According to the report “2024 WEBTOON Industry Survey” Published by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) and the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) on December 2, the Korean webtoon industry recorded total sales of approximately US$1.5 billion in 2023, marking a growth of 19.7% compared to the 1.24 billion registered the previous year. For the first time, the market exceeds 2.1 trillion won in annual revenue, establishing itself as a key pillar of digital entertainment in South Korea.
The webtoon market has shown steady growth since the MCST and KOCCA began collecting data in 2018. In 2017, total sales were around $258 million, a figure that skyrocketed to $716 million in 2020 and reached $1.02 billion. in 2021. This progress evidences the growing popularity of webtoons both locally and internationally.
In 2023, the majority of revenue came from platform providers, which reported around $959 million in total sales, accounting for 64.4% of the market. This segment recorded a notable increase of 25% compared to the 767 million generated in 2022.
The global expansion of webtoons is a key factor in this growth. Japan remained the main export market, representing 40.3% of total international sales. This was followed by North America at 19.7%, Mainland China and Taiwan at 15.6%, Southeast Asia at 12.3%, and Europe at 8.2%.
Despite this growth, the industry continues to face the problem of piracy. According to the report, the percentage of pirated webtoons was 20.4% in 2023, a slight decrease compared to 21.5% the previous year. While this reduction is encouraging, the impact of piracy remains significant, limiting potential revenue for creators and platforms.
The report also offers a look at the demographics of webtoon creators. 58.3% of writers are women, surpassing 41.7% of men. The majority of creators (61.1%) are in their 30s, followed by those in their 20s (23.5%) and those over 40 (15.4%).
In terms of income, the average annual webtoon writer was 42.68 million won in 2023 (approximately $32,000). However, only 24.7% of creators managed to earn more than 50 million won, evidencing a significant gap between the most successful creators and the rest of the industry.
With the market surpassing 2.1 trillion won in revenue and a steadily growing global audience, the webtoon industry is poised to continue expanding. However, challenges such as piracy and the concentration of revenue in a small number of creators and platforms raise questions about sustainability and equity in the sector.
Fountain: Official Site
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