Spotlight

Comic-clystic Campaign

Promoting Webtoons

The Korean invention webtoon is rapidly changing the paradigm of the comic book and animation markets. To meet the need for more information on and research and development of this revolutionary medium, the following contest and three venues in Korea promote to and educate the public about webtoons.

Written by • Kim Samuel

Spotlight

Daegu Webtoon Campus

Opened in June last year at Kyungil University in Daegu, the campus appointed as its first principal renowned cartoonist Lee Hyun-se. The four-story headquarters has facilities for specific webtoon-related activities like exhibitions and experiential events, workshops or studios for aspiring and active webtoonists, conference rooms to discuss entrepreneurial and creative projects, and venues for seminars, webtoon training and other events.

Besides rooms for content writers and producers, the campus offers many spaces for longterm rental. Similar to a co-working center, the facility rents spaces for seminars or workshops for short-term use.

Daegu Education Center for Continuous/Lifelong Learning,
Dong-il Bldg., 9F 2485 Dalgubeoldae-ro, Suseong-gu, Daegu

https://dgwebtoon.dip.or.kr

Gaya Webtoon Contest

The Gimhae National Museum since 2018 has hosted an annual webtoon contest open to anyone over age 16 whose original works feature the ancient tombs or other cultural heritage from the ancient Gaya confederacy (A.D. 42-532). The application period is from Aug. 10 to Nov. 8. Eleven winners slated to be named on Nov. 13 will receive awards from Gimhae City Hall and the central government plus monetary prizes. The contest is jointly hosted by the museum and the World Heritage Nomination Office for Gaya Tumuli.

https://gimhae.museum.go.kr/

Korea Manhwa Museum

Located within the Bucheon Visual Culture Complex in Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do Province, this four-story museum has a storage room for manhwa (cartoons) archives at the basement level, a theater on the ground floor, a manhwa library on the second, and permanent and special exhibition spaces on the third. This landmark of the western Seoul suburb is great for hosting exhibitions, classes and events while serving as a space for leisurely cultural enjoyment.

The theater shows digital and multimedia works ranging from family-friendly animation to indie and arthouse cinema. The library contains a host of archives and resources for those seeking databases of knowledge or training and education. More historical and contextual information is displayed on the third floor at exhibition spaces, while the fourth is decked out with a 4D viewing room; also on this floor are a webtoon exhibition spot dubbed ��Exploring a Cartoonist��s Mind,�� a manhwa photo zone and a cartoon gallery.

The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. except Mondays and national holidays.

Gilju-ro 1 (Sang 3-dong 529-2), Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do Province

www.komacon.kr/komacon_en/facility/museum.asp

K-Comics Academy

The Korea Manhwa Content Agency runs the K-Comics Academy, which fosters manhwa creators and the domestic industry. Besides providing online and offline education and training resources, the academy hosts tutorials on getting the most out of the newest technologies for illustration techniques.

Though the website is in Korean only, its notice board (http://edu.komacon.kr/community/notice/list.do) is frequently updated with news on projects and contests.