Comics fans enter the inaugural 2024 World Webtoon Festival, hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency, in Seongsu-dong, Seongdong District, Seoul, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul ‘Solo Leveling’ wins top award at World Webtoon Awards By Baek Byung-yeul Korea launched the 2024 World Webtoon Festival in Seoul's trendy neighborhood of Seongsu-dong on Thursday, with the aim of expanding the global reach of webtoons or online comics, which are already hugely popular here and abroad. Co-organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), this first-ever festival was part of the ministry's January announcement to drive the development of Korea's comics industry to strengthen Korea's position as the birthplace of webtoons and increase global awareness of the medium.
The four-day event kicked off on Thursday featured 16 prominent Korean webtoon production companies. It included pop-up stores selling webtoon character merchandise, talk concerts and drawing shows with popular webtoon artists and experience events showcasing various derivative products utilizing webtoon intellectual property. Visitors to 2024 World Webtoon Festival participate in an event held by Contents Lab.
Blue, an online comics and novel production company, in Seongsu-dong, Seongdong District, Seoul, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul With these events, the festival was planned to cat.
