K-webtoon IP is everywhere on OTT in 2026 — here's the scale

K-webtoon IP is everywhere on OTT screens in 2026. Naver Webtoon has 19 works airing domestically this year or scheduled to do so. Factor in titles with undecided launch dates, and the industry-wide total reaches roughly 20 adaptations. Kakao Webtoon adds approximately nine more on the domestic side alone.

The money explains the rush. OTT dramas cost tens of billions to hundreds of billions of won per episode. Pre-tested IP is a lower-risk bet for platforms.

Kim Bu-jang, adapted from the webtoon of the same name, is one example. Netflix's Cham Gyo-yuk (True Education) is another, also drawn from its webtoon source. SBS's Model Taxi shows what long-running IP looks like in practice. Season 1 launched in 2021. Season 3 ran from late last year into early 2026, accumulating approximately 22 million views on Kakao Page through January 2026.

(That 22 million figure across three seasons is the kind of number that keeps rights buyers coming back.)

A webtoon industry official put it plainly: "What matters in video adaptation is not how many works aired in a specific year, but how long the IP stays alive and active." The same official noted that rights sales and actual release are rarely simultaneous. Broadcast channels, timing, and production conditions all have to line up first. "Ultimately, what matters is whether the original IP expands into multiple formats and extends its lifespan."