NAVER Webtoon to invest 70 billion won, expand globally, launch Disney IP platform
Naver Webtoon Entertainment, the parent company of the popular Korean digital comic platform Naver Webtoon, outlined plans to invest more than 70 billion won this year to broaden its base, focusing on creators, content, and users. The announcement came as the company stressed its effort to expand globally and deepen its ecosystem.
The group says it distributed 4.15 trillion won to global creators from 2021 through last year, covering base manuscript fees and income from advertising and other monetized uses of the webtoons, such as video adaptations. The figure averages about 830 billion won per year over the five-year period.
Kim Yong-su, president of Webtoon Entertainment, told reporters at a briefing at NAVER Square in Seoul’s Yeoksam district on the 17th that the essence of Webtoon is a storytelling platform. He said when creators produce strong content, it attracts users, builds fan communities, and drives paid engagement, creating a sustainable ecosystem for creators.
The company laid out a “flywheel” strategy to foster a virtuous cycle among creators, content, and users, with plans to broaden the Webtoon ecosystem further. This includes enabling amateurs to upload comics and refining CANVAS, the global platform that identifies and elevates promising works into official serialized titles.
In content development, Webtoon Entertainment plans to expand video formats to diversify consumption and strengthen its intellectual property (IP) business, aiming to develop and nurture mega IPs with global appeal. Short-form content will be reinforced, with Korea’s Cuts and North America’s Video Episodes highlighted; Japan will see longer-form anime tailored to local tastes.
For users, the company is launching a new platform dedicated to Disney IP and is enhancing an AI-powered “Character Chat” that lets readers converse with on-screen characters. It is also preparing social features that let readers interact directly with works and authors, as well as fan-to-fan and author-to-fan communities. The firm intends to employ AI tools to support technical functions and data analytics.
Webtoon President Kim emphasized that NAVER Webtoon aims to be more than a publisher, positioning itself as a storytelling technology platform. He described a data-driven approach that would, for example, show creators where readers leave comments or drop off, while using AI to better recommend content to users.
The ongoing investment and platform shifts matter beyond Korea because they illustrate how Korean webtoon IP is being scaled into video series, animation, and interactive experiences for global audiences. For U.S. readers and markets, the moves signal potential cross-border licensing, partnerships, and content sourcing for streaming services, while highlighting the role of AI and data analytics in content creation, distribution, and recommendation. The Disney-focused platform could also influence licensing and collaboration dynamics with American media companies, alongside broader trends in how webtoons feed into the global storytelling ecosystem.