[WHY] The rise of webtoons means fat pay checks, but only for a few

Industry

Published: 02 Apr. 2022, 07:00 Updated: 03 May. 2022, 10:10

[WHY] The rise of webtoons means fat pay checks, but only for a few

Webtoonists are seeing their bank accounts grow as the popularity of webtoons continues across the globe.

In 2019, webtoonist Kian84, famed for his "Fashion King" (2011-2013) series, bought a 4.6 billion won ($3.8 million) building in southern Seoul. Yaongi, the author of "True Beauty" (2018-), bought a McLaren 570S, a sports car that starts at $195,000, in 2020.

Lee Mal-nyun, the creator of the "Lee Mal-nyun series" (2009-2012) said he makes “a conglomerate executive’s salary” with just the earnings from his YouTube channel and "Along with the Gods" (2010-2012) webtoonist Joo Ho-min bought houses for himself and his parents with the money he made as a webtoonist.

While the exact amount on their paychecks is unknown, estimates show that webtoonists appear to be making a fortune with their works.

The word webtoon is a portmanteau of the words web and cartoon, first used by the press in 1999. Webtoons, which started in Korea, are online comics that are distributed and consumed on the internet and Korean companies continue to lead the global market.

These days, webtoonists feature on TV programs and have their very own social media channels with millions of subscribers.

The profession has become so esteemed that in 2020, "webtoonist" was one of the top 10 dream jobs of elementary school children in Korea.

People used to ask what webtoons were, but now they’re asking how to become a webtoonist.

So what has happened over the last 10 years that’s made webtoons so popular and being a webtoonist such a sought-after job?

[SHUTTERSTOCK]

How much do webtoonists actually make?

It’s hard to pin an exact figure down, because neither the webtoon companies nor the webtoonists disclose what they make. But companies do like to brag about the top-earning creators that they have signed.

Top webtoonists reportedly make over 10 billion won, roughly $10 million, a year, according to Naver, Korea’s No. 1 webtoon company. The highest-earning webtoonist, although their name was not revealed, made 12.4 billion won in 2021.

There were 700 creators signed with Naver last August. On average, they earned 280 million won annually and even those new to the industry made some 150 million won in their first year, according to the company.

Webtoonists made double the average annual income in Korea in 2021, according to a survey by the Korea Creative Content Agency (Kocca).

According to the survey, a webtoonist made an average of 81.2 million won in 2021 if they worked all-year round and 56.7 million won if they produced at least one piece of content during the year.

During the same year, the average annual income in Korea was 38.3 million won.

Considering how over 80 percent of webtoonists are in their 30s or younger, the income bracket is quite impressive.

But it doesn’t mean it comes easy.

A webtoon typically has 60 to 70 frames per episode that are posted each week. Each episode has to be enticing enough so that readers don’t lose interest, but give just the right amount of information so that readers are left wondering what will come next.

The time needed to conjure up 60-70 illustrations every week means that webtoonists often work all night, while also dealing with the hate comments posted on their social media accounts.

Netflix original series ″All of Us Are Dead″ (2022) [NETFLIX]

The Naver Webtoon series ″All of Us Are Dead″ (2009-2011) [NAVER WEBTOON]

How are they making so much money?

That’s thanks to the growing popularity of the webtoon industry as a whole.

In 2020, the Korean webtoon market surpassed 1 trillion won volume for the first time. By then, there were 7,000 web content creators with the number continuing to increase. The webtoon market is expected to grow at an average of 11 percent each year, according to a study by KT Economics and Management Research Institute.

Webtoons are also growing in popularity internationally, where the market is much larger than just Korea.

Naver Webtoon had 82 million monthly users around the world as of January, according to the company.

Kakao did not reveal its user numbers, but its Japanese webtoon app Piccoma surpassed 77.6 billion won in monthly transaction volume in January, marking not only the highest for the app, but also for any webtoon app in the world for that month.

Naver and Kakao, the two biggest companies in the industry, have been accelerating their overseas businesses in recent years.

In 2019, Naver Webtoon surpassed 600 billion won in transaction volume and became the No. 1 grossing webtoon app in 100 countries around the world.

Kakao followed closely behind and in 2020, overtook Naver with Piccoma, which became the highest earning webtoon app in 2020. Last year, it saw total transaction volume of 722.7 billion won.

The companies have also acquired popular web content platforms in their race to prevail.

Naver bought a 100 percent stake in self-publishing site Wattpad last year for 653 billion won, while Kakao Entertainment acquired web content platforms Tapas Media and Radish for $510 million and $440 million each.

This year, the two companies are accelerating their moves into the European market.

Naver Webtoon series “Tower of God” (2010-) by SIU [NAVER WEBTOON]

How do you become a webtoonist?

The most common methods are through open submission platforms, open competitions and social media.

Hopeful creators can post their work on open platforms, like Naver Webtoon Canvas. Hundreds, if not thousands, of wannabe-webtoonists upload their work on these services.

If their work becomes popular, then Naver makes an official offer to the creator to serialize it.

Numerous webtoonists have had their works picked up through this method, including “Tower of God” (2010-) by SIU, “True Beauty” by Yaongi and “All of Us Are Dead” (2009-2011) by Joo Dong-geun, from which the Netflix zombie flick of the same title was adapted.

Webtoon companies also regularly hold competitions where the winners receive prize money as well as a chance to publish their work.

This was the case for Naver Webtoon’s “Romance 101” (2018-2021), which was posted after its author Namsoo won the romance genre competition held by the company in 2017.

Competitions aren't the only path to success.

One good example is “Myeoneuragi,” a webtoon series that started on webtoonist Soo Shin-ji’s Instagram account. It was first adapted into Kakao TV original series “No, Thank You” in 2020 and then made available on Kakao Webtoon.

First-generation webtoonists made their debuts in a similar fashion.

The 1997 Asian financial crisis took a huge toll on the Korean book market, leading book stores to shut down and publishers to go bankrupt. That meant no new contracts for emerging creators, who had to pave their own way if they wanted to pursue a career as a cartoonist.

Rather than taking on apprenticeships at famed cartoonists’ studios, which were often lengthy, aspiring cartoonists headed to the internet where they created their own websites and posted their works.

Such first-generation webtoonists include Kang Full who created “Love Story” (2003-2004), Kwon Yoon-joo who is behind “SnowCat” (1998) Shim Seung-hyeon who created “Pape Popo Memories” (2002) and Jung Chul-yeon, the creator of “Marine Blues” (2001-2007).

Portal sites signed deals with these trending creators to publish their works, in hopes of attracting users to their newly-established services.

Global video streaming service Netflix signed two-year partnership contracts with Korean visual effects company Dexter Studios and its subsidiary Livetone, said Netflix on Tuesday. [NETFLIX]

Disney+ logo [DISNEY+]

Why have webtoons been gaining so much attention in recent years?

It’s because webtoon-based content is thriving, leading to curiosity about the original works.

Webtoons have proven to be precious to online video streaming services in their fight for original content.

Known as over-the-top (OTT) services, these companies have been fiercely competing for market dominance in recent years. The best and most effective way is to create killer original content that attracts new subscribers to their services, like Netflix’s “Squid Game” (2021) or Apple TV+’s latest “Pachinko” (2022).

Webtoons and web novels are a treasure trove of ideas that can save them an enormous amount of time and money.

Not only do popular webtoons come with a storyline and characters, they also come with an established fan base.

OCN’s drama series “The Uncanny Counter” (2020), based on Daum Webtoon’s “Amazing Rumor” (2018-2021), is an example of such adaptation. It managed to hit a record-high viewership of 11 percent when it aired — the highest achieved by any program aired by the cable channel.

These adaptations are also good news for their creators.

Webtoons being turned into dramas or films means copyright money for the webtoonists, who also make money from related merchandise as well as the influx of new readers who became aware of their work through on-screen adaptations.

Some webtoonists receive a certain percentage of revenue while others are paid a lump sum.

Top-tier drama scriptwriters are known to receive 10 to 30 million won per episode. Seeing as how webtoons provide more than just the storyline but also the character description and background sketches, it’s likely that they receive more than that.

Webtoonists (from left) Lee Mal-nyun, Joo Ho-min and Kian84 [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Does every webtoonist take home a big pay check?

Unfortunately, the billion-won income is only reserved for the most popular webtoonists.

In fact, webtoonists say the disparity between the best-selling and lesser-popular creators is widening.

“The television show webtoonists make billions of won a year, but that’s only the very lucky few,” said Kim Dong-hoon, a webtoonist and former head of the Webtoon Creators Union.

“The younger webtoonists starting their careers don’t have any leverage against the platforms, which means they’re exposed to unfair working conditions without even realizing that they’re unfair.”

Many webtoonists struggle to make ends meet. As the market grows and competition becomes fiercer, the industry is growing more fragmented in the process.

In the past webtoonists created with their own stories and illustrations, but now there are now separate creators working on the illustrations, storylines, backgrounds and coloring on a single webtoon.

This is because it has become more difficult for webtoonists to maintain a high quality of work, which means they have to outsource certain aspects and thus divide the income earned among everyone involved.

Lesser-known webtoonists have to sign with a publishing platform through an agency, which means they have to divide their earnings with even more parties.

It's believed that an average of 30 percent of all revenue goes to the webtoon platform, while the agency and the creator divides the remainder 50:50. The webtoonist must pay any assistants they had with their share of the earnings.

Sought-after webtoonists, however, can sign directly with a platform. The platform also takes less commission, because they don’t want to lose a big-name webtoonist to their rivals offering a more competitive split.

And while these top-earning webtoonists don’t need much marketing for their work to be read, the lesser-known creators have to depend on the platforms to advertise their works through promotional events.

The catch is, the webtoonists have to share the marketing cost with the company.

Young artists are jumping into the race with hopes of becoming the next Yaongi, Kian84 or Lee Malnyun, but the reality is the industry is much less glamorous.

Just as young K-pop trainees dream of making it big like BTS and Blackpink, aspiring webtoonists must remember that great success only comes to a few.

Thank you to: Jin Dal-yong, Distinguished Professor at the School of Communication, Simon Fraser University; Han Chang-wan, Professor of Comics and Animation Tech at Sejong University; Webtoonist Kim Dong-hoon; Lee Se-in, CEO of Webtoon Insight; KT Economics and Management Research Institute; Korea Creative Content Agency; National IT Industry Promotion Agency; Naver Webtoon; and Kakao Entertainment.

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]