed through digital devices
Industry The comic is publishing industry
And the webtoon is an independent webtoon industry
The responsible organization The Publication, Printing and Reading Promotion Division of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is in charge of comics
The Popular Culture Industry Division of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is in charge of webtoon
Classification Comics are registered through ISBN
And for Webtoon, though not yet complete
it goes through its own identification and classification system
Next, for current status of the webtoon industry
I will go over the era of division of labor and specialization
Webtoon now has its own division of labor
As the process is subdivided according to the stage of production
The divided labor in webtoon is now the job position itself, not part of process
The steps for productioin differ with the scale, genre
Or how the studio is constituted
But these are the main steps:
Planning, story, storyboard, drawing, coloring, background, post-processing
Story can include additional writing in case it is based on web novels
Also, drawing includes outlining and linework
While coloring includes undertoning and contouring
Likewise, with division of labor for each step
More webtoons are now created through
professional studios
Next is about specialization
The biggest characteristic of dividing each part is
How such part stands on its own, as an individual and specializing field
Therefore, while in the past there were the main-sub vertical relationship
Now, if one can excel at one field of the production
They are now able to achieve the professional position
And have their capability recognized
If you are planning for a particular job position
You should clarify your desired position in your CV
And make sure that your portfolio demonstrates your strengths
Regarding that position
Next, let's look at the "Pineapple Syndrome" of the webtoon industry
As well as possible methods to resolve the problems
Webtoon has experienced a fast and steep growth
And is now one of the representative contents of Korea
Its growth has been exponential
And it is now actively expanding into global markets
Many people pay attention to this growth of webtoon
And wonder and expect how much it will grow
And it seems that the popularity is still very high
Webtoon is part of Korea's New Growth Industry as a cultural resource for the future
It has also created a promising job position called Webtoon PD
At the same time, webtoon industries, through specializing and dividing needed fields for webtoon production
They are attributed to job creation as well as expanding the job market
Though, the most important thing is
whether this growth is sustainable
While everyone is focusing on the positive side of webtoon
Someone should point out and improve its weaknesses
So that the foundation of the webtoon industry stays stable
So, what are some weaknesses of the webtoon industry?
Also, what are some things to be done in order to resolve such problems?
Let's take a look at each of them
Diagnosing the Webtoon Industry
As I already mentioned, the beginning of webtoon is estimated to the early 2000s
Meaning it has been around 20 years now
With the growth rate of webtoon now
Its short history is surprising
And it is so particularly becuase it has achieved so much
In a short period of time, with its promising future to come
However, although this rapid growth is understandable in that way
We should also acknowledge its side effects
If I have to put a name to the current stage of webtoon's growth
I say that it is still a little chick
It runs very fast as a chick, it even sometimes flaps its wings
But without doubt, it is still an infledged form
However, undeniably
It will grow into its full potential, reach the global stage
And in the end become one of the biggest dinosaurs
And that is the potential of webtoon
Here, it's important not to focus on what is already being done well
Instead, awareness and resolution to its weaknesses are needed
This is how the webtoon industry can truly stay sustainable
And how the ecosystem retains and completes its positive structure
Webtoon is suffering a "Pineapple Syndrome" right now
This isn't the tropical fruit we know of
It is a combination of a Korean word for "bite" and an English word "apple"
Meaning, the eaten, or bitten apple
With only its core remaining
This represents a very untable structure where
The center that connects and supports the top and the bottom
Eventually weakens and snaps; this is "Pineapple Damage"
What we require is a resolution
For this potential Pineapple Damage due to Pineapple Syndrome
What is the cause of Pineapple Syndrome?
First is lack in variety of genres
There are a myriad of new webtoon series being released each month and year
The fact that these many works are receiving
A wide readership and breaking new records is great
But the number of genres are limiting compared to that of entire works
Romance, fantasy, action, school, adult; other than these
It is hard to recognize other genres that are too scarce or unpopular
Because it is hard to recognize them
Their achievements also become limiting compared to that of major genres
Major genres are closely related to profitability that comes from payment
And because many are recreated as
Movies, TV or animation series in popular OTT services
Major genres include those that can fit into such forms
Of course, through the works of the major genres, the webtoon market reaps viable results
And activates and expands the market
Which is an effective and promising result
However, while the underdeveloped genres also have such potentials
The fact that there is no attempt for such is a shame
Aside from profitability, because such genres are indispensible
In their role and value contributing to the whole ecosystem
It would be less concerning if this was a momentary result
But we are already seeing it for a while in its unstable status
Webtoon has gone over the thrshold towards the global market
And is warming up for its peak that is to come
Of course it is already the biggest in the world
But it is to be considered a warming-up stage before the prelim
Meaning, the main game hasn't yet started
Soon, many global competitors, big and small, who have recognized the value of webtoon
Will join the global market after thier prepatory works
Of course, up to a point, Korean webtoon will be able to win
But regarding such minor genres, it will soon lose its resources
And it is obvious that other competitors will be able to join the lead
Because of this, it is needed for us to fill in the gaps
With the works that belong to various types of genres
As opposed to the Korean market, the global market has
Very diverse and numerous genres in a big scale
In particular, in forms of graphic novel or comics
Those that are being imported into Korea
Already demonstrate their capabilities
They only lack a few characteristics, direction and speed
Of this new content field, webtoon, which must still be new to them
But in general, in their visual, storytelling and directing
They have a very strong foundation
With that, the lead can always change based on their effort and attempt
Because of this, before otehr global competitors reach that stage
Korea should quickly and adequately fill in non-major genre works
And be ready for this future
One of the causes of Pineapple Syndrome is the lack of platform for minor genre webtoon
If we are to really look for one
We will be able to find some support projects for such diveristy in genres
There are governmental production support projects
That encourage the variety of genres
But there are a few weaknesses to this
First, despite the support, minor genre production still lacks in quantity
As I have already explained with that production support
The governmental project only remains at the level of encouraging and retaining
In other words, with limited qualifications and quantity in production
There is an excess in competition for this scant amount of support
Which makes it hard for the production teams to enjoy the benefits
With this, even retaining the minor genres, let alone encouraging them, becomes a challenge
It is hardly breating on a respirator right now
And this provides the artists of the minor genre
An experience of rejection
Next, despite the proudction, there is no support
For the later steps
For the minor genre artists
Their goal is not production
Meaning, the artists do not only want to produce their work
Their goal is to deliver to and communicate with the readers
Their messages or lines of thoughts in their works
In that sense, the works produced through such support projects
Have no promise of connecting to the readers
And it is a shame that this aspect of support is not considered
And a possible question here is:
Does this not arise from the misunderstanding that fails to recognize
how minor genre works are very different in character
from major genre works that easily connect to profits?
Webtoon platforms that focus on commercial works
Of course focus more on the trends
Or some promises of profit in selecting works
And even if one gets to enter into the major genre-centered webtoon platform
That work may be easily forgotten
Under a lot of main-genre works
And this is more so for the short works or those that focus on
Delivering historical records or professional information
That less dramatize than explain
Of course, for these works, it is not about commercial success
But their presence themselves hold the value
But in reality, there is no place of such an opportunity
Where such value and meaning can reside
Minor, or diverse genre includes works with special or professional interest
Such as SF, mystery, historical, sports or informational works
Or works that take an experimental approach in production techniques
in narrative structure, coloring method, drawing style and more
Despite producing such works
With the lack of available place to meet the readers
This comes across as the second experience of rejection for the minor genre artists
Next is that the direction of the support is focusing on a peripheral matter
The support project of minor genres
Often demand a printed form of result
Meaning, this support project requires a printed publishing work
However, this support project for a diversity of genres
Does not seem to consider diversity in the medium of the content
Which is an irony
Of course, publishing minor genres through printing should be considered
However, webtoon should also be one of the ways of presenting the minor genres
In order for them to be activated
The next cause of Pineapple Syndrome is the lack of nurturing small-sized businesses
There is something I learned after meeing many people
And visiting many places for the growth of the webtoon industry
That is, when people think and talk about webtoon
They only think about the artist and the work
I'm sure some of you may wonder what the problem is with that
As I already mentioned, webtoon is now at the level of industry
And the foundation of industry is companies
Meaning, in order to sustain and develop the webtoon industry
The role of companies is as important as that of the individual artists and works
And now, there are more people in the webtoon industry who work within the boundary of a company
They are indispensible members who
Dream through webtoon and dedicate their time and effort to it
Of course, when considering webtoon, the work itself first comes to mind
And then the artist who creates that work
That is how artist and work are important in webtoon
However, as the environment and medium of content consumption are under continuous change and development
We require a place that connects the artist and the readers
As well as the service that can introduce many works to the readers
And then the stage for various activities
That help webtoon continue to expand
And a webtoon company does these works
Therefore, at this moment, in considering the webtoon industry
We need to consider the work, the artist as well as the company
And in order for a continuous growth of the webtoon industry
These three main aspects should be closely related
And achieve an optimal balance
However, companies are yet to be the major aspects of webtoon
Often, their roles do not gain the deserved credits
I will now go to the need of nurturing small companies
That are central to the activities and trends of the webtoon industry
We need more small-scaled companies to allow for more opportunities
In order for the webtoon industry to continuously grow and sustain itself
I mentioned that the diversity in genres is indispensable
In order to achieve a healthy webtoon ecosystem, we need a variety
In genres, techniques as well as targeted audience whom the work should be able to reach
In order to activate such genres, we first need production support
Second, we need the small-scaled webtoon platforms
that are able to present such diversity of genres
I order to satisfy the numerous needs and likings of the global readers
We need more than a few menus
Of all, with the growth and success of the webtoon industry
We are seeing more webtoon productions outside Korea
And more companies are arising for this webtoon business
As there exist various cultures and lifestyles
There are more diversity in genres outside Korea
Although South Korea is as of now the greatest global lead in webtoon
If we fail to prepare for more works that can compete with other diverse genres
It will become harder to stay in lead
For this, we need to nurture more small-scaled companies
So that each can fill in the gaps in their own specialized fields
And that we can achieve a more dense industrial structure
The next lack is that we need a support system
That encourages new attempts by these small companies
In particular, there is an imbalance in the awareness of the webtoon industry
Meaning, many people only think about the few top companies
that achieved meaningful results as webtoon companies
And that is why it feels natural to claim that webtoon companies are rich
And that they do not need more support than now
This is a big problem, because one of the biggest "bites" in Pineapple Syndrome
is the lack of awareness and support for these small-scaled companies
This also means that in the webtoon industry
The smaller companies are not as recognized
For growth, it is not enough to retain the current status of the webtoon industry
One of the core reasons why the webtoon industry was able to
overcome its recession and achieve success is their innovation
Meaning, new and bold attempts made it possible
It used to make no sense to pay to read a webtoon
That was how webtoon was perceived back then, as one of the side-benefits or means of other services
Webtoon could only become the promising field of industry
All thanks to the breakthrough by a small company then, Lezhin Comics
One of the reaons that boosted profits through webtoon
Was the innovative system of the episode becoming free only if you wait
The old-fashioned Wuxia works from the antiquated bookstores
Enjoyed wider readership through a Martial art-specialized webtoon platform
And an open platform type also enjoyed its success
Where the creators decide on their own when and how their works will be distributed
We need more of these new experimental attempts
In order for a continuous growth of the webtoon industry
However, experimental attempts
Are not something the top few companies can lead
The opportunities must be given to
The smaller companies with their potentials
In terms of work, production or company
The opportunity should be distributed equally
In order for a balanced growth to occur
Of course, I do not claim for more support for small companies
Just because many small companies are suffering
We need support to promising small companies that need more help
As well as those who try to embrace and nurture a variety of genres
Through unprecedented attempts and experiments
The small companies who try to provide the creators
A free space where they can bloom their capabilities
These companies are those who need such support
By nurturing and supporting these small companies
The creators will be given more opportunities
And the readers, more options
We also need to keep finding and supporting
Small companies for global markets as well
The webtoon industry is just now forming its backbone
And for that, we need more than the simple, nominal support
We need an active distribution of influence
The final cause of Pineapple Syndrome is the lack of discovering and nurturing new talents
It is a given fact that the webtoon industry has witnessed
A tremendously fast growth and success
The companies that joined earlier in the game has already enjoyed such growth
And the industry is expanding endlessly
At the same time, there are many more new companies
That wish to jump into this industry with a big potential
It is a good thing considering the growth itself
But this amazing characteristic of the industry
which is the quick and big growth came with a few side effects
It is the lack of human resources, a growing pain for all industries
There is a lack of the middle management
That should connect the upper and the lower part of the industry
There are those with great experiences in the industry
Especially those who have been accumulating their various experiences
From the era of printed comics, their capabilities are proven to be exceptional
All thanks to their pioneering work and withstanding endurance
The webtoon industry has met its peak
Of course, these people have their achievements acknowledged
And are now core members or heads of the big webtoon companies
And they are still part of very improtant related works
So what is the problem here?
First of all, there is a limit to the number of highly experienced, executive-level people
Although each individual has their exceptional capabilities
There needs more who can replace their older positions
Or those who can be in charge of the expanded part of the business
But there is not enough experienced human resources
This is because there is not many who have been trained from the beginning
And the reason is very clear
It is because there is a lack of the middle manager positions
Who are supposed to fill gaps between and connect the upper and the lower parts
This results in the lack of the middle-area, or the minor genre works
As well as the lack of the middle-area, or the smaller scaled companies
And the lack of the middle-manager positions between the highly experienced
And the talented newcomers; all three with Pineapple Syndrome
This demands us the question about
Why this is happening in this thriving webtoon industry
In fact, webtoon could only be a successful paid product
that fit into the industry after many struggles
Printed comics had been experiencing not only stagnation but decline
and webtoon was an inadequate option as the alternative product
Webtoon was merely an additional benefit or bonus for other services
This widespread awareness did not help develop webtoon
And because webtoon as of itself could not make profits
Both Manhwa (comics) and Webtoon business did not enjoy much succees
Back then, with the scale being too small to create a market
Only those with either experience or love towards comics and webtoons
were barely surviving through
And with that, not many stood up for the challenge
In the end, those who have endured such hard times
Now became the leaders of the industry as the highly experienced personnel
But there is still a gap of those who will follow after them
Although there are many incoming talents, there is not enough education for them
Aside from the middle-manager position
More people want to have a job in relation to the webtoon industry
What is needed is a systemized education with which they can learn
About the works optimized for the actual fieldwork
Especially the new position called Webtoon PD
Because it is new, its roles are also very new
So what's needed is the fitting, systematic education for the Webtoon PD's
that can direct them for planning, production, management, circulation and marketing
Likewise, despite the increase in the number of people who are entering the industry
What really matters is the effective education for them
So that they can fit into the field quickly
But still, a lot of the education and the working environment
Still remain in the old-fashioned ways, still stagnated
KWIS holds an annual education for Webtoon PD's
called "Webtoon PD Academy" which has been successful
But in order to hold all those who wish to be Webtoon PD's
There needs the governmental support and funds
In order to secure the people, location, space and professionals
As well as the authority to provide licenses that enable official qualification and benefits
As new talents are discovered and nurtured
They naturally develop as the middle managers
Support and expansion of education for the newcomers is indispensible in this way as well
But this alone is not enough for the lack of middle managers
Because there are not many with short experiences, or those middle managers
There has been cases of moral hazards among companies
Where they "steal" people, ingnoring ethics and manners
Which potentially deteriorates the industrial balance in a long term
In addition, in some cases, those with inadequate amount of experience
Are often dragged into the upper positions, even board member positions
This may quench the need for now
And mend the holes as a short-term solution
But this may bruise the webtoon industry from within
This is why discovering and nurturing new talents with the adequate education is indispensible
This has been about Pineapple Syndrome
Only if we are prepared with resolutions
We can prevent Pineapple Damage that will break the apple core
To retain the global lead of the Korean webtoon industry and to develop it
That is why we need to prevent Pineapple Syndrome
Major Job Positions in the Webtoon Industry
Next is about the major job positions
Here, in particular, I will be talking about the latest field
Which is the position of Webtoon PD
In order to do that, I need to first define it
Webtoon PD is a new job position with the rise of the webtoon industry
That is why, when there is a need to explain the webtoon industry
Webtoon PD is the one that arises as its characteristic
In order to understand the role of Webtoon PD
We need to first see how this position has arisen
And what changes it has gone through before it settled as it is now
In order to publish comics, we need the artist as well as the editing department in the publishing company
In the same sense, for webtoon production or service
We need personnel in the webtoon agency and the production platform
Because they strive for the success of the work, they are the producers, thus PD
And also, they set the concept and the direction of the work
And complete the work along with the artist
So in this sense PD stands for the project director or the process director
Nowadays, as the role of PD has got specialized and divided
based on their responsibility and authority level, it is divided into PD and AD
In this sense, Webtoon PD is closer to being a project director
How are Webtoon PD's different per company?
There are agency, production company and the platform
As we divide according to the purpose, the agency is responsible for distributing the work
and the production company for producing, and the platform providing the service
For that, the main capabilities of a Webtoon PD in agency is networking and sales
In production companies, planning, producing and directing
And in platforms, analyzing and reviewing works, responding to readers and managing service
Let's now talk about webtoon production
We have individual artists and teams, or studios
Since webtoon production is now are bigger in scale and are in terms of companies
But there is still room for individual artists
And they do not necessarily have to compete against companies
To be exact, individual artists and production companies
Do not overlap in genre, purpose or markets that they work in
So each can work on their own field and aim for their own goals
Lately, in order to compensate for the weaknesses as individuals
More individual artists are working in teams or studios
The next is the production company
This includes division of labor and specialization in the production
As the webtoon industry grows in scale, the investment into it is also increasing
As well as the scope of secondary expansion business using OSM
This requires the adequate backup
Including quick strategy, decision-making, efficient production and supply
And the production company is the optimal form of these strategic goals
As production companies increased in number, in created more jobs in the webtoon industry
And activated the market with more supply of works
But the side effect of excess supply in particular genres needs to be addressed
Future of the Webtoon Industry
Next is the future of the webtoon industry
We are heading towards the global webtoon industry
Let's talk about the preparatory steps we need to take
In order for the global market and industry
Now, webtoon industry should look beyond the Korean market
In order to promote towards various cultures and preferences
We need to be equipped with more genres and styles
And the concept and direction of the work should increase in scale
Of all, in order for the incomparable capability
It is the most important to allow for creative spaces through
original and creative intellectual property (IP)
In order to continue with this pace
As the leading group, we need to resolve some problems
And here are a few:
First, language barrier
Since Korean webtoon is produced in Korean
It is impossible for the global readers to understand the content fully
Translation is the indispensable work for this problem
For the translation, the speeches in bubbles
Or the sound effects, fx's or onomatopoeia
must all be correctly translated
But this is not the end goal
The cultural difference must be taken into consideration
Because Korean culture is not something everyone shares
THere needs extra work for translation in order to fill this gap
And this work is done by the translator
The translator must understand the cultural differences
And be able to fluently deal with the local and era-appropriate
dialects, sayings, and slang used in the destination language
In the end, in order to hire the appropriate expertise in translation
we need to look for language skills
As well as the understanding of both cultures and webtoons
The optimal translator should be equipped with all these
Next is the cultural difference
Cultural difference does not limit itself in translation
Starting with the cultural differences
Difference in politics, ideologies and lifestyle
can be limiting and restricting
In the end, to overcome the cultural difference
Some more things must be considered
aside from the catharsis and fun of the story
First is the political theme
It should be noted that the political theme may be sensitive or restricted in the culture
Sexual theme
Because it may be insulting
or taboo in the culture, the difference should be noted
Next, violence
Violent themes may negatively impact
or be inappropriate in the culture
Next, grotesque theme
It may be deemed as disgusting
or be shown as expressing disgust to the culture
And finally, religious theme
The theme may attack the religious belief of the culture
Or even be dealing with a tabooed religion
In such cases, cultural difference must be considered
Even with these two things out of the way, there is another difference
Which is the difference in environment in the culture
If there is a big difference of environment in understanding, accepting
Or even consuming webtoon, it may create a restriction
This may include regulations
There may be legal regulations regarding expressions, distribution, and circulation or the economics of the webtoon being exported
Next, the infrastructure
There may not be enough infrastructure for webtoon consumption at exporting country
For example, without adequate Internet or mobile environment
It will be fatal in not only building the webtoon platform
But also in providing the service
Next is the capability of the country
There may not be enough demand or buying power for consuming webtoon
Or, even with a lot of population and demand
It may be impossible to provide a paid service model
Finally, localization
If the localization of webtoons becomes successful in exporting country
There will be more local platforms and works that compete with the Korean webtoon
Which may limit stable entrance or settling
Next is the restriction by platforms
Considering the global service of webtoon
It is impossible to use the Korean webtoon platform itself
It's not only about the language, but also
the UI structure, menu and service content, terms and policies
as well as payment methods and payment conditions are different
And this is only the beginning of the list
First, there must be a new server
In order for a stable service by a webtoon platform
There is usually a need to build a overseas server
However, building a server overseas
may come with many restricting aspects
that cost money and time
Also, rules and regulations of the country must be followed
In consideration of the potential difference from those in Korea
We must make sure to go over the rules and regulations of the country before building the server
In particular, security may be much weaker compared to building a server in Korea
Therefore extra measures must be considered to tackle this
Next is payment
In order for a webtoon platform to successfully provide the service to global readers
There must be a local payment method
There are many payment methods overseas
But each country uses different methods
so you must check in advance and prepare thoroughly
For instance, there may be limitations
or differences in credit card types or payment types
Finally, new global competitors
South Korea is the leading country that has originated the new content, webtoon
Korean webtoon is innovative and fun
But there will be other webtoon platforms, studios
And webtoon works from other parts of the world
Which is already starting with Apple and Amazon
And this may result in the following:
First, decline in market share
As more capable local webtoon platforms and studios arise
Korean webtoon platforms may experience a decline in market share
Second, decrease in income
With capable local platforms and studios arising
Korean webtoon platforms, studios, and artists may have less income
Third, customer churn
With capable local platforms and studios arising
Korean webtoon platform may experience customer churn
As well as the studios and the works
We have been analyzing the current status of the webtoon industry
As well as various job positions within the webtoon industry
And we also foresaw and predicted the upcoming future of webtoon
With all these analyses and understandings of the current status and positions
As well as the expected future, what will you choose?
I hope with the things we have talked about today
You get to choose something more effective and efficient
Thank you
Summary Current Status of the Webtoon Industry
The Difference Comics: Offline-based, printed for publishing Webtoon: Online-based, service provided through digital device screens
Era of Specialization and Division in Labor Division of Labor in Webtoon: As the production process became more specified, each became a role, instead of a process
Specialization in Webtoon: Now acknowledged as an independent field, becoming more professional Pineapple Syndrome and the Causes Pineapple Syndrome: Korean for "bite" and apple
The apple is "eaten" with its core remaining Lack of variety in genres Lack of Webtoon platforms that deal with such Lack of nurturing small-scaled companies Lack of nurturing new talents
Major Job Positions of the Webtoon Industry Webtoon PD New job position with the rise of the Webtoon industry Closer to meaning a project director Webtoon Production Individual artist or team studio Production company
Future of the Webtoon Industry Considerations for the Global Webtoon Industry Preparations for the global market Language barrier Cultural differences Difference in environment Limitations in platform New global competitors
Effect of New Global Competitors Less share in the market Less income Customer churn