The purpose of this study is to understand recent changes and dynamics in the Seoul webtoon Industry. The advent of the digital economy has reconstructed the production system of contents industry. Particularly, the digital comics, i.e., webtoon industry, have explosively grown substituting the traditional comic book markets. Korea and Seoul has been one of the most promising webtoon cluster regions. Korean webtoon is being recognized as one of K-Hallyu.
This research utilized explorative method to understand, through in-depth interview, the dynamics of webtoon industry that is undergoing significant transformation. Owing to the success of contents charging system through major platforms such as Naver and Kakao, webtoon contents started to make money. In consequence, all the tasks and jobs in all the value chains have specialized and demanded more sophisticated division of labor. In addition, new players such as agency between creators and platforms have emerged. These developments gave both opportunities and chances to the Seoul webtoon creators.
This research proposed the role of Seoul metropolitan government for value enhancement of Seoul webtoon contents. It suggests suggested creative talents training program, more access to original contents IP, collaborative environments through ‘town’ cluster, and domestic and overseas expansions.