Webtoon artists contracted through production companies are significantly more likely to experience depression compared to their counterparts who work directly with publishing platforms. (Image courtesy of Yonhap) SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Korea Bizwire) – A new study has revealed that webtoon artists contracted through production companies are significantly more likely to experience depression compared to their counterparts who work directly with publishing platforms.
The research, titled “Work Environment and Depressive Symptoms of Webtoon Writers,” was recently published in the international journal SH@W by the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute of the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency. It examines the correlation between webtoon artists’ contract types and the prevalence of depression. The research team, which included Lee Jinwoo, an occupational and environmental medicine specialist at Hanil Hospital, compared depression rates among various groups of webtoon creators.
Using directly contracted story writers as a baseline, they analyzed the prevalence of depression among indirectly contracted story writers and illustrators working through production companies. The findings are striking: story writers working through production companies were 9.51 times more likely to suffer from depression than those directly contracted with platforms.
Illustrators under production company contracts also showed a higher risk, being 6.47 times more likely to experien.