The expansion of the Korean webtoon industry can be traced back to Daum, one of Korea¡¯s major portal sites, to serialize webtoons. That¡¯s why Daum is regarded as the cradle of Korean webtoons. Many webtoons that attracted an extensive subscription base were serialized on Daum. Perhaps because of its reputation and the refined delivery and production methods while connecting so many artists and readers over the years, Daum achieved a large number of ¡°firsts¡±―it was the first webtoon platform, the first platform to implement a publication schedule, and the first platform to dramatize a webtoon.

Later, Daum merged with Kakao and then, in 2021, launched Kakao Webtoon, an integrated platform aimed at global expansion―two developments that may have set Korea¡¯s webtoon industry on an entirely new trajectory. ¡°Currently, Kakao Entertainment operates two platforms: Kakao Webtoon and Kakao Page. Kakao Webtoon deals strictly with original webtoons, while Kakao Page is based on ¡®novel comics,¡¯ or web novels adapted as webtoons. We¡¯ve put a great deal of effort into these platforms to carry on the mission of Daum Webtoon while incorporating Kakao Entertainment¡¯s methodology,¡± Park said.

As Daum Webtoon made the jump to Kakao Webtoon, Park pondered how to enhance webtoons¡¯ value proposition. His team decided to move from monochrome to color in the webtoon thumbnails to convey more information about them. Other design changes to the platform layout included adding backgrounds behind the characters and using animated graphics instead of still images to grab viewers¡¯ attention.

These changes to the platform helped boost not only the number of subscribers and the number of hosted webtoons. The webtoon repertoire has risen from ten or twenty in the initial period to 400 today. Meanwhile, the platform has undergone several changes to bring those webtoons to more readers, incorporating infinite scrolling and animated thumbnails. Constant tweaks aimed at users¡¯ convenience have enabled the platform to rise above the numerous other webtoon platforms in the Korean webtoon market.

Kakao Entertainment has also spent a great deal of effort catering to overseas readers, so perhaps it¡¯s no great surprise that Kakao Entertainment¡¯s webtoons are so prevalent not only in Korea but also in other countries. The platform has taken steps to become more accessible for global readers through localization and customization. The platform has accounted for culturally important issues in each country, a strategy that has ultimately impacted the international market. Kakao Entertainment¡¯s webtoons are expanding its global reach in all areas of operations, including Thailand, Indonesia and Japan.

One reason so many artists have congregated on Kakao Entertainment is the abundant support the platform offers them. No matter how well-designed a platform may be, the quality of the webtoon ultimately depends on the artists.

¡°We provide our artists with support on things unrelated to making webtoons. We¡¯re often asking them what else they need. One result of those questions was the ¡®artist party,¡¯ which allowed the artists a chance to socialize. We rented a club and invited all the artists to attend. They all had such a good time!¡± Park recalled.

¡°One issue our artists struggled with is the question of copyright for fonts. So we reached deals with all the rights holders so our artists could use whatever fonts they wanted. Another thing we¡¯ve done is arrange health check-ups. I¡¯d guess that Kakao Webtoon is the first platform to do that. And since many artists have been complaining about stress recently, we also support therapy sessions,¡± Park said.

Even though these programs aren¡¯t closely connected to the comics themselves, they¡¯ve gotten a positive response from artists and given them the support they need to continue their work. That¡¯s likely one of the reasons Kakao Entertainment has managed to keep publishing good series.

The webtoon market continues to evolve along with technological developments. That¡¯s why Kakao Entertainment gives so much thought to new platforms. Recently, Park has been applying the concept of ¡°spatial computing¡± to webtoons. That could mean a future where people view webtoons through special headsets. ¡°Apple has released a headset called Vision Pro. With the headset on, you can use the space around you like a screen. I think we¡¯ll see this technology keep developing in the future, but there are still a lot of technical issues to address. Since people currently read webtoons by scrolling through them, we need to look into how that could be replicated through spatial computing. I think that¡¯s something Kakao Webtoon and Kakao Page will need to address if they will remain dominant in the overseas market,¡± Park said.

Park also envisions Kakao Entertainments having even more media content. He is particularly interested in a potential project utilizing their abundant assets, including movies, dramas and albums. That¡¯s still a work in progress, but there¡¯s a chance it will launch by the end of the year.

Under Park¡¯s leadership, Kakao Entertainment¡¯s motto is the same as it was back in the days of Daum Webtoon: ¡°A company that makes the world more fun.¡± The world is ready to jump feet-first into the fascinating universe that Kakao Entertainment is set to unveil.