This Week in Webtoon-ish, September 6th
Demons are taking over Korea.
Is there a distinction between “demon slayers” and “demon hunters?”? Probably, but they both have one thing in common: popularity.
“Demon Slayer” Sales Spike in Korea
Following the release of “Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle”, sales of the manga in Krea saw a 500% increase on Yes24, an online bookstore. “Demon Slayer” originally released in Korea in 2017 and the final volume was published in 2021, but with the anime and film adaptations, sales of the series’ books and merchandise has seen a resurgence in Korea.
Volumes 16 to 23 on which the “Infinity Castle” movie is based were all in the top 30 bestsellers list for the “Manga/Light Novel” genre on Yes24.
Source: Hankyung
KPop Demon Hunters Fever Picks Up in Korea
KPop Demon Hunters is slowly making its way into Korea with multiple licensing deals that have been struck over the past few weeks. Most recently, Everland (a large theme park located outside of Seoul) will be launching a “KPOP Demon Hunters” themed area. This follows previous collaborations with Netflix IPs like “All of Us are Dead” and “Stranger Things” in the past.
Nongshim has also announced KDH themed packaging for their Shin Ramen, shrimp chips, and cup noodles lines. These items aren’t going to be widely available and will be available through special preorders only.
Finally, the city of Seoul will he holding a KDH themed drone show on September 7th at Tteukseom park. The park has hosted multiple drone shows int he past, but this is the first one to feature a foreign IP like KDH.
Source: Business Korea, KComics Beat, Drone Light Show
TOPCO Media Expands on AI in Webtoon
TOPCO MEDIA just announced that they will be using AI to create animated panels and short-form animated episodes for their Toptoon service.
TOPCO will be implementing these tools in Korea before looking at overseas markets. Currently, Toptoon operates in Korea, Japan, the US, and Taiwan with Japan being a primary focus point for the publisher.
Currently, TOPCO operates the Toptoon slate of platforms including Toptoon in Korea, Japan, Taiwan and DayComics in the US.
Source: Financial News
Bernard Werber’s “Ants” Set for K-Webtoon Adaptation
“Ants” by bestselling French author Bernard Werber will be adapted to a webtoon format by Korean webtoon publisher/studio, KENAZ. The title has been in production for 2 years with 20 episodes ready for publishing in Korean and French. The series is planned for 150 episodes and will publish simultaneously on ONO in French and on a Korean platform to be decided.
Source: Chosun Biz
Naver Webtoon Launches “Cuts” in Korea
After months of speculation, Naver launched “Cuts” for their webtoon app in Korea. The feature isn’t a stand-alone application, rather a page on the existing Naver Webtoon app on iOS and Android.
Currently, Naver is holding a contest for “Cuts” creators. Anyone who uploads a short-form video and fills out a form between now and September 17th will be entered into the competition.
Source: News1