South Korean webtoon platform's pitch for global fans

Webtoons remain unknown to many outside Korea and Japan, but Korean companies specialising in the art form are rapidly expanding beyond Asia. AccessibilityhelpSkiptonavigationSkiptocontentSkiptofooter CookiesonFTSites Weuse cookies foranumberofreasons,suchaskeepingFTSitesreliableandsecure, personalisingcontentandads,providingsocialmediafeaturesandto analysehowourSitesareused. Accept&continue Managecookies Yourguidetoadisruptedworld Starta4-weektrial SpecialReportFTHigh-GrowthCompaniesAsia-PacificShowarticlesCurrentlyreading:SouthKoreanwebtoonplatform’spitchforglobalfansFTranking:Asia-PacificHigh-GrowthCompanies2022Asia-Pacificstart-upsseizegrowthathomeamidtravelshutdowns‘Iknewthefuturewasecommerce’:GreatDealsCEOontoppingFTrankingAustralianappfindsamarketforspider-catchersJapanlaunchesuniversityfundtospurinnovationBangalorekeepsitscrownasIndia’shigh-growthtechhubMedia AddtomyFT SouthKoreanwebtoonplatform’spitchforglobalfansPostypefounderhopestobuildongrowingpopularityofdigitalcomicswebsiteandreachnewaudiences Digitalstorytelling:SouthKorea’swebtoonmarketgrewby65percentin2020 Shareontwitter(opensnewwindow)Shareonfacebook(opensnewwindow)Shareonlinkedin(opensnewwindow)Shareonwhatsapp(opensnewwindow) Save Shareontwitter(opensnewwindow)Shareonfacebook(opensnewwindow)Shareonlinkedin(opensnewwindow)Shareonwhatsapp(opensnewwindow) Save SongJung-aJumptocommentssectionPrintthispageReceivefreeMediaupdatesWe’llsendyouamyFTDailyDigestemailroundingupthelatestMedianewseverymorning. ShinGyu-seub,aSouthKoreansoftwareengineer,haslongbeenaheavyconsumerofonlinecontent,includingwebcomicsandwebnovels.Buthewasoftenfrustratedbythelackofqualityavailable.So,in2015,aged31,hesetouttosolvethisproblembycreatingPostype:aplatformforwebtoons,ordigitalcomics,andwebnovels.Itallowsartistsandwriterstocreateandsharetheirowncontent.“Itisacontentopenmarketplatform,”saysShin,nowthecompany’schiefexecutive.“Anyonefromamateurstoprofessionalscanuploadtheironlinecontenthereandmakemoney.”AlthoughPostypeissmallerthanthetwoleadinglocalplatforms—NaverWebtoonandKakaoWebtoon,ithasbecomeapreferredchannelformanynovicewebtoonwritersastheplatformdoesnotscreentheirwork,whichhelpstocreateamuchmorediverserangeofwritersandcontent.AnywritercanuploadtheirworkforfreeonPostypewithoutsigningacontract,andchargetheirreadersafee.Onotherplatforms,normallyonlycontractedwritersgetpaid.Postype’smodelhelpscreatorsgetfundingfortheirworkandbuildupafanbase.Theplatformnowhas4.8mnmonthlyactiveusers—about14percentofthemoutsideSouthKorea.Morethan330,000writersarecurrentlyuploadingtheirworkontheplatform,whichtakes10percentofeachwriter’sincomeascommission. ShinGyu-seub “Itriedtoenterthetwobiggerplatformsinvain,”saysJeongJin-sil,awriterforTheSistersofKaramazov,apopularwebtoononPostype.Itisapage-flippingblackandwhiteformat,sheexplains,whereasbigplatformstendtopreferthemtobescroll-downandincolour.“WithPostype,Icanexperimentmorefreely,stickingtomytaste,regardlessofindustryfads.”Postype’sgrowingpopularityhastakenitto108thplaceinthisyear’sFTrankingofhigh-growthAsia-Pacificcompanies.Itsecureditsplacewithacompoundannualgrowthrateinrevenueof92percentbetween2017and2020,whichpushedthetotalto$2.9mn.Japanhastheworld’sbiggestmangamarket,butSouthKoreaisleadingtheindustry’sdigitaltransformation,combiningcreativetalentwithadvancedtechnologytoofferonlinecomicsandnovels.MorestoriesfromthisreportFTranking:Asia-PacificHigh-GrowthCompanies2022Asia-Pacificstart-upsseizehomegrowthamidtravelshutdowns‘Iknewthefuturewasecommerce’:GreatDealsCEOontoppingFTrankingJapanlaunchesuniversityfundtospurinnovationBangalorekeepsitscrownasIndia’shigh-growthtechhubAirtaskertapsintogrowthinnicheservicesWebtoonsremainunknowntomanyoutsideKoreaandJapan,butKoreancompaniesspecialisingintheartformarerapidlyexpandingbeyondAsia.SouthKorea’swebtoonmarketgrewby65percentin2020,toreachWon1.05tn($0.85bn),accordingtothestate-runKoreaCreativeContentAgency.Webtoonsareattractingincreasinginterestasasourceofinspirationfortheentertainmentindustry,withSouthKoreanwebtoon-baseddramassuchasAllofUsAreDead,HellboundandSweetHomebecomingglobalhitsonNetflix.Asasmallerplatform,PostypehasnotyethadanyofitscontentadaptedforTVorfilm,butShinhopesthecompany’smostpopularwebtoonswillsoonbepickedupbystreamingservicesandfilmstudios.“Oncewehaveameaningfuldeal,itwillprovideuswithabigopportunityforgrowth,”Shinsays.“Filmanddramaproducerscanusealreadyprovenstories,significantlyreducingtheirproductionrisks.” Zombiehorror‘AllofUsAredead’,basedonawebtoon,wasahitonNetflix©YangHae-sung/Netflix ‘SweetHome’,anotherhorror,wasalsoadaptedbythestreamingplatform©SonIk-Chung/Netflix PostypehassecuredtheintellectualpropertyrightsformostofitsKorean-specificdigitalcomics.ItalsomadeanaudiodramabasedonNamfanManwha,apopularwebtoonthatreached9.5mnviews,andisdevelopingMakeitReal,aromancestory.Shinbelievesthesuccessofwebtoon-inspiredTVserieswillalsobringnewinternationalreaderstohisplatform.ThecompanyisexploringwaystoenterforeignmarketssuchasJapanandNorthAmericanextyearandconsideringtakingtranslated,tailoredversionsofitsmostpopularwebtoonstothosemarkets.“I’dliketoseeourwriters’abilitygetrecognisedontheglobalstage,”saysShin.“IamconfidentthatsuccessfultitlesinSouthKoreacanalsobesuccessfulabroad.” IamconfidentthatsuccessfultitlesinSouthKoreacanalsobesuccessfulabroad SouthKoreahas51companiesintheranking.Theseincludesecond-rankedPCL,amultipleximmunodiagnosticcompany,andthird-rankedSpolive,anappprovidingreal-timesportscommentary.Bothhaveacompoundannualgrowthrateofmorethan350percent.PCLspecialisesindevelopingandmanufacturinginvitrodevicesforimmunologicaldiagnosis.Itcommercialisedtheworld’sfirsthigh-riskviralbloodscreeningmultipleximmunodiagnosticproductforAids,hepatitisBandhepatitisC.Thebusinesshassincebenefitedfromsurgingdemandfor­Covid-19testkits,anddevelopedtheworld’sfirstsaliva-basedrapidantigentestkit,whichnowaccountsfor90percentofthecompany’ssales.IthasexportedtestkitsworthWon100bn($82mn)to70countriesoverthepasttwoyears.“WehavegrownrapidlywithCovid,”saysPCL’schiefexecutiveKimSo-youn.“Nowthatoursalesnetworksareestablished,weexpectsalesforotherdiagnosticproductstoincrease.”Coviddemand:PCL’srapidantigentestsaccountfor90percentofthecompany’ssales©SeongJoonCho/BloombergPostype’sShinisequallyoptimisticaboutfuturegrowthprospectsforthewebtoonindustry.HesaysGenerationZ—roughly,peoplebornafter1995—aretheindustry’smaintargetaudienceandarewillingtospendfortheirfavouriteonlinecontent.Grossmerchandisevolume,ametricfortheamountofmoneyspentbyuserswithintheplatform,jumped75percenttoWon23bnlastyearandisexpectedtoincreasetomorethanWon30bnthisyear.“Themainusersintheirteensandearly20swillspendmuchmoreoncetheystartmakingmoney,”predictsShin.“Webtoonswillbethekeyforfuturecontentcreationandwewanttobecomeamajorplayer.”GetalertsonMediawhenanewstoryispublishedGetalertsReusethiscontent(opensinnewwindow)CommentsJumptocommentssectionPromotedContentExploretheSpecialReportREADMOREFTHigh-GrowthCompaniesAsia-PacificAsia-Pacificstart-upsseizegrowthathomeamidtravelshutdownsCurrentlyreading:SouthKoreanwebtoonplatform’spitchforglobalfansFTranking:Asia-PacificHigh-GrowthCompanies2022Asia-Pacificstart-upsseizegrowthathomeamidtravelshutdowns‘Iknewthefuturewasecommerce’:GreatDealsCEOontoppingFTrankingAustralianappfindsamarketforspider-catchersJapanlaunchesuniversityfundtospurinnovationBangalorekeepsitscrownasIndia’shigh-growthtechhub 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