Webtoons in France

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Webtoons are cartoons or comics that are published online. First popularized right here in Korea, artists in the genre have been making inroads into the French market for three years. Here’s how Korean webtoons stack up in France, a nation famous for its own artistic and philosophical comics.

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Attention is being paid to a drawing show depicting an ice hockey playing tiger participating in the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games. This is an exhibition to promote the PyeongChang Games and introduce Korean webtoons. At the exhibition, comic lovers express great interest in webtoons, which are published and read online via digital gadgets like tablet PCs.

[Soundbite] (French Webtoon Reader) : "Korean webtoons are very different in form. They are much freer than paper comics."

Artistic and philosophical cartoons are popular in France. However, some changes are felt. The fan base of webtoons is expanding in France, as seen in the emergence of Europe's first webtoon site.

[Soundbite] (French Cartoon Critic) : "A generation that is enthusiastic about daily or weekly webtoons will appear."

The global webtoon market is predicted to grow an average of ten percent each year and reach 1.3 trillion won by 2020. In order to get a head start in the global market, the Korean cartoon industry has introduced Korean webtoons at the The Angoulême International Comics Festival for three years.

[Soundbite] Kim Dong-hwa(Korea Manhwa Contents Agency) : "We will be able to open up the rest of Europe if we succeed in opening France. Success in Europe will lead to success in the U.S. and all other nations."

Korea has faced high global barriers in the paper comic sector. However, armed with a new genre of webtoons, the Korean cartoon industry is aiming to soar and fascinate the world.