Webtoon-to-drama adaptations are booming — but Korea's comic market grew just 4.4% in 2024

Webtoon-based dramas are stacking wins. 참교육 and 김부장 posted strong numbers back to back. The ripple effect on source material is real: after 신입사원 강회장 aired, the original webtoon's view count jumped 43 times over the prior period within two weeks.

Netflix Korea's monthly active users hit 16.17 million last month. That's up 5.5% from the month before—the highest figure on record. The platform's growth is running in parallel with the webtoon adaptation wave.

Across borders, 싸움독학 sits at No. 1 in the completed-works popularity ranking on Japan's LINE Manga. Creator Kim Jeong-hyun (김정현) put it simply: "Adaptation is more than just a revenue issue; it is an opportunity to make the creator and work more widely known."

The IP expansion model has a flagship case. 나 혼자만 레벨업 (나혼렙) has branched into animation, Netmarble's game 나 혼자만 레벨업: 어라이즈, and a new title, 나 혼자만 레벨업: 카르마. Anime-focused OTT Crunchyroll announced it will enter the Korean market in the second half of the year. Kakao Entertainment Story IP Business Chief Manager Hwang Jae-heon (황재헌) read it as a signal: "Korea is growing as a core market for anime consumption and distribution, beyond being a simple source material supply market."

The domestic numbers tell a different story. South Korea's webtoon market reached 2 trillion 285.6 billion won in 2024. Only a 4.4% increase from the year before. Modest growth for an industry generating this much cultural output.

Hwang sees the path forward as a full cycle: "Good source material must be continuously discovered and expanded into various content such as video, animation, games, and merchandise, then connected again to global distribution and fandom business in a virtuous cycle."

Kim Jeong-hyun offered a creator-side caution. "If you are conscious from the beginning of only telling stories that could become dramas or films, the original fun of webtoons can become narrower." The market's slow growth may be the data point that backs him up.